The one thing I might hold against this game is a lack of cutscenes/voiceovers, so if you are opposed to reading a fair amount of text, this might not be your cup of tea. In every other aspect this is a true gem that you should not miss if you are a fan of the genre.
I played this on PC using keyboard and mouse controls and I enjoyed it a great deal. It's a fun action RPG that in my eyes improves on the already great combat and storytelling of the first game. The added open world elements and customizable gear only added to that for me. If you enjoyed the first one, get this. If you haven't played the first one, but you think you might enjoy a game like Zelda (the 3D ones) with more (and better fleshed out) combat and a more mature setting, get this (and the first one). I can't say that I experienced any of the issues (crashes, graphics glitches, control problems) some other reviewers around here mentioned in my playthrough, so this does not seem to be a thing that applies to 100% of players. I also didn't have serious problems with the platforming parts (and I'm not really great at platforming). I'm giving it only 4 out of 5 because I think that in a game with customizable gear that can have a lot of different stats and sometimes special abilities, those stats and effects should be explained ingame in greater detail, to enable me to make an informed decision on what to use when. You can find all the information online if you look for it, but it really should be provided to you by the game, without having to alt-tab.
In my opinion it doesn't even come close to Baldur's Gate 2, but in terms of modern RPGs it's a great game. RPG friends should definitely try it.
Like in many similar games, I never feel like I'm commanding a cruiser sized ship because of the total lack of any interaction with the crew that thing must have. Other than that the gameplay is fun and the graphics look nice. What I've seen of the main plot looks well written too. Being stuck to a single plane doesn't really bother me that much, although I think it's a bit lazy of the devs.
It's a big sandbox in which you fly your starship around a solar system, take generic contracts (kill pirate x, transport cargo y, protect objective z), , trade, kill things, gain reputation, upgrade your skills and weapons and finally get to a more powerful ship. Rinse, repeat. On the pro side it has great graphics, the next thing to grind towards is always within reach and doesn't take ages, and the handling works really well once you get used to it. So if you fancy flying around in a battleship blowing things up and enjoying the scenery, this is a great game for you. For me, its greatest flaw is one that is shared with many similar games : I never feel like commanding a cruiser or dreadnought, I always fly a larger, more clunky fighter craft with me as the pilot. With the size of ships you get to buy or board, there should be hundreds and hundreds of crew aboard, and all you can do about them is hire generic marines and fill three bridge officer slots with pictures and affixed bonuses. There's no interior and you never interact with anybody aboard your ship, it could just as well be just you and your onboard A.I. Navigating around with Mouse and WASD keys sure makes things nice and easy but adds to that feeling. Also if you're looking for any kind of meaningful story, you won't find it here. There is a main plot, but that's even less deep than the ones in Elder Scrolls games, without the many little subquest storylines which make those great. So if you want to "roleplay" games and immerse into a setting, even if it's not an RPG, then this sadly is not the game for you.
