Well I finally played the thing thanks to a fellow CAG, and I'm loving it.
Single player is definitely a step up from the original, the Collateral/Miami Vice Michael Mann handheld camera style really works and adds intensity and chaos to the shootouts. It's hilarious playing as the bald, tubby guy in a wife-beater that is Lynch (I wonder if you get to go on psychotic kill rampages at any point in the game).
Multiplayer is also fun, strangely everyone seems to be playing Undercover cop, which is mostly the same as fragile alliance except with FA, you might get nobody turning on you, but in Cop mode, you know somebody is going to turn on you at some point, so you need to watch your back. I like how at the start it shows everybody's "reputation" for loyalty, so you can make a mental note who to keep an eye on. There was one guy who had a ranking of "Scum" (lol) and let's just say that his reputation was no lie. So yeah this is a really enjoyable form of multiplayer, but of course you're going to get the occasional douchebag who starts shooting at everyone right from the start, but once you weed out the idiots and get a good friend list of players, this can be a lot of fun. I'm getting this Day One!