I liked the 1.11 update better. Maybe because I was at the panel at Minecon for the 1.11 changelog. Just a quick note for everyone, parrots LOVE cookies ;)
They actually changed this. Yes, "Polly wants a cracker." was a funny joke, but they realized that cookies have chocolate and chocolate kills birds, so now it's seeds b/c birds eat seed.
You know why? Minecraft has one of the most prolific modding communities of any game ever. Everything new feels like a mod because literally every good idea has already been made as a mod. Mojang is now cherry picking the mods they think are the best and closest to the current vanilla (no thaumcraft or IC2), putting their own spin on it, and hoping it's passabley original. Hell, just look at pistons and horses!
I enjoy all the versions above 1.8, just not for pvp. If I were to play survival or something though I think it'd be good/fun.