I was only really interested in this game over the last week. Sure I knew about it, but I've been so in to BC2 it's only recently I've really thought about buying it. I'm from the UK and Pre-ordered the game a week in advance and it's come a day early. Here are my initial thoughts. I'll start with the good.

The Good:
The graphics aren't terrible, stylised which is not for everyone (Crackdown?) and compared to the likes of MW where it's meant to be real the graphics can't compare in REALISM, but it has it's own style and the colours are good and I think it works well. The customisation is always a plus, any game where you can have your own identity is going to beat one that doesn't, even if the total amount of options is a little exaggerated before release (I know it includes all three body types and that it's not a lie but it's definitely misleading). The clothes are pretty cool, mind. The weapon balance is very good and the weapon customisation works, the class balance is pretty good too, there's a lot to be said for the way the four classes interact. The SMART system is very good too.

The Bad:
The rest of the game? I did some research before I bought the game so I knew what to expect for the most part, but what is up with the multiplayer of this game? It doesnt feel like a multiplayer at all and that's really not good. There's no competitive feel the same way other games offer. I was initially really interested in how the Single Player/Multiplayer merge would work but I think this is the main thing most people are struggling to get over when they are trading it back in. I can see the target, it was aimed for well, there was a decent shot, but it just... missed. Part of playing multiplayer is the thrill you get from playing against other humans but when there's a singleplayer story running through it's too difficult to focus on the competitiveness.

I was expecting a Single player and then a multiplayer that worked like UT2004s Assault mode... and instead we got Brink, which is very controversial.

Now, dont take this thread the wrong way. I'm playing the game and am for the most part enjoying it. The weapon unlock system is a bit meh but the gameplay in itself can work (when there's not horrific lag, which I'm sure will get better when it's actually released here). I still want to play and enjoy this game and will, but I think by making it this way the replay value is... non existent. I'm sorry to put this out there because I was really ready to praise this game until the ends of the earth but at the same time I thought my concerns needed to be voiced somewhere.

Will see you guys on Brink. I'll be the Soldier laying down the smacketh and having a good time, but dont be surprised if I think you're a bot or something.

I'm kinda opposite. I think the things you listed as good, are the thing thats need to be worked on and improved via patches, and DLC.
As for the the bad, i don't have any problems with the multi player, i play competition mode so it feels much more centered much more focused and tactical. Maybe try that?

If by that you mean playing it on competitive and having human players on both sides... yeah, that's what I was referring to.
It's a different way of playing and I can learn to get that but at the same time I wanted to post that I think that's why the reviews about this game have been how they are...
The Multiplayer (competitive) doesn't feel like a Multiplayer, it just feels like Singleplayer but with incredibly hard bots.

EDIT:
Let me put it this way... It took me 10 minutes to even figure out how to get to multiplayer mode because there's no direct choice from the menu