Whoa whoa whoa.
Look, son. We agree on a lot of things. But don't you go insultin' my Halo music. The story itself is a decade old, the art style was done differently for Reach, and yes. There is even a goddamn joke in Halo 2 in which Chief says "Thought I'd try shooting, mix things up a little."
It's a shooter, man. ALL YOU WILL DO is shoot and drive vehicles.
Halo: Reach was a Halo fanboy's dream because of the story you read about ten years ago was finally brought to life in a video game. It is straight up Halo fanboy territory. It is the best Halo made in my opinion. If you want to play a game that takes you to different stories with different perspectives on the way things move. Play Halo 2. If Reach didn't exist, that'd be the best one.
Fuck what anyone else will respond to you with about Halo 2. It is the best of them all until Reach, an admitted fanboy territory for hardcore Halo fans, came out.
Seriously, dog.
Fuck whatever anyone else has to say about Halo. You should not play Reach until you've played the rest.
When you suffer through Halo 3 and ODST, then you'll realize why Reach is so heralded. It got it right, finally, on the next gen platforms.