DA is a very different type of RPG than most action RPG's. The big difference is that there is more strategy in combat than most action rpg's which are 95% hack n slash like Oblivion. The constraints to movement and some of your other complaints are required for strategy to be employed. That is not to say that DA is a stratigests dream, but it is definitly more complex than Oblivion or Fallout if its played the way it was meant to be played (without exploits).
Think of DA, and Baldurs Gate (the original not the abomination that you played) as a midground between traditional JRPG's and games like Oblivion. DA is an exellent game. Not as good as the old Baldurs Gate games, or Planescape but I can understand having to be more mainstream for better sales.
