Out of curiosity -- where do you live and do the shops there not have decent returns/rentals policies? Because while I understand why so many people will want to be cautious, there's really very little risk these days given a lot of shops take games back no questions asked (or at least here in the UK, and we used to be backward about this for years). How much is a rental, a few bucks there?
I mean, these reviews are by people who have mostly played through the game to the end, and while may not know every nook, have a better idea of what the game is like than most of us who have played the odd level or worse, not played it at all and judged the game on screens or movies. And even then, it's just opinion.
If you can take advantage of a trial/rental scheme (and over here they rent out machines too, so I'm presuming the US does) then play the game for a while yourself and decide. Why fight others about it online? The only way you're going to know if its worth your while is if you take a relatively small plunge.
At worst you've only spent a few bob that you prob pay usually getting to work in the morning
C.