Also my buddy got it early and he was playing while I watched/played some. The default Normal (Easy) is basically MP0 on PC. Medium is like MP2 and that's the recommended one if you have played Diablo before. Hard is kinda too much at times, you will die a lot by 1-2 shots but still doable. Master levels at early game is suicide.
Nephalem Glory seems to give a chain lightning type move too. It seems to splash your damage or something. No identification on Rares, you get items for beating quests including rares and vendors sell rares occasionally. Crafting is very viable at early levels as well.
You have a ton of inventory of space meaning much less going back to town. Each item slot has its own mini stash so you can carry a lot different items. Loot drop is definitely "smart" it's tuned to drop for your class. Legendaries start popping up as early as Act 1 Normal (although late into Act 1). Bosses don't drop legendaries first time you beat them, that's feature of the expansion. The items you get for preorder are really nice, some give movement speed and EXP bonuses which is perfecr for plowing through content.
Overall the game seemed very fun at low levels, more than PC version D3.