I played the beta.
The graphics are very nice. The game worked quite well for me, especially for a beta.
The world felt dreamlike, and ultimately empty and uninteresting. It's very easy to play, and very pretty to look at, but it was difficult for me to feel attached to my characters.
It's a bit odd to talk about realism in a frpg, but there's none to be had in AC2, which may have hindered my involvement. You have unlimited ammo, no towns or stores, basically no lasting consequences of battle (self-healing is very fast even after a dozens of levels), you can carry seemingly 1000s of pounds of stuff, you instantly covert unwanted gear into gold pieces, you advance your skills without training, travel is easy via free instant teleports, you have auto-maping GPS, so never get lost... All in all they circumvent many things you may dislike about other MORPGs, so I thought I would like it more than I did...
I found it similar in feeling for me as Morrowind. Beautiful, alien, simple. What's not to like? But I keep putting off playing in favor of Solitaire in Windows.
Yawn
Asheron's Call 2 Nearing Release
As the release of Microsoft's Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings nears, previews, atlases, and events are coming faster and with more detail. At the official site - Asheron's Call 2 Insider - you can find the most current updates and links about this much anticipated 2nd generation MMORPG including an AC2 video!
To tweek your interest, here are two of the previews which have surfaced so far by Beta Testers. Both are written quite well, filled with information, and give high praise to the game:
Chris Massey of the Wargamer - Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings
VGM Fusion - Asheron's Call 2: Fallen King's Preview
It appears as though Microsoft may just have a winner here! Just great...another hole in my pocket!