So here are my first impressions:
Pros: I have had great fun taking 3 different guys through the two first "scenarios". So they are level 9+ now. When you know the quests getting there can be done within two to three hours. Levelling speed is pretty high in the beginning. It really gets you going quickly and is of course intentional but after around lvl 10 it slows down a lot and mobs are harder to kill and you start to die more. This is the time I think when you need to review your spec choices and start to think of defensive capabilities. This potential min maxing is something I really like and I am looking forward to. I do not know yet how balanced the talent/skill system is but I look forward to tweaking my chars to perfection. Grouping up is easy and most people playing are very MMO experienced so if you come in the middle of a fight to a difficult quest mob "asking to join group" (option if the player is in a group) is almost always granted immediately. The powerhouse is a very nice invention where you can try skills before you buy.
Cons: It is still a level based MMO with kill 10 boars kind of quests. I though I never wanted to play another one of these but obviously I do. There is not much of a story to the game so I only speed read the quests when I take them. The quest areas are visible on the map as in WAR so what I normally do is to take all available quests and use my travel talent to go there, kill a few things and if that doesn't trigger the quest I read more carefully what I am supposed to do. All depending on how soon after my speed reading I do the quests ofc.
As others have said the graphics are sub par.
There is no manual that gives any guidance so you have to figure everything out yourself. The in game description of skills and talents are often confusing. There are 8 innate talents: Strength, Dexterity, Ego, Intelligence etc. and for instance why different caster frameworks (classes) like Fire, Ice, Sorcery, Telepathy, Electricity etc are recommended to use different sets of these is really confusing and very unintuitive.
There seems to be a boe/bop system but whether a piece of gear is one or the other is never obvious to me. The crafting system is puzzling and for example I never know what is a skill up and what is not.
Summary: As I've said I am having fun now. I think the reason is that it is different from other MMOs I've played recently. I do not know how long I will play this game. It all depends on if levelling becomes a bore like in WAR and ultimately how the end game will be. Unlike WAR where I expected pvp to keep me playing I doubt that will be the case in CO so they better keep the pve content interesting. Another personal plus for me is that my son(15y) likes the game and will get his own copy now. This means we can play together which I really like and on top of this I get to keep my computer
For me this game is value for money. If I look at anticipated [hours fun]/€ it will without doubt match other good games like Fallout 3.
