I understand that they wanted to go in a different direction. There's always sadness when a game series changes a lot, but after a while, it's usually for the better.
The low ratings for this game, sadly, is not just because it's different from the previous games. It's just Not a Good Game.
Boring, swiss cheese story. Unlikeable characters. Setting was disappointingly bland.
The storyline and setting was weirdly similar to Alibi in Ashes, which is a strange one to try to emulate, considering it doesn't loom large in the minds of most die hard players.
Honestly, I did have fun some of the time. A couple of the cut scenes were fun, like the ghost haunting bit. And I am, ultimately, glad I played. But after so long, it was just sad to see that they changed a lot of things that no one asked them to change, but didn't execute them well enough that they could attract a new market to keep the series going.