This game is almost everything I was looking for in a new fantasy RPG. A visual breath of fresh air.
The ability to harvest herbs and parts to create your own weapons, armor, alchemy, etc. was a great addition. I would compare these game details to Sir-Tech's 1994 release of Realms of Arkania: Star Trail, which is a very strange irony, because I just learned that the Realms of Arkania were also based on The Dark Eye universe. Other than The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, I don't know of an RPG that lets you harvest plants and actually use them. You can also harvest items from the animals and creatures you defeat, IF your skill is high enough.
Visually, this game is excellent! My biggest pet peeve of games is the distant horizon, which just seems to fade away into the abyss. This game has a very photo-realistic horizon, which adds greatly to the setting. You can pause combat and change weapons, heal, etc., which is a great feature and adds a lot of strategy.
You can control your character's advancement in very great detail and you don't have to wait to 'level up'. You can spend your adventure/experience points as you earn them.
For the RPG lovers, this game is a MUST own. Enjoy, I have to get back to Ferdock and continue my own adventure.