The more I play this game the more I think that the reviews saying that it is a 16-18 hour game are utter bullshit.
I've played it for 21 hours now and I have just gotten to the arena. Yeah, I've screwed around a lot - I walk pretty much everywhere, I hang out in the bars and drink beer, I fish a lot, I rob houses, I kill everyone I see outside of towns, I bang my wife everytime I go home, I dig for treasure, I participate in the fight clubs, I try to get into the demon doors, etc., etc.
But, my proof for them rushing through the game is the sword stuck in the stone. There is no way anyone can convince me that any of those reviewers who said the game was short got that sword out. You basically have to be a level 8 in physical, 6 or 7 in toughness, and 5 or 6 in health. That's a shit load of experience points folks - close to 500,000. There's absolutely no way any of them played long enough to get that many experience points. No way.