DA:O is really the litmus test for people with good taste in western RPGs, because I remember playing it at the time and being baffled that any serious rpg enthusiast could possibly think it was any way half decent.

I mean, whether you like old classics like BG2 or not, agree or disagree with things like romance and combat mechanics, there is simply no way to argue that DA:O is not an almost wholesale degeneration from these games, with its tiny amount of exploration, miniscule set of weapons and gear, and gift based romances, and MMORPG-depth combat. I think the only possible good points you can make about it is the story choice content and world design, but that's it.