I just finished this game, having picked it up almost 12 years after its release.
I absolutely loved it. Like the other reviews say, the atmosphere, characters, music, cut scenes and story are great. The voice actors...OMG the voice actors...!!! Patrick Stewart is amazing as always, and the others are not to be missed. Even with 12-year-old graphics, this game stands the test of time, at least for me.
It's a hack-and-slash, light on combos, but it feels like a lot more. The fight sequences may be repetitive at times, but there are also some encounters that literally made my jaw drop. I wish I could say the end fight was the best, but, while it's good, it's not THE best. So I knocked off a star. (Maybe I shouldn't have...it's hard to compete with the middle!)
I definitely got a sense of a bond being forged between these three unexpected allies. It was great to be able to command three separate characters outside a turn-based game. Zhai reminds me a lot of Bloodrayne, which I don't mind one bit. As for limited character customization, I didn't mind. The characters are already written, and written well. I think in this game, the writing works better than, say, talent trees would.
Yes, it's short. But it's a nice one to revisit, just like re- reading the books.
As for actual replay value, I'm going to go confirm that right now, on a higher difficulty setting. Good thing the original Xbox only came with wired controllers...can't throw them too far, and the first time through was hard enough! :D
Highly recommended. 8 1/2 out of 10.