I have to disagree with both previous posters, in part because I reviewed both games, and interviewed the developers after DD's release. Their model wasn't Diablo, or indeed anything action-oriented or hack n slash: it was Ultima VI and VII. They created a more interactive environment in DD than any other RPG since Origin Systems' celebrated games, and took it still further in BD. You can use honeycombs to make honey, discover the damage value of kitchen implements, and combine a range of items to make new ones. There are also plenty of side quests and non-quest areas of interest, which you can ignore or attempt to figure out, with no bearing on the rest of the game.
As for battle, you can pause the game anytime, switch weapons, choose a spell or action from a list, examine your inventory, etc. This is the opposite of the way things are handled in Diablo and its clones.
Bear in mind, though, that both games have problems. The sheer number of skills you can learn in DD and especially BD meant that balance wasn't quite achieved, so some are much stronger/weaker than others. Also, the last quarter of DD is far less interesting than the rest, with a less interactive environment and repititive enemies (until you face the big ones at the game's conclusion). The developers told me that they were rushed by the publisher to get DD out quickly, which led to a lot of plans for that last section being dropped. Which explains many of the empty buildings you'll find.
That said, I found both games a good deal of fun. Nice to know, too, that after gloomy predictions they wouldn't make another old-fashioned RPG (because publishers only wanted MMORPGs or fast-paced action RPGs for kiddies), they've found the cash backers for a third title, currently under development.
