What makes a good Action RPG?

[Words Of Wisdom]

+ Good controls.

- Stupid amounts of customization. Simple is best. Ever wonder why Diablo 2 went so far with just 4 stats and the skill trees? It's intuitive, easy to understand, and you can spend more time playing and less time worrying about stats.

= Highly animated deaths aren't a big deal. Whether an enemy lives for 2 seconds or dies instantly doesn't make the game better for me. I'd just like some deaths to reflect the means that killed them: fire, ice, etc.

= Damage simulation is meh. It's nice but I'd rather have more enemies, more levels, more fun powers, and more of a lot of other things than damage simulation.

- I prefer fewer equipment slots. It makes the game simpler to play for a novice and more challenging for someone experienced as they try to select the best gear combination.

+ Better item variety is great. I'd like to play a game once where I actually have reason to use just about everything I find.

- I prefer finding new versions of items. Leveling up items is just another statistic to grind.

- I prefer hard limits because in an action RPG (ala Diablo 2), replay-ability is huge. If you could do everything possible with one character, the game would be done after one playthrough.