It is basically an (expanded) expansion pack. That's what it was initially designed as. That's not a bad thing in itself. It is most definitely not poorly designed or lacking in vision, though. The levels are some of my favorite in the series (the streets remind me of my own city) and the atmosphere, while different from the previous two games, is still on a pretty high-level of its own.
As a main entry in the series, being an expanded expansion pack is bad thing. That's what I would expect from a spin-off.
As for the levels, I loved the atmosphere and how open it all seemed at the beginning, but a great portion of the game seems the result of someone messing around with a level editor. The lack of compelling characters and situations results in just you running around, mindlessly shooting at things, contextless. Just look at the section with the trolley puzzle, where you just go back and forth and the game just tosses a few more zombies at you every time you pass certain areas. Still fun to play, but it could have been much better. In fact, some parts of the game are much better for this very reason.
How is Nemesis going after S.T.A.R.S. dumb? The point of B.O.W.s was that they could be ordered to act out certain commands and accomplish certain objectives. Nemesis isn't being used to "distract" you, he's being used to keep you on your toes. It's fine if you don't like the theme of the game, but don't make things up to try and justify it. That's just poor.
Think about the xenomorphs in Alien or the white shark in Jaws and why they are scary. They are scary because they are powerful, uncontrollable and merciless predators. Same for zombies or any other similar creature. You can't reason with them. Nothing kills the sense of fear from such a creature than taking from them what makes them scary in the first place.
B.O.W.s should be used to wreck havok and they should be dangerous. not some remote controlled military toy.
You can't be mad at a game for not living up to what you made up in your head. That's like being mad at not being given a sword so you can play it like Onimusha (which would have been awesome).
First, I'm not mad at it, just disappointed. I still think the game is pretty enjoyable, visually amazing and has a great soundtrack. Some parts of it are among the best on the system.
I'm not disappointed at the game for not living up to something I made up in my head, either. I'm disappointed that it has such wasted potential and because it could have been much better with just a few changes and a little extra attention. Mikami and Kamiya could have done a much better job than Aoyama in that sense.
You're upset that it turned out to have the same essential game design as all other classic REs? Huh.
Just because it has similar elements, it doesn't mean it has the same quality. Plenty of examples.