Late to the party.. but:
I"m playing the Mage origin story (..though haven't progressed far), and for those who are also playing this:
..doesn't this "feel" like *Avencast*?
Of course the scope, map variations, in-game characters, etc. are all far more grand, but..
The interface, movement, spell-tree system, tutorial-like markers - are all remarkably similar. In some respects however, NOT as well done.
For instance the WASD movement doesn't have an intuitive feel, and the movement of the character is more "abrupt" and overall quite a bit less maneuverable. In particular the mouse doesn't work in conjunction with the keyboard, it's more of a poorly implemented "either mouse OR keyboard" system. I can't imagine how this works for fighter-types, but I suspect it isn't good. (..presumably it's better for consoles in this respect, perhaps closer to Jade Empire, which was just "OK" IMO.)
The Spell-tree system is like Avencast, and the various disciplines exceedingly similar to Spellforce (..though not dependent on finding spells).
I'm also pretty sure the graphics engine was created along-side Jade Empire, and yet there are some aspects of Jade Empire that were a little better - in particular some of the ground textures are relatively poor 2d "tiles" cobbles, stone block, and even dirt pathways look cheap, though they are interspersed with better varying terrain (..though note that Jade Empire *also* had some similar problems with textures). Distance views are similarly excellent with both games.
On the "plus-side" here, IF your system can handle Jade Empire then I think it's likely that it can handle this game.
..and yes, I've noted other aspects like the lack of day/night, etc.. that makes the game a little less compelling as well.
As far as story-line, plot, and characters.. Some good and some bad.
The stunningly obvious interracial conflict rip from the Witcher:
I haven't found it to be either as oppressive or as compelling as the Witcher - it's more like an "add-on". If you are interested in it presumably your interactions will have some bearing, but it isn't central to the game. You can simply "avoid" certain dialog choices, rather than constant pressure of being "sucked into" a conflict.
On the other hand the Templar/Mage thing is "original enough" AND is central to the story. It's oppressive enough, and yet has justifications for that oppression. IMO it is fairly compelling.
The various "named" characters (and there are many), are often generic, BUT they all seem to have their own personality - with dialog representative of their personality and background. Kudos here!
..well anyway - just some cursory opinions.
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