I'm glad to hear someone else say that. I absolutely LOVED Ghosts. I felt like I had a lot of control over the way I wanted to play, moreso than any other CoD game before. I still have mine on the Bone and all the DLC. I tried AW, and thought it went right back to the same old cookie cutter formula, but with rocket packs! I think you hit the nail on the head when you say that people reacted negatively because the game took them out of their comfort zone. Personally, I think it's the best one I've ever played.