Sometimes it's better to judge a book by its cover.
Right from the opening cutscene, you can tell that this game is destined to fail. The actresses who played the Angels are back to reprise their respective roles, but they do so with almost no effort, as if they knew in advance that this game was worthless. Charlie is voiced by a sound-alike, who does a decent job. However, Bosley's sound-alike is embarrassingly bad, sounding nothing like Bernie Mac. It's enough to make you cringe. The cutscenes don't look all that good, either. The lip-synching job is awful, and the Angels look oddly happy, almost possessed. Although the character models are basic, they're at least passable.
However, the in-game graphics are atrocious. The character models are drawn with as little detail as possible, and the Angels look nothing like their real-life counterparts anymore. Surprisingly, they sound even worse than they look. Whenever an Angel finishes a combo, she emits this ear-piercing screech from Hell, and the grunts they make when they take damage aren't so hot, either. Natalie's is especially bad, sounding like a disappointed moan one might make if they lost an online auction, or something. It sounds horribly out of place, and just like the screech, you must listen to it again and again and again. Conversely, the one-liners they occasionally deliver are some of the most unenthusiastic zingers in voice-over history.
Actually playing the game only causes more suffering. The gameplay is painfully derivative, offering nothing more complicated than beating up random enemies, and pressing a button. Sometimes you'll have to use a computer. Sometimes you'll have to open a door. Sometimes you won't even have to fight enemies; you start right next to the button. If you somehow get lost, you can use the guide arrow on the bottom of the screen, but good luck understanding that mess. The arrow is completely worthless. It jerks around constantly, pointing at random directions. At one point, the arrow was aimed straight up, when my objective was five feet to the left of me. Yeah...
The biggest obstacle to your success is the camera. When you're in one area fighting random enemies, it does the job. However, when you're moving, the camera is a nightmare. It's just as jerky as the arrow, and will snap to the worst angles at the worst times. It's always fun to run up a flight of stairs, only to have the camera snap to a random angle, and run straight down those same stairs. To add salt to the wounds, you get no control over the camera. Also, the ladder climbs are needlessly long, with the first one taking about thirty seconds (yes, I actually timed it).
The actual enemies that populate the game are terrible. For some reason, this game doesn't settle with generic soldier enemies; you fight some of the most random enemies imaginable. For example, in the Grand Canyon stage, you must fight a guy in a grey camouflage shirt, Fidel Castro, this dude in a zebra jumpsuit, and what look like members of a pit stop crew. Fighting these enemies is no fun, since they absolutely refuse to put up any kind of a fight. The only real challenge comes from off-screen enemies chucking hand grenades at you. The boss fights are even more simplistic, since it's a one-on-one fight. Sometimes, if you're lucky, the bosses drop extra lives. Of course, the mission ends as soon as the boss is defeated, so...you know...you can't get it.
You would think that killing these enemies would at least deliver some sort of satisfaction, however small, but no, this game a pure button masher. You can breeze through this game in 4-5 hours by simply punching repeatedly. As always, Mr. Invisible Barrier is here to block your path until all enemies are defeated. Most of the time, the enemies are waiting to greet you, but occasionally, you'll be running through the level, only to slam into an invisible barrier, where you must sit there and wait for the enemies to appear. Sometimes, they come from off-screen. Sometimes, they jump off buildings. Sometimes, they simply fall from the sky. The action doesn't even look cool. The Angels are equipped with boring, generic fighting styles, and you'll see the same three moves over and over again. When you kill enough enemies, you get to use Angel Time. I haven't the slightest idea what it does.
The overall storyline is pretty bad. Apparently, some guy stole the Statue of Liberty (among other things), and it's your job to find and arrest him, but you don't actually feel as if you're making progress towards your goal. When you press the final button of the level, it simply ends. You get a score count, and then you're back at HQ. The levels are so disjointed, that you'll have no idea what's happening (nor will you care). This is especially true in the Castle level. You start off outside the castle, fighting such fearsome opponents as Green Parka Man, Construction Worker Man, Olive Hoody Man, Beige Hoody Man, Tuxedo Man, etc. Then you finally get to the top of the castle, and you see a bunch of purple cars parked on the roof. Then you run across the roof, and then the mission is over, but not really, since the next mission begins at that same spot. Then you back inside the castle, and then, all of a sudden, you're in a cave. I don't understand it, and I've stopped trying.
From a technical standpoint, this game is an utter failure. The frame-rate is a disaster, dropping frames every chance it gets. Sometimes you'll get stuck in an invisible wall, and have to sit there and wait for the enemies to come in range, so you can attack them. The animations are either very stiff, or very silly, with a running animation that looks like robot out for a morning jog. The background music also has a tendency to restart randomly, and this is definitely noticeable.
I don't want to spoil the ending, but I will tell you that it is one of the worst, most unsatisfying endings I have ever seen. Do yourself a favor, and say "no" to Charlie's Angels.