This game is no Balder's gate by any means, but it's not total poop either.
Now the bad...
The story is weak at best, really no meat on that bone. Like I said, it's no Balder's gate or Diablo for that matter. The sum of the story, evil king has an evil new queen, kill them both, no plot twists, just go get them. Blah... The side quests? There are none. Just quest that must be completed to get further along in the story. Oh wait, there is the one with the wolf, and you need her to get to a treasure chest, but that's all that I see.
From what I can tell, you can't heal on your own, you have to level up or spend essence at shrines to heal. I do see that your mana does eventually go up, but it takes a while. So if you're not saving up those essence points, you could find yourself between a rock and a hard place fast.
The camera is kind of crazy at some points and it's easy to lose your direction, but that's common with multiple camera advantages.
This game is a great RPG if you dont mind the lack of story and just like total carnage all the time. I would have probably purchased it despite the review just to be able to play an RPG on my PS3. I'm anxiously awaiting ES IV: Oblivion, I'll let you know what I think once I get my hands on it. Eventually....