The voice acting is incredibly annoying, but it's also charming in a way. The only reason it's an issue is because your "pawns" talk constantly, pointing out everything from enemies to the wonderful smell of the ocean, always in short single sentences.
The gameplay is awsome. It's an action game at heart, but there are times when you can really feel the party-based combat coming through, and those times also highlight the strategic elements hidden within the combat. I say the strategic elements are hidden because of another glaring issue with the game, which is the fact that you cannot control your minions to nearly the extent you would want to, especially given the plot element that explains them as hollow shell-beings meant to serve you.
There's also the fact that you can climb a flying griffin omg omg omg.
My favorite part of the game, although it is not a determining factor in the ultimate value of the game for most, is the fact that it really nails how awesome magic should be. Spells are big, loud, and destructive as hell. I play a fighter, because I'm not very good at anything else, and often my mages will cast spells that either explode an enemy I was trying to kill immediately, cast giant lightning bolts unto them, or just summon a giant tornado that sucks them up into the air. Not to mention the meteor spell that turns the playing field into an explosive battleground.
It has a feel much like that of Monster Hunter, while being a lot less clunky, but still a little clunky. It also has an MMO-type feel at times when traversing the land and accepting quests, but when things really get good are when you're just exploring and get in over your head. I know that such a concept is not as novel for those who more properly grew up with some of the great RPGs on this site, but for me it was great getting jumped by some bandits and just getting my ass kicked. Especially when you hear "Sic 'em, boys!" followed by a shower of arrows and explosives coming from the surrounding cliffs around you. And then there's exploring dungeons, going deeper than you know you should, and discovering a new race of monster that destroys you with equal brutality. And then, of course, there's going back for revenge when you become more powerful.
It's a sweet RPG, and although I will not brush off its issues I think it's totally worth playing if anything I mentioned piques your interest.
