Despite all it's faults and repetitions, this is one of the best horror games ever made. As far as the executions, they're not nearly as powerful out of context.
Definitely underrated. It's almost like any medium that uses violence to tell a story, or to any effect, is immediately at risk of being torn to pieces by moral crusaders, regardless of context or actual quality. The sound design alone in this game is far superior to most of what you see today.
It had great execution (pun haha) for its atmosphere and plot. Gameplay was simple and got too easy but you could find ways to make it interesting. A few of my friends and I had fun for a while with this one.