That article resonates with my thoughts about the game. When I saw it at E3 2012 I thought this will be a game that looks great AND it has a new idea that seems cool and it's not heavily based on shooting. The hero was supposed to be a hacker that through his skills get access to the CTOS and get the power associated with it. Of course he will need also a gun, but he was not supposed to be Machete. Maybe it's just the trailer. Even the story seems less interesting now.
I completely agree. Aside from the graphics having been scaled down A LOT, it also appears to have been dumbed down.
It's all about sales; games in which you need to think don't appeal to the lowest common denominator. Shooting guns is about as simple a concept as possible, which is why games that revolve around shooting have such a broad audience.