We played our first game of Descent this weekend and I doubt we will do so again. It was LOOOOOONG and while parts were interesting or fun its overall was not an experiance that we want to repeat. It reminded me very much of the computer game Diablo in both good and bad ways. We immediately started thinking of ways to make it more enjoyable with homebrewed rules and variations, and will certainly use the stuff it came with, but I doubt we will ever play it as is again. The Overlord seems to be overwhelming to the point that it would be impossible for the heroes to win.
Battlelore, OTOH, is a great game. I have played twice and even though I lost it was enjoyable and my defeat was a very narrow thing that came down to a few turns and the luck of the dice/cards. Much more balanced, much faster even for beginners, much more fun. The only down side is its just for 2 players
Somewhere between these two is Arkham Horror, a good game that does better simulate RPGs but one that needs some house rules to keep it from being overwhelming.