Greetings!
Rolemaster! YAY!
I used to love Rolemaster. I DM'd Rolemaster for many years with my Thandor campaign world. I have the original edition of Rolemaster, as well as 2nd edition. All of the booksand the Rolemaster Companions. Then, I got everything for MERP. Then, I have all the books for RMSS, which was produced in the twilight years of ICE.
I suppose Rolemaster has essentially the same problems that eventually overwhelmed D&D 3E. That doesn't really surprise me though. Before the lead designer of D&D 3E created 3E with the others, he was a major designer for many years working at ICE. Of course, Rolemaster's main problem was the precise same set of problems that eventually swallowed D&D3E--there are endless spells, many books, many, many skills, and huge rules for everything and anything. The system's actual virtues become its own vice and defeat.
Character creation is laborious, which becomes a subtle problem and challenge for the campaign over time. Dying becomes a huge hassle. Creating NPC's? Yeah, they are only slightly less of a pain to make for the DM than player characters. Eventually, I grew to yearn for a simpler, faster system. I thought D&D 3E was that system, clearly with strong roots and inspiration from Rolemaster--and yet, 3E eventually had the same problems as Rolemaster.
I loved Rolemaster. It is thorough, complete, offering rules and sub-systems for anything you can imagine. It remains special to me. Rolemaster had exotic, uber powerful magic, that had many sources, many different magic styles, and awesome spell lists that composed of spells in flavoured "Spell Lists" that each list contained 50 different spells, from level 1 through level 50 in power. Spellcasting characters of course, could learn and master multiple such "Spell Lists". Rolemaster wrote the book so to speak on Critical Charts for Combat. Weapons and teeth and claws did awesome damage on very evocative, flavourful, and deadly combat charts. Characters could advance in character class virtually to any "level". Magic spells and magic items kept pace easily with Charcter Level advancement. Rolemaster monsters also easily kept pace in level, ability, and power. Such a powerful, beautifully thorough game system!
I don't know anything about the new Rolemaster. Hard to say what it would be like. I suppose though, if you change and alter the fundamental system, is it really still Rolemaster then? If you change too much, too radically, you don't have Rolemaster. You have a different game entirely. So, it would be interesting to look at.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK