I don't really want to read too much about the game at this stage, as I prefer going into it without spoiling anything. So I can't comment on your thoughts quite yet.
All I can say after around 10 hours with it, is that it's very, very good. I'm enjoying it much more than I expected - and I think the game shows a lot of love and care. Probably my favorite Obsidian game so far, and it's refreshingly polished and bug-free.
I was honestly expecting a straight-up fan-service game made with little more love and attention than they needed to pull off a nostalgia-driven trip down memory lane. I'm glad to be wrong about that.
The writing is great, though still a little too "much" for its own good - as I mostly prefer a more down-to-earth style, but it hasn't gone too far in the weird direction yet - and thankfully they've stayed away from "spirit-eater" mechanics as well. It's well written and the dialogues are strong.
Not a big fan of the over-the-top dream/past/whatever stuff that's all over the place. Perhaps a bit more subtlety and a bit less of it would have helped. But that's just me.
Can't say I'm too in love with the party NPCs yet, but at least they're not in-your-face Bioware style. They're decent and have just enough personality to make you remember them, but I've yet to see true stand-outs. Should be said, though, that I have two members of my own creation in my party.
I love the little RP sections where you get to make a few choices to hand-drawn depictions of what's going on. Lovely touch.
I'm enjoying the combat more than I feared, but that's largely because the game starts out with just you and another party member - and I've been able to slowly adjust to more and more members. On Hard, the challenge is just about perfect - and it requires me to position my fighters wisely - and I really like the engagement mechanic. I still hate that I can't customize my AI - and it's full of awkward moments where my guys stop attacking for strange reasons - with some walking back and forth because of messy pathfinding (better than the crappy IE pathfinding, though), and I can't see any excuse for not having, at least, basic AI setups with "stay ranged", "defend/tank", and stuff like that. But the actual combat mechanics are so enjoyable that I can adjust without too much irritation. It's cared for - and it feels like learning D&D all over again, which is wonderful for me - as I'm a big fan of discovering new systems.
The exploration is also just about perfect. There's a lot to find that's off the beaten path, and you get appropriate rewards for scouting and being thorough in your search for hidden stuff. There's already been a few little riddles and they haven't been complete pushovers, which is great.
Character classes all seem to have plenty of distinction and they really stepped up from the earlier betas when it comes to abilities. It seems to have more stuff to play with than 3rd Edition Core rules - provided you ignore multiclassing - which I didn't really expect. A very nice surprise for me.
The visuals are very good - and it's full of wonderful scenery detail. It's just really nice to look at - and the character animations are nicely done, and a big step up for Obsidian.
I'm enjoying the music - and I particularly liked that beach area tune. Can't remember the name right now, but it was very pleasant.
As mentioned, I'm missing the ability to multiclass - but it's less of a big deal because it's clearly a party-oriented game. But it would have added tremendously to replayability for me - as I tend to focus on new classes and builds for my replaying enjoyment.
Biggest omission, for me, is the lack of cooperative multiplayer, which even the first BG had. This could have been a fantastic game to play with a friend or two - and I think that's a big missed opportunity.
You can't have it all, I guess.
Overall, it's a very strong game for fans of the genre - and it's sure to be a big hit with the Watch - but I guess you already know that.
It all depends on how it holds up over time - and if it can stay interesting and challenging. If so, it could become a true classic - and might even best BG for me.
