Lieu #1:
Yeah, it'll be cool. If you look around on the training maps, you can get a feel for what the engine is capable of. I expect some great things from them still.
(Oh, plus - the engine used, UT2K2 - is the same one being used in Deus Ex 2!!)
Lieu #2:
Guy with the family problems? You mean, the guy who ran the apartment complex your brother was in? Good grief, no! You give HIM your gun. Then, when the bad guy comes back to bully him, he stands up for his daughter (finally) and she respects him and stays. If you kill the bad guy, she runs away because she is tired of living in fear, if you kill him she just runs out screaming, and if you don't even give him a weapon...hmmm...don't recall what happens. I think they all leave?
I just loved that game though - for that very reason. You can play it however you like - it's almost completely open.
Which is why I dig Morrowind so much. It's like, that much freedom x 1000. In Morrowind, all the way through the game, you have completely free reign of the entire island. You can talk to anyone, walk anywhere, deal with any person who trades, be a thief, magician, warrior, etc. All the sub-quests are great, and give you the feeling of an entire game on their own - the main quest is just out of this world, though (if you remember to do it ). Quite addictive.
Julien:
No, but I've heard decent things about them. Don't know, though - Morrowind can play a lot like either of those games if you develop a 'thief' character, and the plot is much more open (to my liking) and graphics are much more up-to-date.