You don't even need to play it twice. Just play it once and pay attention to the perks you get.
No doubt it's great to play it more than once and see all the possible outcomes, but that isn't necessary to see that C&C is the touchstone here.
Yeah, I hear ya. Overall, the game is not as horrible as it is made to seem and the C&C was great imo.
Honestly, I don't think all the reviewers finished one complete playthrough. I think they hated the combat/graphics/anims/etc. enough to quit around Saudi Arabia or about half-way through. Personally, I wouldn't play a game I hated either just to finish it, but they are getting paid to play. So... imo, that's why some reviews focus more on the technical stuff and say little to nothing about the C&C.
@pmp10
Glad to hear gamespot played it twice, but I don't think that was the norm. I can understand why people hate AP, but I think a lot of reviews skimmed over the C&C and focused more on the combat, etc. I would have liked more... "the C&C suck/are great and here is why..." Since choice was the game's tag-line after all.