Question: is this game a dungeon crawler? I only saw battles and cutscenes in the trailer, but how big a factor is exploration in the game?

It's like an RPG version of Zelda in a way though not really.

After the obligatory "get kicked out of your village" beginning, you eventually reach a point where you must find each summon of X element/color and get them. Then you reach a point where you might venture into each dungeon of X element and get its magical McGuffin of hoo-hah related to X element to stop Y plot device. And you do each of these things with pathetic attempts at plot twists in between that a blind drugged up monkey with a plunger could see through. All the while you mash the attack and special move buttons as your freakishly overpowered main character slaughters everything in his path while the rest of your party does... something.

 Yep thats it in a nut shell except Genis is helpful most of the time...

Awesome, can't wait for this game.

Looks awesome!!!

looking good..
Good that the old character make return

Yeah, but it's like saying FF7 really began with the chase of Sephiroth which ignores the entire series of Midgar events. Sure you just ignored a whole bunch of stuff, but it was more or less worth ignoring. If it makes you feel better to include the extra 10 hours of "Go from point A to point B like a trained monkey with a plunger" then go for it.

No, I'm pretty sure I mentioned the stupid plot twists that a blind drugged up monkey with a plunger could see through.

I knew Kratos was either going to be Lloyd's real father or later become a bad guy the first time I saw him.

The only thing surprising was that he was both. -_- 

All Tales, the latest at least, are really about going from A to B point. That doesn´t deprive them from being good though. Japanese voice overs are always good in Tales games, just wait until the english ones come. They will probably suck big time like in ToS, only Kratos had a great voice-over.

I actually never thought that Kratos could even be Loyd´s father, they look and are so different. I thought something was fishy about him, but I was overwhelmed by his coolness that I didn´t even bother. I was so sad when he left and was replaced by that Zelos. Good thing that by the end of the game you have the option of re-recruiting and fight Zelos instead and get rid of that zealot once and for all.