They're trying something new and interesting. How is that a bad thing? Kaine still has untold depths to his character that could be explored. Ben Reilly was great, but he lived a hero and died a hero. What's cool about this new series is that Kaine is not a hero yet, and this series will be about him finding redemption as much as being on the road.
Also, this is important. Ben Reilly is dead. I know comic book deaths are a joke nowadays, but a thousand wrongs doesn't make a right. Death should mean something and it's just getting cheapened all the time by characters being resurrected in oh-so convenient ways. The downfall of quality in mainstream Marvel and DC comics can really be traced at least in part to the glut of cheap resurrections over the last decade and a half. Death used to be shocking and moving in comics because it meant something. Now it doesn't mean a damn thing. So good for Marvel for working in the confines of continuity without retconning yet another great death.
What pissed me off as a Reilly fan after the saga ended, was Peter ignoring his brother and not mourning him. If Reilly's legacy is given respect and he's remembered in a dignified and meaningful way by Kaine and Peter (like Gwen), then I don't see what's so bad about this. This series seems very respectful towards Reilly fans, but at the same time not looking to retread old territory.