Wanted to give my initial impression for those who, like me, hadn't really had this game on their radar until its recent U.S. release. I realize there's a current LP on it, too, but I'm sure it's full of spoil.
Overall this strikes me as a lite RPG, very clean, and just above merely amusing.
It has some depth of character development in the form of your talents and various levels of special skills available, but there's no other customization involved at the beginning. You choose your archetype, adjust some values to your liking, name him or her, then go. Somewhat disappointing, since good RPG's should never skimp on these things.
Dialog is mediocre so far. I like how everyone can be conversed with, and key conversations do a tasteful zoom in to the NPC, but not as "dramatically" as you-know-what. The translation seems okay as well, although there are a few slip ups in grammar I've noticed already.
Combat is fun. Very similar to NWN2 yet a little simpler and not too clunky. Basically it's stand and swing, but there are less penalties involved for moving in combat it seems so there's less of a deathlock in place once you engage. I don't think The Dark Eye rules include anything like an Attack of Opportunity. It's still early for me, though, so I have yet to formulate an overall opinion on the combat.
The interface is almost identical to NWN2's. I hate the fact that there's no hotkey equivalent for movement mode (walk, run, sneak) but I've managed to adapt. I also wish NPC following distance were a little closer, but it's a nice touch that they mimic your actions when exploring. Makes sneaking up on bears in caves a little easier. Having lots of hotkey rows is nice, but the fact that their icons are all quite large, even when running in 1920x1200 is a bit retarded.
Graphics are a cross between NWN2 and WoW. Clean, as I said, and smooth. Very smooth. It's great that the U.S. boxed release already has the high-res texture pack integrated, and everything cranked to max even with 4X antialiasing barely dents FPS.
Sound is nice, and the music is enjoyable. Had to adjust volume levels to hear conversations better, but it's mostly written dialog (TEH READING IS HARD) and I like that.
As long as the story gets better and the environments don't get recycled too often, this looks like it's going to be an enjoyable game. The contrast between the apparent yet somewhat limited character development depth and the ease of play are a pleasant mix which leaves me looking forward to playing more. Certainly not a chore to get into, and it's not insulting to the player's intelligence to invest the time.
Anyone still reading this, please answer this question if possible: I'm a little unsure about main attribute advances. Talents are obviously easy to increase since they take so few points. But your STR, etc., takes hundreds of points to advance: does this mean that one must specifically save the points when leveling up in order to "afford" those costly upgrades later? Same goes for special skills. Thanks.
