If you can't get past the first level of Ecco, then I don't think you can really say it's a bad game. The first stage is a tutorial of sorts (granted, a very short one). Just jump high enough into the air (I know it took me a few tries before I finally understood how to get the height necessary) like Eclipsed did and then you can progress. The second and third levels are when you start to get into the swing of things.
Personally, I love Ecco the Dolphin for the unique concept, the music (Megadrive and PC versions), and the puzzles along the way. But I will say this: it's a very difficult game. I've only been able to complete it on Easy. Normal is too hard for me. Also, what ruined the Dreamcast/PS2 "Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future" was a notorious lack of helpful hints. The PS2 version made some hints less vague, but it still wasn't enough. Plus, for some reason it was very easy to get lost in that game. So maybe you're experiencing some of that not-helpful stuff in this game. I know there's a part later in the game where you have to "sing" to progress, but it isn't immediately obvious what that means. If you're playing the Megadrive/PC version, you'll see a cutscene that demonstrates it.
IGN's opinion of Ecco was that it was a game thrown out there to bide the time until the next Sonic game, but that now it doesn't have much purpose (maybe IGN thinks other games have done what it does better. Well, I don't see any other dolphin games).
I know that Ecco is very frustrating at times, but give it a chance, that first level is really short. Also, have you heard of trivial dialogue? Doesn't progress the story but is supposed to give more life to the characters? I don't think the trivial dialogue helps much here since none of the dolphins are worth remembering (certain other sea creatures are an exception because there's only one of them), but it's there nonetheless.
I wonder how many people called Myst the worst game they ever played because they didn't know what to do or how to play it. I heard the developers placed the note on the ground just to provide clueless gamers a hint on what to do, but I guess even that wasn't enough.
