The biggest problem with W8 (and I love this game a lot) is the Arnika Road sections. They are just super super tough in the beginning, and at that point your gear is terrible. Unlike all the other Wizardry games, W8 goes the "elite mooks" route instead of the "waves and waves of redshirts" route, so even veterans of the series are surprised at first. Add to that the fact that enemy groups can move as individuals and surround you, while your party is stuck as a single entity, and it ends up being hard-mode right out of the gate.

Before I got good at the game, I had to just cram myself into one of the (convenient!) nooks in the terrain so I couldn't get surrounded, and hope I could kill everyone before my stamina ran out. It's rather counter-intuitive, that the best battle plan is backing YOURSELF into a corner instead of retaining your freedom of movement.

Once you get over the pants-on-head learning curve, the game is much, much better. I have, however, used Mad God's "Cosmic Forge" editor to make a variety of changes to the game, like reducing the initiative penalty for two-handed weapons. That mod tool singlehandedly reinvigorated the game for me. You should check it out.