As someone who just recently quit WoW after being disappointed by both the new raids (increased number of mechanics does not equal a more challenging or interesting fight, it means more choreography and less strategy) as well as Blizzard's newfound approach to playstyle (TIGHTLY controlling how they want classes to play, down to even rotations), I have to admit...this, if done well, might bring me back to MMORPGs.
A few interesting details gleaned from the web: there are no classes and no leveling system. New powers are gained through working with your faction or through different missions. Each player gets a set of 7 active talents and 7 passive talents...chosen from nearly 500 different talents. On the one side, this fact could make the game hard to balance, but with the neigh infinite number of combinations (let alone when working co-op, and setting your talents to work within the context of a party) it seems just as likely that no single build will be completely unstoppable. The customization level, if done well, would be more than enough to get me to sign up just to play with it.
That said, as more of an explorer, the fact that the story arc is highly dependent on the individual player is an interesting prospect, though we'll have to wait and see how that plays out. Personally, I find it interesting that they also chose to imbed details in the game from history, and that by looking up these things IRL is actually a boon in that it can help you solve different in game quests and problems. Somewhat reminds me of Extra Credits' bit on gamification, only applied to conspiracy theories.
I'll bite. Where's the beta, fellas?^^