Ff13 isn't necessarily a bad game, in fact its a pretty good one, just one with faults. The tutorials I think got on alot of people's nerves, also the inability to level grind probably did the same. I did like the story, though it is an allegory for the Holocaust, and the battle system was unique and streamlined, you only have to control one person and through paradigms you alter the class of the other people in your party. I noticed alot of the reviewers seem to compare it to older FF games, which is never fair. Sure in comparison to a masterpiece like VI, XIII is shit, but on its own, it stands alone and it is a fun experience.
Basing whether or not a game is good on previous installments is like saying "This episode of Star Trek is good, but in comparison to "City on the Edge of Forever", it sucks!"