The characters are very interesting, and very interactive. I did find, at first, a little overwhelmed trying to control 4 characters at once (although once an aspiring DM, I found quickly that I am not the best at multitasking battles with multiple characters).
Then I remembered the pause button.
Now some might consider it 'cheating'. I simply use it so I can then direct every character and give their actions the attention needed, as if they were my sole character. It does make the battles much more interesting, and I find the coordination makes a huge difference in the outcome. Not to mention I am starting to get some very kewl screenshots.
Zone's are rather large, and zone transitions are not outrageously long. I'm not sure how it will be on line, but they are not any worse than say EQ or WoW.
I am curious to see if there will be a great deal of lag with these larger zones. I can't imagine anyone would ever be playing these with a dial-up connection.
All the characters are about 8th level now, and I think I've only been wiped once. Needless to say the battles are not very awe inspiring, or very challenging for that matter, at this point. At this level, you still have to be smart about your decisions, or you will quickly find yourself in trouble.
Making decent gold, and there is quite an abundance of mythical and magical gear and weaponry to choose from. I think it may even be more than Hala!
I still have yet to do much crafting, but I will dabble in that soon enough.
I'm already planning a second character to go through the campaign with a bit darker lilt, to see how it affects the game.
Still haven't ventured into the toolset yet. I'm having too much fun watching the story unfold to want to bother with that just yet.
