I liken it to an JRPG that tries to be a western RPG.I like the way that the folks at giant bomb described it. They said that Dragon's Dogma is like the exact opposite of Skyrim. Everything Skyrim does great(engaging story and world), Dragon's Dogma does terribly. But everything that Skyrim does badly (combat, character animation), Dragon's Dogma does great.
The combat is this games saving grace.If it were not this engaging I would have dropped it after 5-8 hours.