With a 1.4 patch , This game should be around 8.0 or at least 7.5. Install the patch and give it a chance!!
Open-ended ?? : There are choices you have to choose. ( Guild choosing , A little dialogue options) Nevertheless , It will not affect the game much. (Just a small fish in the ocean)
Gameplay : My score stands firmly in the gameplay. Yeah with a 1.4 patch installed , you will have a "mini map" to look at , bringing the game from 1.5 to8.0. (wandering aimlessly without map is really unbearable)
The game is very challenging , it is very hard in the "just right" way.
It is not tradition moron Hack and Slash likes Diablo , in which you just have to "left click" and "right click" and your level goes up in 5 minutes.
Playing Dungeon lords , you have to use W A S D , you have to block your enemy' 's attack if you want to stay alive, you have to spend your experience points wisely because experience points are really hard to come by.
Downward :
Even with a "map" , you could still get lost even you are in town -_-" what else can you expect when you are in the world map?? hahaha
There is no music!! ( Bug ?? , not sure)
Quest's information is so ambiguous that you don't know what you should do and where you should go. ( You an consult walkthrough anyway)