Oh, the other thing that broke it for me was the backstory. I really loved the backstory (the little intro narrative at the front of the book) in the original and it tied right into the existence of cryptic alliances. Some of the later versions (including the Alternity edition) I liked less well. This one is even more hinkey...seems like they went a little "Rifts-y" with it. I stick with the original story.
M