So guys, an update on the Game of Thrones RPG.
I have it on PS3 (got it as a gift, never would have bought it given the reviews) but the experience is probably the same as PC. I saw it was on sale some days ago and I decided to give it a whirl to see if it was really that bad.
The game definitely has its flaws, namely the textures, the framerate drops, random glitches and uninspired/boring combat. But despite all that, I really am pressed on to continue playing it.
During the first 4 chapters, I found myself bored as hell, combat was the same over and over again, story was not interesting etc etc, but into chapter 5 it really starts to pick up. The story becomes engaging (at least for me it did) and it makes all the flaws it has seem completely negligible. And now I am kind of getting into the combat system, while it is still uninspired, I find my self strategizing to each situation, equipping weapons that specialize against an armor type, when to interrupt enemies etc etc.
The two lead characters are very interesting with interesting back stories and combat styles: one is a follower of Rhlor (the fire god that is essentially shunned within the Seven Kingdoms) who can manipulate fire, the other is a member of Night's Watch (fought in the rebellion alongside Robert Baratheon) who is a skinchanger (who can possess his hound and stealth kill enemies). The choice system follows something like The Witcher where your decisions are not obviously good or bad, or beneficial to you now or later, all of which make me question which position I should take. There is one NPC for example, who would for me to be more aggressive and hostile in your actions in order to gain their favor despite me inclining and doing otherwise because it's completely against my character even though that NPCs influence is integral to the reason why I went out on my quest.
Now I haven't finished the game yet, and I don't even think I'm close yet as the 2 protagonists have not even met yet, but I can see how their stories come together and am definitely excited to see how it happens and how it all ends (I accidentally saw a spoiler when I looked something up.....never again...fucking internet).
Don't let the negative reviews fool you, if you're patient, and like interesting story telling with unique characters, you should give Game of Thrones a shot.