I can't wait for this, I'm definitely buying it tomorrow. I've played loads of Bioware RPG's - Baldurs Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age Origins. I must admit I was really pissed off by the fact that you have to play as a human and there's no more tactical view for the PC. Also, I don't know how you can play an RPG properly on a console.
RPG = Role Playing Game
Any other staples of the genre are just trends, but they don't define the genre. JRPGs and WRPGs are both RPGs because they are story-driven, and that's pretty much it. Turn based combat, tactical views, sidequests, dungeons, emo-fringed party members and so on, are all often found in various RPGs, but they don't make it an RPG.
Bioware make action RPGs. That is to say they make action games with the story-driven focal point, levelling up and party member characteristics of traditional RPGs. I've seen a lot of PC gamers bitching about this game for not being a proper RPG, but as I've just explained, that's a load of rubbish. RPGs are one of the most vague and multifaceted genres in gaming, so you should always go into one with few preconceptions, and enjoy it for what it is.
I'm about 5 hours into this now, and I'm enjoying it for what it is: a fun game, with great characters, an interesting story and some fantastic dialogue. The lack of a tactical view isn't bothering me at all (I'm playing on the 360 now, but I played the original on the PC and used the tactical view all the time). It might bother some people -- perhaps the "loot 'em up" WRPG addict portion of the userbase (fans of NWN, Baldur's Gate, Diablo and so on) -- but I'd say to them that it would be silly to miss out on such a good gaming experience because of the lack of a birdseye view.
/rant
Anyway, my only criticism with the game at this point would be that there's too many interesting playable characters and too few character slots!
In fact I never play as human in fantasy games, because they're usually the versatile boring guys! I'll still be buying it and can't wait anymore to get started!! This weekends a write off.
