Rating: 
Summary: A really decent game, at last
Review: While I used to play 2nd edition AD&D a lot, there was always the problem of lack of balance in most of the rules. That system had grown too wide and wild, with too many worlds and new races and classes that critically outshined the core rules, not to mention that the core itself was unbalanced.This is all over now. 3rd edition rules brought real balance to the game, and a fresh restart all around. The old worlds were revised, same with the classes, races, spells, everything. Now 3.5ed gathers all the good balance in 3ed, plus revisions and a better support for both players and DMs alike: everything you look for is widely explained exactly where it should be. Information is all so well organized now, you never miss a rule. Just look out the index and you're done. And let's not forget this is one of the most beautiful books we've ever seen. Great edition, great artwork, nearly flawless new system. Thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: Turning Gamers into Devil Worshipping Sorcerers since 1978
Review: LOL. I remember when I was younger Christian groups and parents used to always claim that AD&D was a secret occult plot to pass on occult lore to the young so it could spread to a new generation. It was supposed to make us demon worshippers... LOL. How foolish can people be?
Oh... wait.... I am grown up now, and I actually -have- become an occult demon worshipping sorcerer. Ooooops! But I'm sure D&D had nothing to do with it. After all, those massive catalogs of spells, pagan religious tenets, and compendiums full of demons complete with their real names and backgrounds couldn't have pushed me in that direction... Could they?? BAH BAH BAHHHHHH
Rating: 
Summary: Decent but flawed in some ways
Review: There isn't much difference between 3rd edition and 3.5. Some minor rule changes and some window dressing basically. This edition came out too soon. I should say the artwork is great though. D&D has gone from being a RPG to a "minatures" game, which is o.k. if you like lots of tactical combat and complex rules. I prefer 1st and 2nd edition which were a little easier to administer. Some of the new rules just create arguments among players, such as "does this constitute an attack of opportunity or not?" Other rules are way too complicated, such as turning undead. Even the saving throws have gone from a table-based design to a formula design, forcing the players to keep track of exactly how high each monster needs to role in order to evade a particular spell. The Feats further complicate things, leading to situations in which players are using virtually separate rule systems during the course of the game. For instance, if my PC has combat reflexes, he gets 4 attacks of opportunity, while everyone else only gets one. Combat takes about 3 times as long when compared to 1st and second edition. Spells are less powerful, which is o.k. in most circumstances. Some things I do like. The DC concept is good, and the skills system adds some flavor to the game. Utlimately, it depends how much complexity you want.
Rating:
Summary: A new acyolyte of 3.5
Review: I admit, I was kind of dragged kicking and screaming into 3.5. Having being taught second edition, and having played for a long time, I was a bit too nostalgic for my own good.
But I couldn't find players. Or modules.
I picked this book up and its much, much better. It's rules make a more immersive and balanced game, and it really makes 2nd edition look like complicated, shallow hack-and-slash. This is definetly the best edition I have ever seen, and I have found a great group that is devoted as I am.
Now if only mages stop needing rest before regaining spells...
Rating:
Summary: A great place to start!
Review: Before I read this book, I knew nothing about Dungeons & Dragons. After reading it I feel that I understand most of the rules, and from playing the game I will get better. If you are new to the game, I would reccomend this as a good introduction. Never having read about the previous editions of the rules, I don't know if these are better or worse than the old ones, but they all make sense to me and seem like appropriate rules.
Rating:
Summary: A review of the PH
Review: I found the PH v3.5 better suited to use in game. The formatting was cleared up to help people follow the many various stat charts. They better clarfied many rules and skills getting past some of the vague catch all skills they had in the original 3.0 PH. The beefing up of the characters made it worth playing them again, such as the bard and ranger. These had been dumbed down and now are better classes more in line with what they are by the given description and not a bad combo of other classes. There are other rules clarifications and some rewrites to help eliminate power stacking, which hopefully help increase role play and eliminate roll play.
Rating:
Summary: An Honest Assessment
Review: Its no wonder the average rating for the 3.5 PHB is 3 stars - nearly everyone gives it a 5 or 1! :) After having used the revised PHB for over a year, I think I can add an honest opinion.
First, the Negatives:
1 - Weapon Sizes: they decided to re-do the weapon sizing in a (IMO) confusing and unnecessary way. I continue to use the 3.0 version of weapon sizing in my campaign, which isn't perfect either, but makes more sense to me.
2 - High Price: All D&D books have this problem, but honestly I don't mind paying a little more for a superior product. Compare the production qualities of any WotC D&D book to 3rd party and you can see where its at. Sure, the book is thirty bucks - but you can get some serious discounts here on Amazon that make this book very affordable.
Thats all I can really say anything against. The book is very well laid out in a logical order (character creation basics, races, classes, skills, feats, equipment, combat, spells), and the index is organized and helpful.
Countless errata from 3.0 were integrated into the revised PHB, and many rules and mechanics were tweaked in small, but effective ways. Most of them are nearly invisible from 3.0. The best revisions have been mentioned before: races have a few more distinctive characteristics (racial weapons, gnomes now have their own favored class); the ranger, bard and monk class have been improved, and fairly so; several feats and skills have been combined or simplified.
If "more is better" is one of your sayings, then you'll appreciate that the revised PHB has tons more content, and not fluff, than the 3.0 version! :)
Lastly, the binding is solid and paper quality is excellent (glossy finish). Artwork is top-notch, which is standard for D&D products!
Overall, I give the 3.5 PHB four stars. It is an excellent product, full of quality 'chunk' and laid out expertly and efficiently. There's still room for improvement, and I hope WotC hears the feedback from this revision when they produce 4e, some years in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Money Machine
Review: After taking a 15 year hiatus from the game, I recently found myself back in the hunt.
I joined a group that is using the 3.5 rules, and I decided to pick up the Players Handbook.
The rules are laid on very heavy, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the layout of the book. Tables are shown with no clear indication as to what you are actually looking at, or what it all means to your specific character for that matter.
A prime example of this is table 3-1 Base Save and Attack Bonuses.
How do you apply bonuses from this table when the columns are labeled Good, Average, and Poor? This is repeated over and over throughout the book.
Some very important rules are hidden in 4 paragraphs or drivel. I would give and example but I do not want to get into trouble for publishing copyrighted material.
Now for the money machine part.
They no longer included a mini-monster manual in the back, so guess what? All of them Summon Spells mean nothing.
Go buy the Monster Manual.
They make vague references to things like magic item creation, and tell you that they are explained in the DM's Guide. So guess what?
Go buy the DM guide.
They completely overhauled the combat rules, and now offer something called Attacks of Opportunity. This required them to write articles on the WOTC home page to explain, and after reading through several BB's and NG's people are still arguing over what they mean.
They tell you that all things are square and that you need a combat mat and miniatures to make sure to get it right.
Go buy a combat mat, and minis.
They made all of the characters so vanilla and equal that there are really only 3 classes now. Fighter, Magic User, and Cleric.
If you want to actually have your character stand out then guess what?
Yep that's right!
Go buy another book (or booster packs as I like to call them). Complete Fighter, Complete Arcane, or Complete Divine.
And if you want to play more than one type of character buy them all.
On a side note, the one thing I really looked forward to was coloring my book. Yes you heard me right! The old books were made of rough paper, and all of the art was line drawings. I loved sitting down with colored pencils, and pastels and coloring the pictures. They have taken that away from me as well....
All in all if I could find a group in my area that played AD&D I would play with them. But alas that is not going ot happen. I guess I am stuck with drink I was served.
Heres to some one else buying out the name, and making it right! Cheers!
Addition...
After playing the game for a while now, I can say that one of the good things abotu the game is what the have done with the armor class. It is much easier to understand now.
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre and expensive
Review: I would call the 3.x versions of Dungeons and Dragons a failed experiment for roleplayers... but an enormous (and profitable) triumph for WoTC. The d20 system itself brings nothing new or innovative to the roleplaying scene, and is sort of a "lowest common denominator" system.
In my opinion, the so-called "open" license for the system is simply a way for WoTC to undermine its competitors. Think about it: is the same company that tried to put a legal stranglehold on CCGs going to altruistically do something purely for benefit of the gaming community? I don't think so. Sure, it has resulted in a lot of activity from a publishing standpoint. But what about quality? When I look at the shelves in my local game shop what do I see? Other (and better) roleplaying systems being converted to d20. It's a shame.
The gist of it is, for this "d20 takeover" to work D&D also had to be converted to their new "universal" system... and it doesn't really fly. For all the flaws of the older D&D systems, they had a flavor that is missing from d20 D&D. d20 is poor from a cinematic perspective, and is pathetic from a roleplaying perspective. It is a mediocre tactical engine, that's all.
That said, it should also be said that D&D hasn't been the best system on the market for a long, long time.
All of the above would still earn D&D 3 stars, but I had to drop it to 2 stars for one simple reason: this system is insanely expensive (compared with other systems). Why would I spend $90 simply for a set of core rules (and let's not forget all those expensive supplements) that will be out-of-date in two years? Answer: I wouldn't. You might, and for you that might be a good decision. But as for me, I can easily find better roleplaying materials elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Dont waste your time, ... or your money!
Review: You want DnD at its fiercest, finest, goriest? Go back to the original. Play Hakmaster by Kenzer & Co. They took the DnD 2nd ed. Core rules engine and reformatted it.
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