I don't know AI and that kind of thing well enough in racing games to really judge it myself (to the level of detail you're probably wanting, anyway), but I have been reading other people's impressions around the internet:
A-Spec AI doesn't seem much different - there's a pretty good consensus on that.
Mixed opinions on Arcade Mode AI being more challenging, with some saying that raising the new "AI Car Characteristics" setting to 10 results in a faster and more challenging race. I have seen them jostling for position a good deal more on that 10 setting, and not just straight up ramming into the back of each other.
Here's something I can comment on - Love the ability to change the weather manually (on the weather changeable courses, that is) and practice driving in the rain. There's also a rain gauge that tells you how wet the track is, and fills up or empties depending on the current conditions. Pretty cool stuff.
Load times seem improved. However, the last time I played this game was around when my second fat PS3 died, so I haven't played it a lot on my current Slim.
I'm even less qualified to talk about the physics than I am the AI, but I've seen a lot of positive remarks coming from GTPlanet about that. I do have this though, which I just pulled off and earned a trophy for - was never able to do this before:
Visible damage looks about the same as the last big update (not much of it, as you can probably tell by that rollover), but the mechanical damage still works as well as before, and still affects the AI if I remember correctly. I remember seeing them have to pit after some particularly heavy impacts way back from the last patch.
I'm glad that they added
some kind of in car camera to every single car because I enjoy racing from that perspective, I just wish more could have been done than an all-black interior. It's worth pointing out that open-top standard cars actually do have an interior, though they're of course less detailed than the premiums.
Looking forward to the DLC tracks tomorrow, that new Kart track looks fun.
