Finally got a chance to play it and jumped on the Tactical Gamer server. The maps are truly beautiful, both in terms of their visual appeal as well as their possibilities for strategic play, with lots of interesting and realistic cover. There's even a night map with a starry sky and a big cemetary, which I thought was a nice touch. After a year and a half of regular
BF2, even the sound effects were a nice change from the usual. The gameplay is exciting, the kits well balanced and the new vehicles are cool. The weapons feel more accurate and some kits have binoculars, which I missed from BF1942.
The server had no lack of quality players who were generally interested in teamwork and using their mics. I'm guessing that because the servers aren't ranked many of the smacktards are staying away, leaving plenty of room for more serious players. The
TG server actually kicks you if you don't squad up after 90 seconds, so your team has a better chance of not being sabotaged by self-interested lone wolves.
Anyway, if you're getting played out on vanilla
BF2 and are looking for something to re-energize your experience I whole heartedly recommend this mod. The only drawback is that there aren't too many servers to choose from, but that could change if posts like this one generate some interest.
Kudos the the developers. It's very, very cool.