it suceeds on some, fails on others.
Gameplay:its a mix of platforming you might relate to it if you played prince of persia even if this is alot clunky. and shooter using a variety if limited selection of firearms from standard assualt rifles, sniper, cannon etc. the platforming is good purely from the size of the enviroment you climb in, the level design is great with multiple path and ways to go through the level you do end up in some linear sections but thats expected most of the times. only time level design dissapoints is in the driving section its just a bland path maybe riding along the wall for a bit only real tense part was when you drive through incoming fire from cannons even then that could of been dealt with more better execution, main problem with driving section is there is no weight to the vechicle which while its fast fails due to poor driving segments. the shooting mechanics work but not amazingly satisfying possibly from the camera angle but the verticality of it saves it from shooting anywhere the way you want, take them from top go ahead, go straight in or flank its up to you. AI is what fails somewhat while there is some smart AI (had to go through half the section of level to catch one) alot are pure dumb or just dead.
Presentation: you can tell it was built from the unreal engine and has alot of gears of war interface, the main menu is dark and moody but has abit too similar feel to gears of war, hell even achievements/ trophies are almost the same (single player). the story while its somewhat interesting at first the steampunk feels more of a gimmick during a uninteresting plot so don't expect much, the cutscenes are also meh it has stiff animations and not very appealing,
Graphics: it has an amazing draw distance and has some nice clean textures in some areas, there are some rough textures particularly driving segments looking terrible. the steampunk feel is ok but other than the weapons and characters you can't tell wheather there supporting steampunk or not. but in all its good.
lasting appeal: this game is quite long when they said the level could end up being 3 hours long they were not joking, however due to some loading and there execution of cutscenes makes it feel much more smaller in scope even when its not. the first act is the shortest then it picks up. it has 3 difficulties (what a surprise more gears style) easy being casual then hardcore then insane. there are also collectables, with trophies the game also has co-op to extend it online or split-screen and also online with all verticality intacted . my router has been messing up lately not letting me play gamespy powered games (message me a suggestion to help me get through this annoyance of online) so as of this time of review i was not able to go on it. playtime is about 10-15 hours varies i wasn't timing it
overall: it has some flaws but also an enjoyable ride its certainly worth a rent for a change in pace to the generic shooters out now. if you can handle polishing issues it should be fun ride for you.