KOTOR on steroids.
With all that said, was it worth the hassle? Absolutely! I have always been a huge Bioware fan. Since Baldur's Gate I have never failed to be engrossed by their games and interesting twists on RPG combat. This game doesn't disappoint. Combat is extremely fun, especially if you're a FPS fan. Although you're squads AI is dumber than a drunk rotweiler. Storywise things couldn't be better. There is plenty of intrigue and plot twists to keep you interested throughout. Not to mention a huge backstory and a very real, in dept, universe to explore. Character interaction is paramount to this game. Unlike past Bioware games your decisions and conversation threads aren't always good or bad. there are numerous shades of gray, Quite often you'll have to decide just how much of a jerk you want to be, or if you're going to be a heartless SOB to save time to make a more important mission. This brings a much better impact on the choices you make throughout the game. Like their games in the past this gives you a more immersive feel for what's going on around you. Exploration is somewhat of a mixed bag. It is certainly rewarding to discover new places and explore them. However once on planet your choice of transportation kind of takes away from the experience. The driving sections could definitely use some work. Exploring new worlds can become quite a chore either with too many attacks, or not enough to do but drive. This could have been balanced way better, but it's a relatively minor complaint and does break up the monotony of overworld exploration of most RPGs. Unfortunatly I can't give a complete review of this game yet, because I haven't beaten it. But all in all it is awesome so far. If the 20 hours I've logged on so far are any indication, the rest should be awesome and leave me pining for the sequels. So, I am off to finish this game. I will edit my review if anything changes toward the end, but if you see nothing different assume this is my final score.