While I'm not a fan of the 'hate' flying around in some ways between owners of different consoles/games I do think it's somewhat unavoidable depending upon your own... let's say 'style' and avoid getting into real psychiatric analysis.
Games can be fun and inclusive but they can also be competitive – I guess to go with a sport analogy some people see football/their team as an absolute passion that must be supported to the end, while to others footballs just something to play to have fun and the idea of supporting a team is pretty odd (I’m in the latter camp, as will be clear from comments to come).
So too with games. Also, as with any item with multiple brands there will be those who feel the need to vindicate their choice or have their choice vindicated via approval and declaration – so you get PS3 and 360 fans (and Wii to I guess) who need (sorry, I am sounding like a psychiatrist) to both declare that their choice is better than the alternative and seek others who will back their choice also. You see this in sports also and it ties into basic competitive and status drives. As someone else pointed out you see if when people declare that their car (brand x) is excellent another car (brand y) is a piece of crap they wouldn’t trust with their lives. Yet both cars can sell well, review well and have many happy drivers.
I know what I like in terms of preference and I accept that others might disagree. So while I sort of like Halo it’s far from being the best FPS in my opinion. Because I also have strong critical faculties I can appreciate elements of the game separately from the game itself.
To use films as an analogy, I can watch a film, dislike it, but have the critical faculty to see the lead performance was nonetheless excellent (judged independently from the film as a piece of acting) as was the cinematography (also judged separately). Not everyone does this, and not everyone has too either (before anyone things I’m preaching).
So can I dislike a game but see the art direction is good? Or the AI is actually pretty impressive? Sure. Can I prefer a PS3 because its capabilities suit me better than a 360 and still see the positive elements of a 360 separately, sure.
Doesn’t mean everyone has too. Many people see a film or a game as a whole and judge it accordingly. They have no interest in looking at the textures separate from the game, or the set design separate from the film.
Personally, all I ask is a certain level of politeness in how you position your opinions and that people prevent their ‘passion’ for their team, console, game, etc. from spilling over into abusive attitudes.
Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...
