I remember this being mostly panned way back, but I always had mild interest in it, and when it was $5 on PSN several years ago, I decided to take the plunge. I'm glad I did because that was great! Being more narratively-focused, it does have some interactive and pacing issues when not engaged in combat.
I agree 100%, people gave this game too much flak. It was a little short, and I'd probably be unhappy if I had spent $60 and was expecting uncharted 3 levels of quality and length, but it's not a bad game.