Wow, we have more HERO players here than I thought. I'll ask here then: IF someone is already fairly heavily invested in GURPS material, what would HERO offer that GURPS doesn't? Conversely, what does HERO do worse then GURPS 4th?
What KM said. I vastly preferred Tidus and Zidane to Cloud and Squall in terms of sympathy, and about on par with Terra. (Vaan was terrible, though; I've never seen a "main"character with so little characterization in an RPG). And yes, that laugh is probably the single worst piece of voice...
#1: Odin Sphere. The interplay between the various character's stories, as you find a passing mention in one of something vitally important in another. Bits and pieces of what's really going on in the world get slowly revealed to you as you dig deeper into the game, with themes as diverse as...
1. Psionics: Good or Bad?
Good. Psionics has been a staple of fantasy since at least the 70s, and probably earlier if you class certain styles of mysticism in it.
2. Tome of Battle: The antichrist or best thing that ever happened?
Not quite the best thing that ever happened, but damn close...
Honestly, I don't like the idea of gaining allies being so easy. They removed summons from the PHB for a reason, the slow the game to a crawl. And 4 of them? I just don't think it will work. The numbers of the game are based around PCs vs. monsters, and throwing 'monsters' on the PCs side is...
Hmmm, let's see here.
1) About right. Certain roles are more important than others (though this can vary greatly by campaign), and it takes a very capable and experienced group to be able to make up for the loss of something you need.
2) Yes and no. One thing I very much like about the system...
GURPS is the only one I've tried, and it's my favorite system. I want to try Savage Worlds (hopefully soon!) and Hero (not until the release of 6E, is that this GenCon or next?), though, when I get the chance.