So I just noticed this little blog on the FUME concept by Swen Vincke.
http://www.lar.net/2013/10/28/fume/So I thought I'd rate D:OS according to that rubric.
Universe - 95/100
In the blog, Swen says that motivation to develop your character doesn't have to be from story, it can be from "item fever," as Diablo does it. Well, in much the same way, having an interesting, diverse game world you care about doesn't have to be from story either, but can be from fantastically detailed level design which makes you love a setting for its beauty. D:OS uses this as its primary method, and backs it up with some significant story elements as well.
Motivation - 75/100
Despite the powerful impact of the universe, there were parts of the story - particularly those parts occurring at the End of Time - which actually demotivated me from wanting to continue the quest. I had a moment where I was thinking to myself "forget destiny! let's go fishing." Which would have been awesome, if the fishing rods actually let you fish. This, combined with the game starting off strong and finishing much weaker in comparison, leads to a wall of boredom in the mid-to-late-game, which is somewhat difficult for the player to overcome.
Freedom - 90/100
I think in terms of being a "good player" and progressing along the plot, D:OS does an excellent job with freedom, perhaps offering too much freedom for certain things like stealing stuff while invisible (breaking with realism). But in terms of just milling around and enjoying the universe in ways which do not progress the plot, it's pretty easy to get bored. Like I mentioned earlier: no fishing. There should be more pointless things to do in the game, simple timekillers, which is why the freedom score isn't higher. Otherwise, it's excellent.
Enemies - 80/100
I actually rather enjoyed the character of Leandra, don't get me wrong there. Some of her more personal minions, such as Death Knights, were also very cool additions to the game. Cassandra's also amazing. However, in terms of the general foes which you face, especially in the latter half of the game, things just aren't varied enough, the combat is too blah. There's not enough threat in a Dread Orc Shaman to make it feel like a boring rehash of the Orc Shamans you defeated easily much earlier in the game. So while you have some rather competently done main villains, everything in between feels like filler. I was actually rather astonished at how unimpressive it was to finally track down some demons for Jahan's benefit -- with the companion providing a buildup to demon-hunting, it should be a more epic fight when you actually face them.
Overall: 85.
I'm a pretty harsh grader, though. And whenever I find anything that scores a 95 in any area, even if it's a narrow one, it compels my attention. A single 95 subscore is more interesting than a 90 aggregate, because the 95 is harder to achieve -- and improving a 75 is easy. The "U score" is why I hang around here; it's why I'm a fan of this game.
