Reach was a superb game, and an extremely hard act to follow. I'm not at all surprised. I don't expect the series to top it anytime soon. Maybe a next-gen Halo will have some advantages technologically, but IMO Reach really was everything that made Halo great.
It looks like a really interesting game - I like the ideas here and the premise. I hope it does well enough that they can continue on with a sequel, and refine their execution.
@Polynecro @doctr_nick I think it will just take time. People are upset because it's not what they expected (or rather, desired). They'll get over it. Unless Microsoft totally botches the implementation, of course - but from the press conference it's looking pretty slick IMO. I think with time, as we get to see some games and actually have a go with it, the reception will warm up.
Slagar's comments