Its definitely a fun and interesting game. And, for a devs debut, its a good start. If they can build on Reckoning with their next game...it could be really good.
To me, the game felt like a mix between Skyrim and Fable...some extra depth in character skills, with faster paced combat. I liked it.
I did not, however, like the controls on mouse.
Its tough to say which I prefer between that and Kingdom Rush...I like the slight RPG elements in Defender's Quest. I think Kingdom Rush gets a slight edge for me, but I do agree about the later levels.
Story mode is okay, but I get bored of playing that constantly.
And I'd disagree that the forum is an extension of the game. It may be a feature that one can take advantage of with an account, but doesn't have to be used to play the game.
I did like Hale as Bastila, though.
When I said it felt like a chore, I was talking about the first Dragon Age game. The second one, story and character wise, was more interesting. In the beginning I liked the feeling of it being more of a personal story, with Hawke and family just trying to make a living out of the chaos. I wasn't overly fond of the mix between action and RPG...I don't mind less micro-management, but combat in DAII wasn't working overly well for me...maybe because my team seemed to die too much.