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Microlite20, for those of you who don't know, is an extremely simplified version of d20. Moreso than Castles & Crusades I would say. It uses only 3 stats, STR, DEX and MIND, and has 4 base classes (Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Magi) and 4 base races (Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfing). The rules are quite simplified, for instance Rogues specialise in the single skill of subterfuge, which applies to all traditional Rogue abilities.
Microlite20 Purest Essence has a very nice layout, with some character to it. There are some old illustrations, clearly public domain, as they were originally produced long before copyright existed, and I like the consistency of it. It uses a sort of gothic script for the headings, which is a bit hard to read, but meshes well with the illustration, and the main text is an easy to read font. Most of the information is presented in tables, using a darker and lighter shade of sepia.
Also, it has at the end, 'expert rules', which are an expansion, including additional races, (Gnomes, Half-Orcs, Half-Elves and Lizardmen) and classes (Paladins, Rangers, Illusionists, Bards and Druids). Clerics, Magi, Druids and Illusionists get their own spell lists, which take 1-2 pages for the complete lists with summary descriptions. Spellcasting is done with a lifeforce system rather than anything resembling Vancian magic. All characters have roughly the same number of hit points, but spellcasters must use their hit points to power their spells, so they naturally have fewer effective hit points. They make a mention that hit points lost through spell casting can't be healed magically, and must be recovered through rest (good thing, otherwise clerics would be infinite casters).
The fighting classes mainly benefit from additional gear, and the equipment list is very solid. In retrospect I made more use of the lists in AD&D than I did of the actual descriptions, so it definitely has the most useful information. Also of use for the equipment lists are starting packages. Each class gets its own starting equipment, and you can choose from 3 packages (or roll them on a d6) to get started quickly. This, combined with the very simple character creation, only having 4 base skills (5 with tracking included in the expert rules) makes for very quick character creation.
Several pages of monsters are provided. Strangely there's a page in the middle with a list of monsters, and then there's the main list which takes up 2 pages, which doubles up some of the monsters in the first list. This doesn't seem the best use of space in a 17 page product. Also included is a list of traps with an encounter level attached to them. Speaking of encounter levels, level advancement is simple. You don't count XP, you just compare the EL of the encounters you've participated in to 10 times your level. Once you reach that you level up.
The Game Master's Guide section isn't so much a guide as it is a list of nasty things to throw at your players, like disease and poison.
The whole thing is allegedly compatible with the d20 SRD. I'm sure this is true in a number of cases, but combat is extremely simplified, down to pre-d20 levels, so a number of spells that would affect combat in d20 ways would be useless.
The style rating reflects the layout work, consistent illustrations and the atmosphere it presents of a classic and simplified game, and naturally that the information is very clearly presented and easy to digest. The only down side is that the Psionics supplement has a different style, so if you care about consistency that won't help. The substance rating reflects that in the small number of pages it packs together a completely playable game. I'm not sure whether I'd play it to level 20, Fighters and Rogues don't get much to do that changes, and spellcasters get extra spells. Nonetheless, it's a very solid product, and one of the few retro style d20 derivatives that I like, due to the fact that it went with the goal of simplifying to an extreme degree rather than trying to capture some sort of old school feel by incorporating some older rules that were eliminated in d20 for good reason. It still has some of that old school charm with the rules though, although it came by it honestly rather than being contrived.
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