Yes, the story and gameplay got unbelievably lame toward the end. Kind of like all the gothics, so it was what I was expecting, but still, I'd like to see them learn to take it up to 11 near the end to leave us with a better lasting impression. The
I've always been of the opposite opinion about combat in these games. It's not spectacular, but it gets the job done, and it's really more about character strength than player skill. The game is balanced such that it works, if you are struggling to kill something, its more likely that your not a high enough level than that the combat system is messed up. Groups is the same way. I can usually take on a group of about 3 enemies if they are all a few levels below me, and it wasnt long before I was just running into wolf packs and cleaning them up. But if you have to work to take down a single enemy, a group of them is going to kill you.
You made a good point about targetting though. The combat would feel much better if it were more like zelda, where the targeting is to help you aim, while the damage is calculated based on where your sword actually hits. This is probably the main issue people have with gothic/risen combat, though as I mentioned above, I feel the games are well balanced around this system.