Updated impressions:
The game is starting to click with me despite the technical hiccups.
After a slow start trying not to lose Rico's teeth to a wall/rock/tree every time I used the wing suit , the games controls are starting to open up in a comfortable way to experiment at my own pace.
The story, although it's still a chore, is thankfully designed in way that requires you to go out and wreck havoc on your own to progress.
And that to me is smart, because it's what's been helping me get slowly acquainted with my own play style and the kicks I get out of playing a game like this.
This game is pure sandbox. Huge. You need to play well, and make shit happen, because it's not gonna set itself up for you. It's not press X to awesome because it takes a considerable amount of dexterity to coordinate a stylish sequence of destruction worthy of a Michael Bay movie.
And the share button is a blessing if you wanna bask in your skills. You'll be too busy in the zone to fully register what you just did, that's if you care about making it out of the wreckage unscathed and in style.
The gear mods are definitely set up so that you ease yourself into each new mechanic without overwhelming you. It took me forever to get my head around the reel in boost into wing suit alone.
It's all about emergent gameplay. Plain and simple. Yet, there's nothing rushing you or penalizing you for not falling in with a script. Which gives you breathing room to test out things you've discovered. Like this:
Sniper Nest Twist Off
Which I personally find fucking awesome and satisfying, but whether these little things justify the purchase and are enough to overlook the roughness right now, YMMV.
I really do hope Avalanche manages to iron out the kinks in the coming months. Hopefully sooner.
But, fwiw, I went from buyers remorse to satisfied in a short span.
So don't write this off on console just yet.