I can't understand the Eric Hate thats become the norm for this forum. Hes simply a catalyst for the game. His actions force Max into racing to take control. Otherwise, its simply a click and grind game. People overlook that his influence goes up in small amounts, in much the same way as Max's does, and Max has the benefit of being able to save and retry things. If it was always 100% guaranteed success, the game would be dull. Finally getting rid of him actually gives such a high, its such a relief. How many other games make you genuinely happy to succeed in something that wasnt involving sex?
And arguing "its unrealistic that he has such control so quick!" is silly considering that most games start off with "demon allows you to buy a magic potion of control from his secret shop" or "Oh look, a magic book,.. now I know how to control people's minds!" and you're all ok with that.
Suspend disbelief and enjoy the game instead of nitpicking flaws and being critical for something you're not contributing for, and can''t play without unlimited cash and +1000% in each starting stat AND a walkthrough.
In fact, I'd love it if DarkSilver put stuff in that could only be seen if you have poor success, and low stats,... or if its been unlocked by allowing Eric to go so far down his route of corruption so ousting him early makes it harder to get everything.
Oh,.. and it would be nice to have the webcams, even if the images are locked on an angle thats not perfect. There are undoubtedly people who would be happy to keep Eric in just so they can watch his interactions from a new angle, or get clues about items you wouldnt know about otherwise,....