If you learned to play games using something other than WASD then yes, it really *is* hard to use. I've played every AAA FPS game (and a ton of non-AAA titles; I'm looking at you UT3) since the original Quake with keyboard & mouse, and haven't used WASD (or the arrow keys) once.

On that note, I'm still waiting for EA to release a patch for Dead Space that allows better/complete remapping of the keyboard and mouse. It's a PC, not a console...

As a visual effects professional I respectfully disagree, even though my livelihood depends on Hollywood wanting to put more and better effects in every blockbuster. The role of effects is to enhance the story. If the effect suck, well, they suck, but a great story will shine through no matter what...it doesn't need a visual orgy to endure.

This reminds me of the gameplay vs. graphics arguments in gaming. Crysis looks stunningly beautiful for a real-time engine...but I can sit down with many "ancient" games and enjoy a much better experience, visuals be damned.

Great effects with a sub-par story? You get Michael Bay...

I played through both games and both expansions on one character and timed the whole experience. 226 hours from start to finish, including (yes, I am admitting this) over five hours of initial dice-rolling for stats. YMMV.