I wouldn't say that this game is "open world" in the same way an Elder Scrolls game is,  it's more of many branching paths rather than the segmented levels of the first.  Still, both Dark Souls and Demon's Souls have excellent level design that few games in recent memory have managed to match.

So far my only complaint is that unlike Demon's Souls, this game has a far greater sense of direction on where to go.  Beyond that, it feels like a general improvement, though the HUD is too big and the online has been gimped thanks to the new P2P server systems, even while Atlus supports servers for Demon's Souls. …

Even without gambits, XII was dull and slow, which is unfortunate, given it had probably one of the better stories of the series.

I'd say, gameplay-wise, this was better than XII, if only because this didn't play itself.  Glad to see this one is quicker, the slow pace almost killed the last one, which only had the lasting appeal of its online.  Happy your avatar gets a Knight as well, he was essentially wallpaper in the first game.  That being…

I know the modern, generic Space Marine archetype we have today is due mostly in part to 40k and that Space Marines are essentially the mascots of the franchise, but couldn't they have done something a little less overplayed in today's market?  Because the 40k universe (What little I know about it from the Dawn of War…