Lots of gore does not make a story. Bloody scenes involving characters who only appeared for 5 minutes meant you didn't know them enough to care. Lots of dialogue that didn't contribute to the story or move it forward. I can overlook the bad CGI if the story is interesting- but there was no story to get interested in. I am a great fan of several of the actors- but they had nothing to work with.
I see people talking about how well the tournament and jousting was filmed? Perhaps- but that's boring to me.
Game of thrones drew me in from the start-the mystery of the blue eyed walkers-the meaningful looks between characters-the anticipation of what would happen next.
This was a boring exhibition of special effects- some of them not so special.
Edit: I've stuck with this series -because I wanted to like it. From episode 4 it has begun to draw me in. There is a story developing now.
I will stick with it for the first series at least. It's beginning to generate interest-and looking forward to the next episode.