Why were the Halo games so highly praised?

Yes they are good. You cant just say its no good cuz its not your type of game. It has great graphics, smooth game play, the best controls and and is very a competitive game. Plus Halo started a new era in FPS. So many people try to copy Halo all the time and fail. If you have noticed there are tones of FPS out now. Before Halo there were almost no FPS.