I got cheated out of (or, more accurately, FELT like I got cheated out of) plenty of kills in Halo 3, and Halo 2 before it. It's happened in Reach, too, of course - I just don't feel (personally) like it happens MORE in Reach.
I made a concerted effort to get better at the game in Halo 3 - I went from a 0.8 K/D spread in my first 2500 social games to a 0.88 after 3300 games. (May not sound like a huge jump - but it means I averaged 1.13 in those last 800 games; that's a substantial climb.) I did this by caring about my wins, and paying attention to how I was playing.
That carried over into Reach. My K/D is only 1.05 in Reach (after 2000 competitive games) - but I'm not generally dicking around. I'm not good enough to hang with the GAF elite, but that's okay - I'm twice as old as most of them.
I DO try, and I DO enjoy winning, and I DO feel like my ability, or lack thereof, is the most important factor in whether I do well or not. I'm not sure if that counts as 'competitive' in your mind, however. I'm certainly not playing (usually) against folks who are way out of my league - and while I do, definitely, do things like time power weapons and work on holding areas with teammates, I don't do it on the level of some of you guys - and so don't feel the same sense of betrayal when the game goes against me at some point.
Earlier today, I played (not by choice) a game of Elite Slayer on Condemned. The opposing team went almost uniformly with Armor Lock through the entire match. One of my teammates and I (randoms, both of us) DESTROYED them. (+25 between us, we won the match 75-62 despite our other three teammates going negative double digits combined.) Yeah, it was annoying - but it wasn't unfun. In fact, there's almost nothing more satisfying than timing that grenade throw to explode exactly when their armor lock expires.
I dunno. I like the game. I like the pacing of the DMR, I like the fact that when I'm careful, and control bloom, I USUALLY beat the guy I'm shooting if he spams and the range is mid or greater. I like knowing that I can step under a ledge, and make that jetpacker move into a more vulnerable position in order to hit me - especially when my teammates notice and teamshoot him. I like the fact that Evade can save my ass from a grenade when nothing else can (and I can be impressed when it's used well against me, too, without feeling ripped off). It's a slower-paced game than Halo 2, that's for sure - probably even slower-paced than Halo 3. But it rewards teamwork more than the games that came before it - and I like that.
Yeah, it definitely has problems. There are maps I really dislike, and gametypes I really dislike. There are times when nothing feels right, and nothing goes my way. (Those are times when I need to be doing something other than playing Reach.
) I miss things about Halo, and Halo 2, and Halo 3, things that are gone in Reach and haven't really been satisfactorily replaced. But I ENJOY playing it, most of the time. With randoms, and with friends. (In fact, I'm finding that Reach, more than any Halo game before it, lets me feel good about playing outside my league. I don't really enjoy playing with many of the people on my FL, because they're MUCH better than I am, and the games we get into match me up with people I can't compete with. And even when I get carried, it's not a lot of fun to get killed over and over and over again. This has been true in ALL Halo games. But (for example), yesterday, a couple of guys that are definitely out of my normal league (mid-level Onyx in Arena) grabbed a buddy (5% Gold) and took me into Arena with them. I warned them they were handicapping themselves... but they just laughed and went in anyway. And you know what? We had fun. We won our first three games. I went positive in our first, and even in our second. I can't do that in Halo 3, or Halo 2 (play outside my league and not be a drain on my teammates). So that's ANOTHER thing Reach has going for it, in my eyes.)
I guess I'd agree with the "the better you are, the less you like Reach" theory... except I can't explain Tashi.
Dammit, what am I doing up... I gotta work in 6 hours.
