Played "Next" for a couple hours last night and I really liked it. I went into it with an open mind and was pleasantly surprised. Combat was simple and fast (unlike 4e) *with* options, healing wasn't too much (4e) or too little (Basic), hit points were just right, the death rules are pretty fair imo. I had a blast. Themes and backgrounds gave it a 2e kits feel. This after a 7 hour grueling pc/henchemen death-filled session of Barrowmaze using Moldvay Red Box that lost its luster pretty quickly for my group. These playtest rules seem to hit all the right notes for me so far.
Our group has played everything up and down the D&D timeline from the original 3 pamphlets to 4E Essentials to some Red Box to Pathfinder to Castles & Crusades etc etc over the past 2 years. And while the playtest rules we have received could drastically change, I'm optimistic about what I have seen so far.
