Take the quest with the sword in the Ivory Labyrinth for example. You are told that there is a sword you can find and bring it back to the apparition NPC to lay it to rest (possibly geting a reward too). You just find the sword on the first creature three rooms next to the apparition. That's it. Nothing like gathering bits of info where the sword might be, depending on whom you kill the sword would be hidden, lost, or on somebody else, or even destroyed. That it could become cursed if you took it by force, or sainted if you had won it by diplomacy, or that you could use it to cleanse the heart of the Angel saving him etc... Nada. Just kill the creature and bring back the sword or screw the apparition NPC and keep the sword. Meh.
Next example. Crazy druid close to the village. You meet a crazy druid. You can leave him be or kill him (wow, you've a choice here actually, gooood D
Later on, you can get back, and sort of capture the druid with an NPC from Drezen. That's it. Where's the story of the druid tied to the evil that's lurking within the village? Where's looking for the druid's cave and finding his diary, allowing you to bring the druid back to sanity IF you also have a spell/scroll (dialogue use) or a healer in the party? The Druid would then help you to reason with the insane Mayor, and together you'd banish the evil Entity. Possibly after two more little errands (I need some special herbs, kill the monsters that lurk close to my herb-grove aka different map on the world, go search for it...).
...four more approaches to this quest depending on how you did on 2 more maps closely tied to the village... Depending on how you've listened to what the villagers say. Depending on whether you've helped the poor Deirdre to get in terms with her deceased lover or not etc.... No, this game presents you the village-where-something's-not-quite-right, and the next thing you know, you are fighting the Evil Entity without even much talking to anybody. This is an appaling approach to RPG setting. The game should at the very least DENY you the possibility of barging inside the Mayor's hall prior to your party building up a reputation inside the village or some such. For example: Help three villagers, one is a tricky one. Mayor would possibly grant you an audience, or meet you at the centre of the village - if you've done the tricky villager mini-quest. And even then you'd not be able to continue the main village-quest-line; you'd first need to go back to the mad druid stuff first.