I haven't seen the new version of the game (I'm definitely getting hold of it when I can, though!), but the original is a very elegant rules-light fantasy system. Because it's rules light, it's easy to learn and simple to run, a little like Savage Worlds -- there aren't complex character options or even the notion of skills. Aside from his stats and health points, one 1st rank sorcerer is much the same as another.
The core mechanism is very similar to D20, but without the endless modifiers. For melee attacks, for example, each character has an attack skill and defense skill. To hit, the the attacker just has to roll a D20 -- if the result is less than the difference between his attack and his opponents defence, he hits. This mechanism is carried through the four different opposing elements: attack vs defence; magic attack vs magic defence (for direct magic effects like mind control); stealth vs perception (for thievery) and speed vs evasion (mostly for indirect spells like fireball) -- though the latter uses 2d10 instead of D20, IIRC.
Aside from the rules, though, the true appeal of the system is the evocative setting. Although the rules are generic fantasy, the default world is really compelling -- somewhat Arthurian, with a definite high and romantic fantasy element. There are Elves and Dwarves, and players can even play them, but they're not your D&D "humans with pointy ears or beards". Elves, for example, have no soul and cannot be ressurected -- they're capricious and alien, and players aren't really encouraged to play them.
I'd recommend the system to anyone, but it's especially good for beginners or when you just want to jump into the action. D&D players might miss the complexity and multitude of options available, and the game can be brutal at 5th rank and higher (sorcerers, though limited in the number of spells they can cast, have some really nasty effects at their disposal), but it's fun, it's easy and it actually manages to maintain verisimilitude without becoming complex.
