Not as bad as they say... but it isnt particularly super either.
Good points:
Classic Spyro platforming, levels are cartoony and colourful, new breath moves are neat, different levels and modes such as races, puzzles and shooters, not very hard, game has a nice feel to it.
Bad Points:
Loading times are extremely painful, graphics aren't overwhelming, voice acting isn't that good, sounds very cliched and out of time to character that's speaking the lines, pathetic background tracks loop over and over, did i say painful loading times? nothing really super cool and new added, awfully uninspired story. Frame rate is amazingly UNSTABLE. Gameplay not very smooth.
Glitches:
Very odd but sometimes when you charge a pot containing Gems, Spyro just runs right through it like a ghost or something.
The frame rate can change in a matter of seconds from 60 FPS, to 30 FPS, to 15 FPS and this is very unforgivable and strange...
A very bad glitch, when speaking with characters, there is a very slight chance the game will be frozen dead, completely frozen, immobilised until you have to reset the PS2 and you probably wouldn't have saved your progress...
Bottom Line:
I don't recommend this game but it is worth a rental if you wanna check it out. Looking for a 3D platformer? If so, look elsewhere. Try sly cooper. If you are a devoted Spyro fan this game may provide some good, entertaining gameplay. You should be able to forgive the glitches and the minor problems but the loading times just have to be dealt with. A minigame during load times would be a splendid idea. But this game is still a good game. It's not bad by any means. It's just not overwhelming.