This game does not deserve its cult fame. The story line makes no sense; the characters can't even decide on the protagonist's name (Jade, Shawnee, etc.). She's also a photographer who lives in a tree with her mechanic uncle who's a pig.... I don't get it. That leaves game play. It seems like they never really settled on a genre for this game; the result is a mishmash of mechanics, none of which feels particularly compelling. You take photos of creatures, fight enemies, play gambling minigames, race hovercraft and stealth around enemies. It sounds cool, but the game is heavily modal and you are only doing one of these things at a time. If you're in a stealth section, you can't choose to fight, race, etc. You fail the level if you get seen. So you are forced to in essence play a bunch of poorly thought out and disjointed sequences where the controls are completely different from what you have played so far. Gross. There is nothing to recommend this game - the music is bad, the tone of the game is cartoonish nonsense (eventhough the plot of the game is ostensibly serious, the controls are awkward, the walking isn't polished. It's an extremely linear game, there are shops and mini games you can play in the cities which are meant to give the illusion of choice, but it turns out that they are all required in order to complete the mission. The last boss fight is a ridiculous homage to metal gear solid - ooo! backwards controls! And the ending of the story is equally unsatisfying.
