   SDL isometric view
  is it possible with SDL?   
  Yes it is, though it will be harder to do than top down/side 2D   ;  Yes, an isometric view is traditionally achieved purely through clever use of 2d graphics.  If you wanted to "fake it" via 3d instead you could use SDL as a windowing/input library and render with OpenGL (or with a little more work/research, DirectX).  You might be interested in the article section on Isometric and Tile-based Games.   