I watch the Vinesauce video of Vinny playing the game. The damn thing looks like an alpha build. I could see developers showing this to the suits on top thinking it was a solid start and being told to ship it. The foundation of a good game is there but it is total shit otherwise. It would explain why there is a placeholder image in the middle of one of the cut scenes.
When you're a kid you just don't have the frame of reference to know that gameplay can get better than what you're having. I still remember the games that I played (and loved playing) when I was a kid got really shat on the reviews when I tried looking it up on the internet.