I support Rolemaster United, and the team at ICE is a good company and deserves success. To be brutally honest, the art in the new books is very cartoony, and I wish we had pieces like we had in the older books. That said, I don't mind the art; I just wish we had some of the OSR artists in there, creating outstanding pieces.
RMU also feels like it is chasing the dungeon-crawling audience. The simplifications in the new version are welcome, but I am beginning to see how parts of the experience are lost in the update.
However, I understand that they need to simplify the game so they can rebuild sensibly.
I love RM FRP, and see this as the most "roleplaying" version of the game. I feel that this game drew inspiration from GURPS for a significant portion of this edition, and the add-on systems in later books felt like "us too" additions to the core. I love the training packages in this game, and they function similarly to GURPS' template packages. The skill categories are also helpful, as they help reduce the number of skills you need to train with.
At times, the game felt like it tried to follow GURPS too closely; an example is the incorporation of a flaws (disadvantage) system in Character Law. It is a great system; however, on top of everything else, the system feels like it was designed by expansion books, rather than from a solid point-to-point base, like GURPS.
Then again, it was the 1980s and 90s, lots of games innovated and copied from each other.
Most of the expansions to RM FRP went overboard in complexity, on top of an already massively complicated game. I can see why many went to GURPS to simplify the experience and work around a core mechanic and character system. GURPS is more manageable, as it does everything with a core mechanic, allows for greater character customization, and you are dealing with far fewer books.
Both games are very close. A colossal skill list, detailed combat, and a few key ability scores. One uses 3d6, while the other uses a d100 with no upper limit. GURPS offers a more robust character creation system, while Rolemaster provides more comprehensive critical charts and richer fantasy trappings.
The difference is, GURPS lets you do anything with anything. RM FRP sets up its races and professions to work together in a certain way. Where GURPS gives you everything on an equal footing, RM FRP sets up races and cultures that are better at specific skills and magics than others.
GURPS builds any world.
RM FRP creates a world rooted in established fantasy tropes.
There is a difference here; yes, you can do 'fantasy world building' in GURPS, giving elves a bonus to this or dwarves a bonus to that, but this is your choice, and not one that ships with the game. Some groups are not comfortable or skilled enough to undertake this type of world-building and prefer a set of premade assumptions.
Rolemaster requires tentpole knowledge, where you grasp a key set of concepts along the way, and know where to search for related rules later around those tentpoles. You can get tripped up in the procedure and the methods of spending development points. Some of the "way you do things" get lost in the text when they should not. Rarely will you have a character without the necessary skills.
GURPS requires a basic understanding of how a few mechanics work, allowing you to proceed smoothly from there. It is possible to completely overlook a necessary skill, such as those required to search, navigate, hike, patch wounds, interrogate someone, find clues, or spot an ambush. GURPS is a more straightforward game.
I can see why some groups say "to heck with it all" and just play Rolemaster Classic, or a modded version of this game. RMU also feels quite similar to Classic in many ways, and the new edition draws heavily from the classic set of rules, building upon them. RMC is the original game, similar to B/X in the series, and before the legendary amount of bloat was introduced with RM FRP. RMU is rebuilding RMC and selectively incorporating the best features of RM FRP; that is how it feels to me.
I am on board with RMU, but RM FRP resonates with me more than all the other versions.
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