Got around to downloading this. I've been a huge of this series since I bought the original back in 1995 and have pretty much never stopped playing that game along with TM2 and TMB. So far so good, but I seriously doubt it'll top Black for me just based off a few design choices they made.
Gameplay wise it feels great. The controls work well and cars handle the way they should. The sense of speed and hidden areas in the map are really awesome. Dropping things like mines and shooting the freeze is quick and easy. Visually it's solid, the world is huge with lots of variety and the framerate is solid. Effects and artstyle wise it didn't impress me the way Black did when it came out, but overall it gets the job done.
Things I didn't like were the lack of characters with the focus on gangs, the metal soundtrack over original music, and the punch myself in the balls tough AI. The AI was tough at times in Black, but it was fun and beatable. This is just frustrating as they all gang up on you. However, having a few difficulty levels in the final game will solve this I'm sure, and Jaffe already stated the final game would be less brutal. So it's all good.
I can't connect online, so I'll have to wait on that. So far I like it for what it is. Will buy.