Why are modern shooters so melee heavy these days?

Every frigging new shooter I play seems to have such poor gunplay that everyone just ends up using their melee weapon. Bad Company 2 really pisses me off because when you're close to the enemy, all that will happen is you knife eachother. This is because the game locks you both into an animation, once it happens then you can't get out of it. So you could be standing 10ft away from eachother and you lunge forward instantly at a press of a button. It is just an instant no skill kill and people only do it because the gunplay is so poor. In real life that would never happen,  you'd much rather use your gun when up against someone with a gun or any weapon. You don't see soldiers running about knifing eachother for example and the Japanese didn't do so well with bayonets. 
 
COD is another game that has got this melee I win button that locks you both into this stupid animation. At least this game has better close combat gunplay so you tend to use your gun more, however it still is so melee heavy. Then you have Halo which the guns are so weak every kill is normally ended with you hitting them with your gun as a melee weapon or that big sword thing. Gears of War is another game that usually ends up with a chainsaw or hitting them with your gun to knock them down.
 
I just hate it because I bought the game to use guns, that is what I want from a shooter and not a beat em up. 
 
Counter Strike does it perfectly where you have to switch to your knife and it takes time, you don't press a button and instantly kill them. So you always want to use all the ammo in your gun and then switch to your pistol after. If you're all out of ammo then you switch to the knife as a last resort. Some people knife eachother in duals for fun but they're only done for a laugh. Then you get the knife kills when you sneak up on someone, however you have to walk slowly so they don't hear your footsteps and if they turn around, you're dead. In COD or BFBC2 you can't hear footsteps like that and that quick melee button just means you can run straight upto them and knife them, even if they're looking at you. That is not how a knife in a shooter should work! 
 
Just wish games would take notes from how it is done in Counter Strike, rather than frigging Halo.

 
I wish MW2 would instantly kill them. Most of the time it launched me past my target, and my target turns around and knifes me...
 
FML.
 
Seriously, I think its just to add something else other than run and gun.

...I can hear footsteps fine in CoD4 and MW2. Hell, it's practically the main sense my friend uses when he plays. I'll be watching, he'll stop moving around for a second, turn around and blast a dude running into the room and go "I heard him coming."
 
I, to a way lesser extent, can kind of do that. I know that someone's around, but can't pinpoint like he can.

I dunno, I don't actually see many people knifing in BFBC2. Usually if I knife, the other guy doesn't. Plus, the knifing animation is pretty slow, so the only times I get knifed is when they sneak up from behind me.  And how is the gameplay "poor"?
I guess it comes down to personal preference; in MW2 the only thing that annoys me about knives is that you can lunge really far with commando. 

SLAPPERS ONLY

" SLAPPERS ONLY "

I know I'm going to get alot of shit for this, but to put it bluntly it's because of consoles. Gunplay in console shooters, simply because of the way analog sticks work, is much sloppier then if you were to use a mouse/keyboard. Since developers have realized console gaming is much more profitable than on the PC (due to popularity as well as other reasons I'm not going to get into here), they design their games around dual-analog control, and use a buffed melee system to help make the game flow better on a gamepad.

Knives are fine.

In Modern Warfare 2, what about the times when you chase some fool for 10+ feet and attempt a stab with a melee and miss, only having then turn right around and kniving you instead.  Argh!

Noone likes counter strike, its dated as hell

" Noone likes counter strike, its dated as hell "

" Knives shouldn't make you run faster either, yet... "

" @Egg0 said:

" Knives shouldn't make you run faster either, yet... "

The idea is you can run faster without carrying a gun. "

i gotta say in bad company i never get knifed unless they come up behind. the knifing isnt easy enough in that game. call of duty people use the stupid knife attachment and knife from across the room though.

I think the problem is that these games just let you press a button for a instant kill.  A better solution would be to put in some power gauge, quick example... fast button press will do a faster but non deadly strike, while holding the button will charge up a more powerful thrust that will one shot someone.  Therefore it takes a bit more coordination than a press and win button.

This is my only problem with mw2, the commando perk seems like it should be a deathstreak. Im perfectly cool with regular knife distance and the shield damage, however i just feel cheated whenever i get knifed by commando. I feel that it was a perk putin for the casual because even if i shoot you point blank with my shotgun if you already pressed knife it wont stop you, you will fly through it and kill me. 

The thing that unbalances melee in MW2 is the Commando perk as the attack lunge becomes huge. I kind of wish that the melee attack and damage would we dependant on the gun; 
Pistols would pistol whip, any other gun else would hit the enemy with the butt of the gun, both for half damage. 
A 'stab' would only be available on guns with a tactical knife or a gun with a mounted knife, these would do full damage. 
 
As for the commando perk, remove the increase in attack range and replace it with either a faster attack or a mark ability that makes an enemy appear on a team's radar for a specific amount of time. 

Halo

" Well, melee attackes have been around for a long time but I think what gave it , its momentum is Halo: Combat Evolved, could be wrong though. "

Halo has great melee combat, everything else, meh

Melee in Halo feels right because everyone is in heavily armored super suits with energy shields.
That and the chief is a 7 foot tall super human with enhanced punching abilities.
 
As for COD and battlefield, I agree, knifing is totally non impractical and stupid.
Not many people die from a single stab of a knife.
People get stabbed all the time in this world. Most survive. Many get stabbed dozens of times before they go down.
Now try stabbing someone with a gun. Chances are if you're jamming a knife into their stomach, they're dropping a cap in your dome.
They might die of a stomach wound after two days without medical attention.

On shit like Halo it seems like the only way to get a kill with any of the starter weapons due to the ridiculous recharging weapons. 
 
Seriously, if you have to unload a clip to kill someone in Lost Planet then you have to unload 2 to kill someone in Halo.

" @Egg0 said:

" Knives shouldn't make you run faster either, yet... "

The idea is you can run faster without carrying a gun. "

Because its easier than actual innovation, which shooter Luddites aren't looking for.

" SLAPPERS ONLY "

I like the melee system in Halo.

" @bjorno said:

" SLAPPERS ONLY "

i lol'd  "

" Melee in Halo feels right because everyone is in heavily armored super suits with energy shields. That and the chief is a 7 foot tall super human with enhanced punching abilities.  As for COD and battlefield, I agree, knifing is totally non impractical and stupid. Not many people die from a single stab of a knife.People get stabbed all the time in this world. Most survive. Many get stabbed dozens of times before they go down. Now try stabbing someone with a gun. Chances are if you're jamming a knife into their stomach, they're dropping a cap in your dome. They might die of a stomach wound after two days without medical attention. "

IRL you have ~180 degree FOV, but in an FPS you only have about ~80 degrees.  It's unrealistically difficult to figure out where somebody is when they're right next to you, so point-blank gun combat in FPS has always been garbage.  Console controls make this problem even worse.  Slightly bullshit melee attacks are better than the alternative, which is people strafing around each other for ages trying to see each other.
 
Besides, no part of a run & gun shooter is even close to how IRL soldiers would behave, so calling the melee combat unrealistic isn't much of an argument.