If it is in fact going to be top-down, I understand why. Jeff does not have the resources to go into a really improved-looking isometric look. I don't see any way he could do something to the quality level of the Infinity Engine and no way in hell could he get close to the Pillars engine on his budget.
ToddMcf had a great idea - license the Infinity Engine from Beamdog. It still has a ton of life left, Siege of Dragonspear looks beautiful in it and it has potential. The problem is, it's hard to develop for apparently, and time-consuming. Jeff is definitely smart enough to make it seem easy but it's probably still out of his league cost-wise when it comes to art assets, etc..
So the natural thing would be top-down or something that is easier to manage. Where else could he feasibly go and still cram his amount of "stuff" into the game? I just can't imagine a Spiderweb game that looks like Pillars or Divinity or something, lol.