TBH i thought it was acceptable. It wasnt bad i dont think, while a skyrim style of open worldness is always preferable, the mechanics of joining your friends and everything else is what sold me, it was seemless. As for the loading area's u must traverse to goto somewhere, i did like that the loading areas themselves, had hidden areas. Also. its good to keep in mind that this was the Alpha, and that other area's of the game may be more to your liking.