In my opinion, it's the best Road Rash available.
Another thing that must be said is that this game does play quite differently from the original, mostly because it's in 3D. The bikes handle much more realistically (obviously), and I find that it's easier to race on the tracks with the slight overhead perspective. For instance, it's a lot easier to see oncoming traffic.
The graphics are rather sparse and simple, but I enjoy them a lot. There's still quite a bit of buildings and other scenery but I appreciate the fact that the game isn't overcomplicated or slowed down by a bunch of extraneous junk. Most of what is here is there because it needs to be; buildings are sometimes obstacles that must be avoided around a turn, for instance.
Speaking of turns, I read someone cursing the fact that this game has sharp turns in it. Oh my gosh, a racing game that requires use of the brakes! No way! The tight turns (mostly appearing in the later tracks) add a great dimension to the races, mostly because of the breakneck speed that not only you, but the other racers will be approaching them at. It's not uncommon at all to slow down and smartly take a corner, only to see at least 4 or 5 of the computer-controlled players careen past you, going way off the road before crashing.
Yes, as in any good Road Rash game, the computer players crash, probably about as often as you will when you first start out. This is a good thing. I honestly can't tell if the game uses "rubber band AI" or not. The races are always close and it seems like it never takes long to reach the pack after crashing, but I can't help getting the feeling that this is because they actually crash so much (they beat each other off their bikes more than you will). In my opinion, it ends up making the game balance basically perfect (you won't always win, but it also won't take you 10 tries on every single race).
And the fighting... no Road Rash is complete without good fighting. In my opinion, this is the biggest benefit of moving to 3D. In the older games, it can be a bit hard to gauge the proximity of other racers. In the 3D game, you know exactly where they are and whether or not you'll hit them. It makes it both easier and more fun. The control layout is pretty simple and easy to use once you get the hang of it. You can steal weapons, but most of the time you'll be too busy hitting people to worry about that. There's also a pretty nice variety of weapons, and while some of them don't do as much damage, they're also quicker to use which can sometimes be an advantage. You can hold however many weapons you pick up, and switch between them using a C button. You can also pop wheelies which are very useful as they allow you to drive directly into most traffic without crashing; it launches you into the air quite high though, so you have to take care if you're nearing a turn.
The only real problem I have with the game is that some of the power-ups and weapons icons that you can pick up along the way are way too far off the course, and some seem like they are placed in areas making them impossible to get, perhaps placed simply to entice you to try and get them just to make you crash. Not nearly enough of them are in easy-to-reach places.
To wrap this up, if you hate Road Rash, chances are you'll hate this game. If you love Road Rash, I think you'll love this game, too. But I do think some Road Rash fans will be initially put off by the "bland" look and sharp turns... personally, I think the graphics are just fine how they are (there's almost no slowdown) and as said before, the turns add a lot to the game. I think if anyone who likes this kind of game sticks to it for a little bit, they might just be sucked in. It's a lot of fun (and I'm just talking about the single-player mode).
One last thing: I love how this game can be played multiple different ways (or maybe I'm just easy to amuse). For instance, once you unlock all the tracks, you can set them up to your own tastes (like the 3DO original, if I remember correctly) with regards to opponents, traffic, cops, and pedestrians. So sometimes, maybe I'll turn them all off to race fast. Sometimes, I'll turn up the opponents and turn off the others and try to knock as many people off as I can. Sometimes, I'll turn up the pedestrians and see how many I can run over. Or maybe I'll try to rack up as many violations as I can without getting busted. There's lot of different ways to tailor the game to have your own twisted brand of fun.