I have just defeated Laiken and got my dragon form (keep dying though so have to practise!) so I have played the game long enough to form some opinions. I have read many reviews, and I am puzzled by the fact that some reviewers rate the game highly and others not so. I LOVE this game. It has all the elements of a fantasy RPG that we want: dragons, wizards, goblins, trolls, bandits.... even a wizard with a pointy hat (ha, ha! - that's meant to be FUNNY, not a "tired cliche") Which brings me on to the humour in this game. It's hilarious. It's the only game in which I have read every book I find. That was one of the things I loved about Baldur's Gate 1 & 2. It's the reason why I was slightly disappointed with Dragon Age Origins. Alistair's awkward self-depricating humour is a bit embaressing compared to the unrestrained silliness and fun of, say, Mincs in the BG games. Who can forget the Gnolls in Baldur's Gate with their growled threats: "Die, scum, wooof!" and the Flaming Fist guards telling you to "Keep moving, scum". An RPG which doesn't take itself seriously - what a treat! Developers remember this: If you make us laugh we will love you and give you all of our money.
Maybe I am just lucky, but after a few crashes with the game, I have had no technical issues at all. Since I installed the latest patch, my game has been as smooth as silk and if I do find that my character goes jerky (usually after I come out of the pub, heh, heh!), I just save, exit and reload. Problem solved!
The scenery is spectacular, I would rate it better than Oblivion, which, after a while got a bit same-y. Morrowind was probably the best game for variety of landscape, but that is now an old game, so technically can't be compared with this game. This is one of the reasons why I am glad there is no respawn. After you have cleared an area, you get to explore in peace and quiet (chase some rabbits!) I remember getting really irritated with comstantly having to kill attacking cliff racers in Morrowind. (Morrowind is still a BRILLIANT game, though!)
I like the voice acting in this game. On this score, it beats Dragon Age Origins, which struck me as being too self-conscious. I like the VARIETY of voices and the lines are delivered with confidence and obvious pleasure. Oscars all round, I think!
All too often, games are slated by reviewers for not being innovative (same as last time....) but in my opinion Larian has scored a double hit here by including ALL the elements that fantasy RPG players want (don't ever alienate your core fan- base!), but also giving their fans some new elements that other developers must wish they'd thought of: the ability to turn into a Dragon, the chance to build yourself a creature from discarded body parts (waste not, want not!) not to mention references to Eleanor of Aquitaine (married Henry II of England. son= Richard the Lionheart) on Sentinel Island. If anyone has spotted any other historical references, please point them out.
I think some reviewers have been sloppy in their task. They didn't pay this game enough attention and missed all the fun.
