[quote name='Cursor']Spoiler-free mini review. I'm about 10 hours in and really enjoying it. I like the difficulty level. It's a real challenge. The achievements are tough to get for the most part (at least so far) and I like that, too. I'd give it a 9-9.5 myself. The narrative starts off a bit slow, and it plays like a fantasy RPG in space--those are the ogres, those are the elves, those are the dwarfs, etc. Still the mechanics work. Be prepared to read the instruction manual. The control isn't difficult, but I found myself saying "OH I can do that...?! That makes doing X so much easier."
I haven't progressed that far through the campaign yet, but I can tell you that the plot moves a little slow at first. I'm OK with that so far as I'm enjoying exploring the various loacations throughout the world.[/QUOTE]
The combat is fairly straightforward, although it's just hard. The controls seem very good. My only real complaint with it is the lack of AI on your own squad. They steal your cover and die WAY to freaking often. You have to babysit them.
The story starts off slow, but it progresses a little faster then I would have liked towards the end.
I sold off my copy for used copy after I beat it for a little over retail, but my LE comes tomorrow. I'm going to reply this game after I beat SMG. This time, on Insane mode, with a new character. I plan on doing every sidequest.