I'm a Jim Rossignol fan.  He writes some seriously poetic shit in the form of game reviews and news articles. A perfect example is his Wot I Think piece for Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning.  While the entire post is an excellent read, there are really two phrases that distill the essence of what KoAR is:

The key ingredient, however, and the one that overpowers the other flavours, is the industry-bestriding garlic of World Of Warcraft.

...and...

You can sense of the results of committee conclusions in almost all areas of the game.

These really sum up my experiences with the demo and why I didn't pursue buying the game.  38 Studios, let me know when the Amalur MMOG is ready.