Got this game two weeks ago and finished it in about a week playing on and off. Had been looking forward to this game for a long time, specifically because of the choices you could make and it's an Obsidian game. Thus I had sorta expected gameplay to be bit wonky from experience, but I was still disappointed in some of the flaws that appeared. When I heard that the game had been postponed last year, I thought that it was to tighten up the game, but from what I've heard, they never touched the code afterwards with the only reason being that the game would've been released amongst giants like Modern Warfare 2 and Dragon Age. Understandable from a business sense.
Still, I have to admit that the game gave me a good time. Gameplay wasn't too interesting, but I have to admit that it's somewhat rare for me these days to play a game that keeps my interest for too long, especially shooters. Story can generally keep me going, good pacing/variation is a huge plus and character development(in the term of levelling, not just strictly story-based) can be a carrot on a stick. Out of these three things, story and character development is likely what kept me going through AP.
Story-wise, it held my interest. Specifically, the fact that I got to make choices to drive the story helped alot. I made some good choices, but bad ones as well. I was able to align my interests with one party after turning them down earlier, rather liked that, especially given the circumstances. Character development-wise, I built a commando-style Thorton. Assault Rifles and Martial Arts, with a secondary focus on Sabotage and sprinkled with some Stealth so I could scout ahead where everyone was before killing them.
Most of all, it really felt like the events I was going through were built on the decisions I made in the game. NPCs would mention stuff I'd done earlier, both the big and the minor stuff. By the time I reached the latest hub, Thorton's reputation was already pretty well known. One NPC aligned with me due to a choice I made in the very first hub. I was able to get some Intel and make a boss fight easier, just because I was friends with someone in another hub. (keeping it all vague to remain spoiler-free)
What stands out for me is that once the credits had rolled, I fired up a new game to build a Thorton with a 'recruit' background and planning on what choices I was going to do this time around. Due to my limited time to play games, I rarely replay any that I've finished, so this is a first.
I'm somewhat on the fence about the 'warehouse -> mission -> warehouse -> mission' structure. On one hand, it removes most of the exploration and discovering new sidequests. On the other, it keeps the pace going and removes some of the bullshit as well.
As for the gameplay... eh, it works. Again, I'm not too big a fan of shooters as it is, so I can't really judge how good or bad it is. The AI is known to be wonky, but it's pretty much the same stuff that I see in other games at times. The graphics feel slightly subpar to me, but that's likely because I played ME2 earlier which had a powerhouse like Bioware working on it. A studio like Obsidian can't really hope to compare to that.
Finally, this game has made me play 'Turn on the Radio' on a daily basis now. That's pretty evil of them.
Edit: Warhouse? Not once, but twice?! Leun, you dolt!