playable? fun? interesting for multiple runthroughs? how's the magic?
Out of 10, the beta is
Playable: 7 - knocked off a couple points because too many people are reporting crash-bugs or graphic bugs, load inconsistencies, etc. My experience has been rather bug/crash free since the .95 beta.
Fun: 8 - the game is really fun, but the UI gets in the way in many places and needs polish, and AI at the higher levels still doesn't know how to play which makes the game less of a challenge. I don't mean to knock the AI, it's really good compared to what you'd get from other titles in this genre, the game is just very complex.
Interesting/Replay-ability: 10 - the random map generator is terrific, sovereign and race customization, 4x up the wazoo, successful immersion. They've really nailed this aspect of the game.
Magic: 8 - in the magic classes where they've taken the time to flesh it out (Earth and Fire), the magic is wonderful, but most of the classes (Air, Water, Life, Death) didn't get that kind of love. Also, the AI doesn't quite have the knack for using magic (though it's getting better), which makes your magic use all that much more OP.
We're still deep in the beta weeds here, there's a lot of progress and polish yet to come (In particular I think the AI and late game balance is going to need a lot of love before its released to the wild).