Not nearly as bad as the Gamespot review would imply. Complete the training missions, and most problems are solved.
Yes, I think it was a horrible oversight or miscalculation by Factor 5 to not include an option to use the thumbsticks rather than the motion controls. Still, if you take maybe a half hour completing the training missions, you will find that controlling flight is really not as difficult as it at first seems. Something the Gamespot reviewer obviously didn't do. As long time gamers, we have grown accustomed to a certain way of controlling our games, and this is a wide departure from that, but that does not mean the game is subpar. Personally, after maybe a half to a full hour of playing, I do not find flight control to be a problem at all and the game is so beautifully presented it is worth at least renting. Many, if not a majority of, people will find this to be a completely fulfilling game.
This is a game the will certainly be hit or miss, but give it a chance and you just may find that you've found one of the better games available on the PS3....or, you could be unable to accept this foriegn new step in gaming evolution, and absolutely hate it. It is not a deficiency in the gamer that dislikes this game, only a matter of preference.