I have been waiting for this game for over a year. Still haven't gotten around to purchasing it. It looks amazing and as soon as I get over my temporary WOW kick, I will be playing it.
What Maxis is truly missing in the "fun" equation for me is a total simulation. Combine part Sims, part Sim City, part Spore, and you would perhaps create the greatest simulation ever made.
I finally got this. I have played it for only a few hours so far. Its ok. I hope it gets better as I move out of the beast phase and into the socially conscious phase. I need to play it some more to get a real feel for it.