Rating: 
Summary: Good Job!
Review: I got a chance to look at this and it is muchos better than the previous editions. Bonuses, the new d20 system is fairly comprehensive and easy to understand, all races multiclassing is awesome and also play-balanced, the new classes and the half-orc add to the game w/o losing anything! It was about time for an revision to the old convuluted rules and they did a very good job! Oh yeah, and the artwork rules!
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a look.
Review: Simply stated, if you're reading this, you've probably sunk enough money into role-playing games to purchase a used car. If this is the case, buy this book. If this is not the case, you probably can save a few bucks by buying older books from EBay, just to see if you enjoy RPGs. This having been said, I will direct the rest of this review toward gamers who already own/play D&D.First, the basics: Did they change a lot of stuff? Yes. A lot of basic mechanics have changed, from ability scores to classes. Some of this is good(No more confusing fractional strength scores) and some bad(unbalanced racial bonus/penalties:Half-Orc +2 Str, -2 Int, -2 Cha). One of the biggest changes is the dropping of most support for game worlds outside of Greyhawk, with a promise to get around to some Forgotten Realms sometime next year. Is it really better? Thus far, I've only read the book, and not played a game based on it. As with any gaming system, there are things I like and dislike. Before I actually play a game based on these rules, I will probably sit down with the intended party and discuss all of the changes with them. If they hate something, I won't use it. I know I'm dodging the question a bit here, but the bottom line is, I won't really know until I've experienced the game played. So how do I justify a rating of four? A lot is based upon my optimism going forward in the next year. As the new books are released, I am hoping that all will be well and good in the world of D&D. The good: -The book physically is quite attractive. The artwork is beautiful and the cover very nice. -Some clunky mechanics have been removed from the game. -Better system for handling skills(finally!). -Lots of cool freebees are being released via the web. If this keeps up, you may be able to get a lot of material for next to nothing. So far this includes: maps, NPCs, adventures, monsters, and more. The bad: -Characters are beefed up a little too much. This is probably done to make up for bad role-playing, a poor storyline, or a bad dm.(Think of a movie: The weaker the story=the more explosions needed to keep audience interested.) -Although you can consider many rules optional, the inclusion of some and not others can drastically throw off game balance. One thing that I see as both good and bad is WotC's plan to reach out to the gaming community more. A big project, called "Living Greyhawk" will have players gaming in a contantly evolving world with some interaction between other groups. DMs will be able to submit small adventures that can be played by the gaming community as well as participate in the overall campaign. This sounds good on the surface, but I can see a few problems occurring. Obviously, the rules must be adhered to, exactly. Otherwise, one group that excludes barbarians from their game runs into another group that doesn't. Also, what happens when a huge event takes place within a groups game that throws off the grand scheme of things. What do you mean there's a festival if Moonglow? We burned that town to the ground last week! I know this review is supposed to be about the book and not about all of 3rd edition. Sorry, but the two are linked at the hip. This book, and the next few, are the cornerstones to the next several years of Dungeons and Dragons. It's not too expensive, so pick it up. If you don't like it, don't buy any more 3rd edition books and keep playing as you always have. Even if you hate it, I think you'll probably find a few neat ideas to incorporate into your campaign.
Rating:
Summary: It's about time
Review: This is a must get book for all D&D players. It has made improvements to the 2nd edition that make it more fun, with neat suprises within. The new system is more realistic and they have elabortated upon items that were confusing in the 2nd edition. Over all, it is a good buy
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful revision
Review: This much needed update and re-write of the classic Dungeons and Dragons game allows itself the complexity to satisfy experienced gamers while still retaining the feel of the old game. All of the familiar stuff is there: dragons, orcs, fighters, swords +1. The rules have just been streamlined, expanded, and made more consistant and versatile. Characters under the new rules are much more distinctive and balanced, with concessions made for those who are new to the game and need some help getting started in the form of 'packages' of standard skills, feats, and equipment. All in all, I have few gripes and all are relatively minor. It is certainly worth a look by any gamer, particularly those who (like myself) swore off D&D some time ago to persue more 'serious' gaming.
Rating:
Summary: New Rules for classic game
Review: These new rules are great. The new game is easier for the new player to learn, and it's not yet (yet I say) cluttered up with too many, overly spicific rulings. The formulas for combat make it easier to find out if combat is going your way or not. Very different, but change is good. Right?
Rating:
Summary: are you ready.......
Review: In the immortal words of Yoda, "You must unlearn what you have learned..." and the same holds true now. Although the basic concepts are the same as the 2nd edition, many of the subtle nuances are totally different. The new edition allows more creativity in role playing. My only reservation is that there may be a tendency for the pc's getting too powerful, too fast so the responsibility falls to the game master to control. Overall, the new edition will prove more enjoyable and creative than the last.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, D&D that I'll play!
Review: D&D has been the mainstay of paper and pencil roleplaying for years now. But other games have been gaining popularity recently. Why? D&D (and AD&D) have been too complicated to play. The game mechanics would get in the way of having a good time. But now, Wizards of the Coast and their crew have refined the system in to a game worth playing again.
Rating:
Summary: Up from the ashes
Review: It's not easy overturning 25 years of role-playing history, but the 3rd edition PHB takes on the job of cleaning up the most-played RPG in the world. It doesn't do too bad a job, either. Gone are the bizarre 18/% Strength rules, the 1-hit point/1 spell "magic user", and negative armor classes. Any race can now be any class, but bonuses come from the right combinations. The real downside to the book is that it isn't very well suited for beginners. There's a lot of assumption of familiarity with earlier versions, and this can lead to confusion for new people. For example, a character's alignment is mentioned quite often in the character creation chapters, but isn't actually defined in depth until page 87. Granted, there is a nice glossary in the back that defines most terms, but unfortunately, it's not cross-indexed with the main text. It is a good deal for the money, though. It weighs in at 228 clay-coated pages, fully illustrated, for a mere $19.95. If you're a long-time player, it could be just the fresh start you need. There is a free conversion guide on their website for owners of the older editions, so you won't have to toss all of your old 1st/2nd edition stuff. (Some stores have paper copies of this that you can get free with purchase.) The book also comes with a CD_ROM (Win 9x only) of a demo character generation program. So pull out your swords and your Cheetos, and kill some Friday nights with the new version of the grand-daddy of RPGs!
Rating: 
Summary: Third Edition Stinks
Review: What can I say about third edition? Nothing positive, to be sure. For those thinking of buying the third edition, here is what to expect: Do you remember everything that's ever been written and published for the D&D and AD&D systems over the last 25 years? Throw it all away. Apparently, the Wizards of the Coast, in all its boundless wisdom, judged that none of it was actually very good after all. Good thing that, here they are one score later, to set all of us backward heathens straight! The game is such a piece of ... well, you know... that I cannot believe I actually bought it. Everything has been changed. I'll review it in order, from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. And I will try, God help me, not to swear. Ability Scores: Okay, this is where it started to hit me. Instead of a series of tables where it outlines bonuses for the six ability scores, it gives one blanket table of bonuses. At that, the bonuses are geared toward spellcasters. "What?" I say to myself. "This is silly. I mean, come on, how can this be? At most, this table can only apply to Wisdom and Intelligence. There's no character out there who bases his spellcasting ability on, say, Charisma!" And I had yet to read the worst. No sooner had I said the above to myself, I skimmed the text and found, lo and behold, that, in 3rd edition, Bards and another class called Sorcerors (heh... more on them later) do, indeed, base their spellcasting abilities on CHARISMA. It does provide a table for each ability score, actually, but each table is, in actual fact, just a series of average strength scores applied to different D&D creatures. For example, did you know that a Ghost apparently has no strength at all? (this is incorrect, by the way) Or that a Great Gold Wyrm has a strength score of 46? (Now, I don't have a conversion table handy, but using the Fire Giant's strength of 30 as a guideline, I think that this is incorrect. Or, at the very least, inconsistent, given the rules set forth in Council of Wyrms. Oh wait, that doesn't count anymore... so sorry I mentioned it.) Clerics and Paladins now use Charisma to turn undead. No comment there. I am somewhat interested in one thing they threw in, though. Every 4 levels, a character can add one point to one ability. It's thus far the only cool concept I've seen in the book, though I wouldn't put it into practice really. The next section deals with Races. Many things wrong here, many things. They have, firstly, apparently forgotten that Halflings were at one point nothing more than a wholesale rip off of Tolkein's Hobbits. Now, thanks to Wizards of the Coast, D&D players can use Halfling characters without fear of a lawsuit from the Tolkein estate, because 3rd edition Halflings bear no resemblance to their conceptual forbears. As a matter of fact, from what I can gather based on the pictures here, they are now a cross between Kender and old Halflings. And they wear shoes. Such a thing is intolerable! The big thing here, however, is the reintroduction of the Half-Orc race in the core rules. Huzzah! Someone actually remembers first edition! However, no one, apparently, can remember the ability score modifications that were given to Half Orcs in the original (+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, -2 Charisma). So here's what they did (number as per the higher ability scores): They give the Half-Orcs +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma. So just like the new rules, Half-Orcs are dumber in this revision. Everything else looks more or less the same; Ability scores are just about double what they were in the last game. I must ask, why this change? Oh, and Orcs, by the way, are now Chaotic. Remember how, for the past 21 years or so, they've been Lawful? ... Hmm... Classes are next... and I don't even want to get into them. Again, everything has changed, and all that you knew and loved in 2nd edition must go. Experience tables are gone, replaced by one table where everyone advances to new levels at exactly the same time. Bards can no longer be lawful neutral; they can no longer have a lawful alignment at all. Druids now get the "any neutral alignment" maxim, though true neutral is strongly encouraged. Now I can finally play as Bembrige, my Neutral Evil druid warlord! God, I hate this book. Anyway... moving on. No, you know what, I won't move on. This book is just stupid. Thank god for the internet; I'll be able to keep playing 2nd edition and not have to ever buy anything from WotC again.
Rating:
Summary: New rules, new look, more fun
Review: I have been gaming for 14 years and have to say that the new Players Handbook is absolutely awesome; the new rules provide more depth for characters and benefits that directly translate into the game world, without creating super characters with godlike abilities unless of course that's what you want. The new rules are explained in detail and each rule is followed by a game world example, this is great as it really cuts down on any rule confusion. The new character classes Barbarian and sorcerer add a lot to the game giving your party options for destruction they have never had. The changes to the races range from superficial such as halfling hair color to pretty cool such as the Elf feat of trance which only requires 4 hours of sleep like state. New combat rules offer a smooth, quick running alternative to the clunking 2nd addition version. The art gives very good examples of all the characters, races, and weapons. This book also includes a bonus preview of the Monster Manual with an entry for a Red Dragon showing just how powerful these monsters are.
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