| First impressions are very good.
I wouldn't call it a master piece because I struggle with the camera, which I find cumbersome and counter intuitive. IMO none of the camera angles are very productive.
The combat system took a little while getting used to - but is fun enough, although it is made worse due to the bad camera. It is fast paced, yet still somewhat tactical - well somewhat - and with magic and alchemy.
Conversations are good most of the time, cut scenes while long and at occasions intrusive are well done and animated and you look forward to the next ones to progress the story.
Alchemy looks to be complex enough to provide a bit of fun, but still simple enough that you can pick it up fast enough, which seems to be the design idea for the game.
Quests so far looks to be pretty straight forward, at least I've not been stuck on any yet, but I'm only somewhere in chapter one still, despite having had a playing session for some 7 hours.
Leveling looks to be fast enough to keep interest, but again - being early in the game it could slow down dramatically as I reach higher. Don't know if there is a max level, but XP gain is not limited from what I've seen due to "dynamical" spawning monsters at certain spawn points (making it possible to grind if you want).
Also a number of options with leveling forces you to specialize a bit, which I like - I've always hated the "master of all trade" type games.
One place where I am a little disappointed is choice/consequence department, where for instance NPCs react a certain way, regardless of what "interactions" you had with them the night before, for instance. Meaning still the same dialog options before and after - would have been very nice with some changes in such situation to give the appearance of a much more dynamic world
However some places in the game looks to provide you with serious alternative choices, however as I've not replayed them yet, I do not know if they lead to different outcomes in the gameplay.
But overall - I like this game very much so far - despite the camera, and despite lacking a bit of choice/consequence dynamics. It is definately one of the better games I've played this year.
It is very good, and thus I voted very good. |