wow, what a game! the controls are tight and precise, the weapons include some of my favorites of the franchise so far, and it had several jokes that actually made me laugh aloud. there are a couple of things that i didn't like even if they weren't enough to dampen the experience as a whole.

the sixaxis motion control gimmicks are okay. i don't feel strongly about them one way or the other, with the exception of the tornado launcher. sometimes the camera gets funky with it and i ended up wasting an entire shot because i could not manage to get it under control by the time it disappeared. the space shooter segments weren't as dynamic as the ones from RAC 2. these are more like on-rails shooters. i wasn't really a fan of having a boss at the end of each one. it does suffer quite strongly from the RAC power creep in which early weapons become glorified pea shooters against the stronger enemies later in the game.

these are simply nitpicks and it didn't stop me from having a fantastic time with the game. maybe tara strong's character will get more screen time in the next one? it felt like a missed opportunity to cast one such a legendary voice actor and not use her more.

more heart and soul has been poured into this game than many games nowadays, and even some of the later entries in this franchise. the levels are interesting and varied, the writing is pretty good--with the exception of the arc after the protagonists change objectives--and the characters are likeable. it's difficult overlooking the somewhat sluggish controls, especially if you come to this from a more modern game in the franchise. the lack of a strafe button makes fighting some enemies a little burdensome. regardless, this was a fine start to one of my favorite franchises.