Nice review. I largely agree. Artesia: AITKW looks like a very cool game but it could use some simplification as, while, the Fuzion mechanic is simple enough, there are a lot of extras and special rules that make it complex. I should note there is some supplementary material available on the web that is useful, including an index, character sheets, some pregen NPCs, bestiary, etc.:
http://www.theknownworld.com/downloads.html
Crimfan