Taramoor--You're not the only one. I lost about half my weekend to PN03.
Having finally played it myself for a substantial amount of time, I can see how the old school game comparisons become valid. I think many had the impression that this would be a standard third person shooter ala Tomb Raider or Devil May Cry. This game can't be further from that.
The restraints put on you from the Resident Evil controls is both the bane and treasure of this game. Gamers have despised the RE controls for years, which has factored into some of the really bad reviews of this game. On the other hand, the control structures the gameplay into something that there really does seem old school. You must memorize enemy movements to dodge attacks and also rack up combos (where the big points are). And since you have to buy your continues and power ups with those points, the game further forces you to refine your play. You need to master the gameplay so you can use those points on power ups rather than continues.
The game obviously has an unpolished look and can become monotonous, but I can't fault the developers for that. I remember hearing that the games in the Capcom 5 (except RE 4) were to be produced with low budgets in mind so that the developers have a little more room to experiment. There are still some things that could have been fleshed out, but overall I find the experince satisfying.
I hope that we do get a sequel that is more polished and features more variations in locale and more moves for Vanessa. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening soon if not ever. Reviewers have slammed the game really bad in the US (reviews in Europe and Japan seem to support more of my view). Again, I think reviewers were expecting something bigger in scope with ultra polish and Zelda-Tomb Raider-DMC kind of adventure. In reality the game is a small scale project with an emphasis on conceptual gameplay (much like the new shooters coming out of Japan today such as Ikaruga or the shooters that Crave make).
I didn't think the game would do well as something to attract the casual gamers, but I do have high hopes from the more dedicated GameCube users. However, scores of 5s are going to scare people away. However, don't be afraid guys--rent it at least.