Can this be played as 3rd person too? It seems quite confusing from the video reviews.. as some of the action is in 1st person and some of it is in 3rd person? also can you just explore (free roam) if you want to or do you have to follow missions?
Yep, you can play in 3rd person view if you want, however it has been designed with first person view in mind.
Also yes, you can freeroam around and spend hours exploring caves and villages without touching the main storyline.