I changed my mind. The streaming video was actually worse than my low expectations. Like Sheek said, the animations are AWFUL. Everything from the combat animations to when people are talking are all just utterly pitiful. The lips didn't even sync up with the words, which is kind of something as leading edge as Oblivion is supposed to be probably should do considering even dated KotOR could do that.
The combat didn't look very interesting at all. It was the same old flailing around melee you kind of got used to in Morrowind. It's kind of funny how most developers figured out that melee works better in third person five years ago, but Bethesda can't quite figure it out. I did enjoy when the guy flipped to third person for a bit and then said it looked better in first. It really does, because the player models movements don't sync up with the movement along the ground - "skating".
As already commented on, it's funny to see the NPCs walking along and then trying to look at the player while still walking and then resuming course. It kind of looks like they're having a quickie seizure.
As for the radiant AI, there were some great moments. I really liked when the player was resting. After the player got up, everyone else in the room woke up at the exact same time, had the same animation for getting up and moving away from the bed all at the same time, and then stood there for a bit like they were lining up for inspection. It was like some kind of freaky syncronized morning activity or something.
When he was battling the dagon cult underground, it was pretty funny to see tricks like luring one enemy out of a room at a time still works. While the player managed to kill a few of them, most of them just ran back in the room when their health got too low. I don't know which is funnier, the fact they'd scream, "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE!" while running away in terror, or the fact when he entered the room they all clumped up waiting to be killed without even fighting back. Man, that radiant AI kicks ass!
It's also rather annoying that the player can pop his head over a ledge to look down and the monsters instantly know he's done that and start zapping with spells. The same thing goes for when the player steps around a corner or from behind a pillar off in the distance. Considering the whole point of first person is to have some degree of IMMERSHUN, it would be nice if they actually had some sort of more life like delay times in them noticing the player. If they know the player is there, which they'd have to know this to instantly attack when he pops in to line of sight, why not move to get the player or something?
I didn't notice hardly any life when he was running around the big, white city. I saw one NPC walk passed the player, but for the most part, it was a ghost town with the exception of a few guards. Where's the life like world they kept talking about? Maybe the player was just walking through town while everyone was doing syncronized laundry. Hell, even when the player stepped in to shops, the shopkeepers just stood there like statues occationally having the neck seizure to look at the player while the rest of their bodies remained complete paralysed.
As for the dialogue, I really liked the part where the player chose to say, "My motives are my own" or whatever, and the NPC responded with "Not on my watch!" and then something even more totally off from what the player chose to respond with. Great job there, Bethesda!
