What kinds of challenges can I expect in general? How twisty is it?
In principle, I see the utility of the bastard system that has been suggested; however, such a system would work best if we clearly defined "bastard" like we have for theme games. hiplop's post feels like a good starting point for this discussion.
As I only have one game of experience as a player, I do not feel I can make a fair assessment of which is more balanced; however, what I feel I can say is that it's hard to adjust to LSG's after many years of playing non-LSG's. The social aspect needed to do well in LSG's rarely shows up outside of them, with Buy the Bullet coming to mind as an exception.
My first game is still in the planning stages, and has generally been progressing very slowly because of time commitment issues (which, for me, have lessened), and this is making it hard for me to stay motivated in developing the game. An updated version of Xalxe's guide might be useful.