It feels quite like Guild Wars 2 in the skill selection system and somewhat active combat, with the ever present WoW etched deep into the surface. The button layout takes some getting used to, with Q and E acting as active, cooldown based skills. DnD has very little influence on the game as a whole, with a small roster of typical classes (Rogue, Warrior in both Damage and Tank flavors, Mage, Cleric) restricting you into specific roles, rather than giving you the flexibility of being able to choose your path.
Gameplay wise, it's an MMORPG that's trying to copy success where it can find it. The Feat system is highly reminiscent of WoW's pre-Kung-Fu-Panda Talent Trees, in that they give tiny percentile increases rather than affecting your gameplay in any dramatic or meaningful way. There appear to be three "Paragons" for each class, which just mean you focus a little bit more toward certain skills and playstyles, with such great things as 10% more damage (after five points invested) from breaking stealth.
Early levels are spoonfed to you so you can adjust to the game in baby steps, as is normal for many games of this day and age. I haven't noticed a measurable increase in difficulty as I went along, and rarely need to dodge the big red circles that present themselves as anti stupidity measures for people who can't gauge the swings of enemies or the drawback time on an errant arrow.
I haven't played PvP yet, and will likely update this post at a later point once I figure out how to get through the somewhat obtuse interface to do so.
The decision to drag the Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights storyline is confusing at best, as it only serves to give some background flavor to veterans of the series, and get in the way of the point of an MMORPG of this sort of caliber. That is, to level and get better numbers as your brain is rewarded with flashes of light and sound indicating a level up, or a bigger critical, or collecting fifty bear asses.
To quote Zero Punctuation's Yahtzee (regarding World of Warcraft, though it applies here as well):
I asked someone who raids,"'Why do you raid?"
"To get the best items," they said.
"What do you use the best items for?" I asked.
To which they could only answer, "To raid with!"
But it's not about items, is it. You don't honestly care if your new Crystal Nether Sword is going to clash with your Elite Boss Clogs, it's about the numbers. You want the items with the best numbers so you can use your numbers to decrease the enemy numbers until your numbers are the best in the land.
Overall, it's not different or engaging enough to warrant much attention from me. Maybe I'm simply burned out on MMOs, like a reformed con who went too hard for too long and I'm sick of the genre. But it is free to play (with Microtransactions to make your time investments come quicker!), and who knows, you might find something you like in it.
If you're expecting an MMO rendition of 3.5e, 4.0, Pathfinder or similar fare, prepare to be disappointed.