I loaned the boxed set from a friend a few months back and was glancing through it again tonight.  First impressions:  the production value is quite good.  The art is consistently average to good quality, the paper stock is nice and the binding solid, the layout is crisp and easy to read.  This is the same for all three books.

Dungeon Master’s Guide:  As with Star Wars Saga Edition, the new D&D strips the complexity down and returns the game to its original wargame with a touch of role playing roots.  The system is simple and hasn’t truly changed in 30 years:  roll a d20, add mods, beat an armor class to hit (or for skill checks a difficulty rating)  The DM Guide deals not with the mechanics themselves, but instead is mostly oriented toward how to run an adventure, judge combat, etc. — the nuts and bolts of running a game.  This is mirrored in the chapter headings like, “How to be a DM”, “Running the Game”, which deal primarily with narration style, pacing, the roles of the DM and players.  Much of the rest of the book gives tips and tools for building adventures, monster encounters, creating campaigns, and the setting of D&D.

Players Handbook:  The PH has the rules for creating characters, using their spells, feats, and skills, as well as the main combat rules.  It is the actual core book for the D&D 4e rules.  Looking through it, I was transported back to the old days of dungeon crawling.  Some things have changed, but not much.  The races are mostly the same.  there’s the dwarf, elf, human, halfling — all the standbys cribbed from Tolkein, as well as the Tiefling (a demonic race), Eladrin, and Dragonborn.  The classes — fighter, cleric, ranger, and wizard — are still there with a few more added.  Class “paths” are there to customize your character’s feats and skills.

Feats can be thought of a schtick, or more like bonuses you would get in a video game as you level up.  That’s the feel that 4th edition best captures to me:  it’s World of Warcraft-style play returned from the PS3 to the tabletop.  Skills now give you a +5 bonus if you have them, nothing if you don’t; it’s a nought/one scenario — you’ve got the skill or you don’t.  modifiers come from your level and feats.  (It’s the same for Star Wars.)

The combat chapters deal with the usual mechanics of initiative, hitting, damaging, but much of the rule set is designed around the use of miniatures.  Ranges for things are measured in squares, not measures of distance, that best fits the wargame feel of old D&D, while adding elements that capture the video game vibe.  This may sound like a complaint, but it’s not necessarily.  From the standpoint of trying to keep the game fresh and draw in a new generation of players not looking for angsty storytelling or the amateur theatrics of a LARP.   Overall, this new system is stripped down and designed to do what it needs to for the setting:  allow you to rumble with monsters in dungeons, and get experience and treasure for it.

The last book in the set is the Monster Manual, which has a collection of critters for you to encounter, and turn to go in your quest to level up, gain swag, and have fun.  There’s some new stuff in there, and a lot of the old standbys.

Style:  4 out of 5; Substance: 4 out of 5.

NOW…having been fair to the venerable old line, I’ll toss my two cents.  I stopped playing D&D way back in 1983.  Nothing wrong with a little dungeon crawl, but I found myself drifting into more story & character oriented games like James Bond (a better system than Top Secret [aka D&D with guns…].)  I’ve never really gone back to fantasy, simply because I’m not much on the kill the monster/get the treasure gaming.

If you’re into heavy characterization and role playing, look at Exalted or another fantasy-based game.  But if you’re looking to just have some fun bashing monster skulls and collecting gold and magical toys…this is your game!