I kept up with the development of 5th Edition from the very beginning. Dungeons & Dragons is close to my heart, and I was very eager to see what solidified on this. Veterans and refugees from the Edition Wars will know what I mean. I wanted to wait until I had a chance to play with it to make any rash decisions, and the Wargate just finished a two-season (six month) campaign using the launch materials in the new Basic boxed set, together with the Player's Handbook. Now after all that, and despite all the forebodings and ill omens, I can say without reserve that I very much like the new game.
The physical book is beautiful, as is to be expected. Matte and gloss hardcover, full color interior. Very nice, as all Wizards of the Coast publications always are. The price point is $49.99 MSRP, though that might be stretching it for an item like this - especially if WotC intends to pop a new edition if five or so years. If you are fixed on this, Wizards, see to it that fifty bucks remains the standard for some time to come, and that quality does not diminish. Remember, you are competing with yourselves and the 2000 launch of 3rd Edition.
Anyways, the meat of it. Not a whole lot has changed really. The basic mechanics of the D20 system haven't changed, and really if you break it down it's all it how the information is presented. A lot of rules have been streamlined, and combat isn't nearly as complex. However, a lot of the material we're used to using has been changed or shuffled away. This streamlining limits the system's ability to adjudicate things on its' own and a lot more is left to DM interpretation. I know there are sets of gamers who like this sort of thing but by and large Gatekeepers don't care for it - but this didn't diminish our enjoyment of the ruleset by much, if at all.
Classes always change between the editions. In this volume, there is a single principle that binds all the class mechanics and choices. Each class is well balanced against one another, even as we might rail against spellcasters slinging 1d10 damage at will - but as gameplay progresses you will see that's not really any different from the other classes. As the player classes create the basic game experience for the players, it's important not to downplay this balance - this is a key concept. Under certain situations, something can seem very overpowered, but give gameplay a chance to show you how limited you really are. A lot of things folks would normally scoff at isn't really an issue, as the dice roll.
Gone are the lists and lists of Feats (good luck on those) and most options are built into the class choices instead. There are several variations of each class, and it gives a good spread of the flavors of previous editions, with warlocks making pacts and sorcerers with mystical bloodlines. In addition, there is a big change in the philosophy of how the game should play seems to have changed. The actual gameplay in combat is not a clone of some boring MMO, as 4th Edition was prone to feeling at times.
For six months, we played using only the Player's Handbook and the Basic set. We had one TPK, and the DM did change the scenario for the second party. I'd say that was a pretty good run for the entry level materials, and we're firm believers in 5th Edition now. I can say I'm eager to complete the collection and explore the new adventure tomes.
We might need a few more of these Handbooks for the table.