IMHO, it could be compared the most with NWN, but the combat actually is a LOT better (again, IMHO).
Combat could be good if there would be options to disable AI control over party and to change difficulty level. So far I manage to win almost every fight without giving any orders when playing a soldier. It's different when playing an elementalist, but only little - what I have to do is summon a creature every 6 minutes and use one offensive spell all the time. What is strange, I find it almost impossible to lose all mana (or whatever it is called in the game) - regeneration is just to quick and battles are rather short.
Dialogues may be decently written and sometimes interesting stories are told in them, but they lack interaction. The only choices present are fake choices between doing the quest or saying something like "I'm very, very sorry, I'm sure it's important problem for you, but I just don't have time." - yes, the main character is always a pussy that is genetically unable to be rude, my first plan was to play an evil wizard - that was a fail!
Anyway, despite this two huge flaws, I'm having some fun with the game although I don't think I'll manage to finish it - probably I will get bored before if combat won't become much more difficult.
Other thoughts:
- crafting is interesting,
- the way game mechanics are described is a pure madness - some examples of spells effects (in Polish);
1. WD, WA, WP, WU każde -(BZ)/3, ODW, SPR, INT każde -(BZ)/3
2. Obrażenia 2K6 + BZ PO, koszt PO w PAs, min. 5 PAs.
Manual mentions about 50 such abbreviations. Unfortunately, they aren't listed alphabetically. It wouldn't be a problem if the game was using standard RPG abbreviations (maybe it's only a problem of Polish version).
- it's advertised as a "hardcore RPG". I really don't know what does it mean because even Fo3 is far better at c&c and focusing on playing a role.
BTW can anybody explain why is it available in Poland and not in English spoken countries while Polish version uses English dubbing?