People have different opinions all the time.
Personally, I think that most of the people who ***** about Halo Reach sucking either havent played it, or are the type of person who says EVERY game sucks... but continues to play it none-the-less.
A lot of people have fell-out of love with Halo after Halo 2, mostly because 3 did to innovation what a baseball bat does to a knee cap - they brokeded it. It was pretty stagnant: a noble game with good intentions, a personal favorite in my books, but it just didn't hold up.
Reach has really breathed some fresh air into the series, fixing what Halo 3 did and mimmicking Halo 2 (even down to the maps).
Some people simply don't like it because they liked Halo 3 better: they liked smacking people in tight corriders rather then shooting them at a distance. Some people dismiss Reach because the story wasn't a huge twisting confusing 'epic' that BioWare produced, some people dont like how the Multiplayer ranks work, etc, etc. Some people felt Reach did not meet their expectations.
It all boils down to personal opinion. Personally? I think Halo has some of the finest First Person Shooting in gaming. I loved Halo 1, 2 and 3, and I think Reach is the best so far. Then again, Im the type of person who will argue, tooth and nail, that Team Fortress 2 is complete and utter garbage thats bogged down by too much "OOH SHINIES!", but thats another arguement for another day (I hear a mob of people yelling outside my door, "HE DISSED VALVE, GET HIM!!! SHOW HIM TO HAVE A DIFFERENT OPINION!!!")
Simplified; Reach is pretty much like a "Best of Halo" collection. So if you like the "best of Halo", then go for it. If you never liked Halo, this game really won't win you over. Thats what this entire game boils down to.
As for the game getting flamed by CoD fans... This game doesnt feature unlockable weapons, upgrades, etc that they LOVE to take advantage of. This game is less about Camping, more about moving. You don't get as many 1 shot kills, theres no quick-scoping, commando pro, noobtubes, AC130s (all the really cheap stuff).
Halo is less about Carnage, more about Team Work, You dont get as many bullshit weapons, 1 shot kills, etc. Call of Duty, on the other hand, is just pure choatic fun. Unless you're playing search, you're team-mates are next to worthless. While they are both FPS's, there two differnt play styles of FPS's.
