I haven't played 4th Ed AD&D, but can certainly imagine the kind of dreaded influence you're talking about. Consolitis and MMO-ification for the win!
Speaking of text boxes - I've been wondering why the subtitles appear at the top of the screen too.
Seems like a real oddity if they're going for a cinematic approach since I can't exactly remember when the last time I saw a film with subtitles on the top of the screen was.
I guess the dialogue options take first preference for placement.