I wouldn't mind if you got to tag one item to keep upon death, but I don't NEED it. I personally love how harsh this game is.
Other games will have it like this:
You can only kill someone in the designated area.
Even on PVP servers there is no benefit to killing another player, he keeps his gear, you keep yours, you will respawn, maybe take a hit to item durability.
EVERYTHING YOU OWN is safe. No one can get it unless you trade them or you're dumb enough to give out your details.
This game is what I would expect from an MMO in a Fallout setting. Some people will just kill you and take your stuff, your base may get raided, your cars will get stolen etc.
I love that in this game. It's pretty much a good part of what keeps me going, it's exciting knowing that things can and will go wrong and you will get punished for it, instead of just dying and that's it.
It "toughens you up", so to speak.