I'm actually somewhat surprised at how quickly the game is going from announcement to release. It didn't sound like they had that much ready when the game was announced, but now it'll be here soon.

Too bad I'm really skeptical about the open world, considering the extremely low quality of side activities in the series' previous games, and I'm really disappointed at the loss of multiplayer - and especially local co-op, which has been a ton of fun. I'm kind of expecting the game to be really grindy and having to suffer it alone if I end up getting the game at all. I'm still hoping for the best but at the same time, I can't help fearing the worst.

Day 1. I am decently bored until then though!

Excellent news. Hopefully their new approach pays off