If normal is the 'easy mode' why not call it easy instead of you know, normal?
Normal should always be the default 'meant to be played' setting, if heroic is than your normal is too easy.
Melodramatic much?
You can argue over the Halo's naming conventions forever, but there IS a history behind it...
Heroic has always been the difficulty designed to give the optimal experience to people who are familiar with the games mechanics, controls, weapons, and AI. That dates all the way back to Halo: CE.
With Halo:CE, it was the first time a console FPS used dual analogue controls. It was also the first time anyone played halo. It was many console gamers first FPS. At that time, normal WAS the default Halo starting point for those reasons. Once people were familiar with the sandbox, they were expected to go up a level and not look back. the difficulty naming conventions haven't changed since the series' inception.
From Halo 2 onward , Bungie made it abundantly clear that Heroic is the ideal difficulty; designed to provide the best experience for returning players. They even changed the heroic difficulty description to Fight against formidable foes that will truly test your skill and wits; this is the way Halo is meant to be played" to eliminate any confusion on the matter...
So just because it is your personal feeling that the word "normal" should be reserved for the "meant to be played" setting, doesn't change the fact that Halo has always done it differently (probably because they expect returning players to know better by now...We are seven games in). And any reviewer should be aware of this, and take it into consideration when reviewing the game. especially if they are making an impression on the games length.
Normal is and likely always will be a good place for player unfamiliar with Halo to start.
