It also ate a ton of files on day 3 or 4 of me using it (not even files that were open, it just randomly corrupted ~5-10% of the drive). Probably wont be checking to see if that is fixed anytime soon.
From people who've played the original (I haven't) the load times are infinitely faster and the graphics are significantly improved. The module system is also far better than the original (and most mods are compatible with OpenMW). At the moment, all major features have been implemented and they are working on bug fixes in preparation for a 1.0 release (which is going to be the "fully compatible" release) after which they plan to add a wide series of improvements to the functionality engine.
They also have created a game editor that can be used to create entirely new games as well.
It's an amazing project from both a technical perspective as well as in terms of longevity (it's been in development for almost a decade).
I know I'm being "that guy", but I've never personally had a problem with Linux's power management or graphics. And I really like my tiling window managers and free software stack. I understand that some people have, but usually it's the fault of proprietary drivers and not Linux (and I don't purchase machines that require proprietary drivers to use).
But again, whatever floats your boat. I've personally started playing OpenMW (a free software implementation of "The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind" engine) which works excellently under GNU/Linux.