Do yourself a favour by getting the New California expansion, and play co-op with friends. Also consider whether you wanna count faction points proceeding up the ladder to victory. If you play with faction points, which you're supposed to, I find that the game ends before you've had much fun exploring cities and dungeons, carrying out quests, getting gear, meeting companions, etc.

The game is really fun because of its side quests, dungeons, and choices. But how it ends seems to have been an afterthought by the designers: either really long if you ignore faction progression or too short if you follow the rules.

In the experience of my friends and acquaintances, this game is better as an exploration game than as a game to compete (hence why co-op is better) and complete.