Haven't had any server issues. Lots of fun, some things could be improved. The nerd rage over launch is overblown.
Good. GOOD. LET THE HATE FLOW THROUGH YOU!
Region idea has potential and reminds me of an MMO (for better or for worse). There are regions with anywhere from 3 to 16 plots. I made a private server on the first map (3 plots) and claimed them one at a time, that is basically the single player experience, filling a region with little cities that specialize in certain things.
The plots have properties that make them attractive for certain things, e.g. mining, wind power, etc. You can share excess resources with other cities in the region. That is the "MMO" aspect, you work out among your friends (our yourself if you want to do the entire region) who will do what in order to succeed. You can upgrade government and specialty buildings in various way instead of having to build more which is pretty cool.
The plots are purposely small in order to limit the amount you can do and make it necessary to build up other cities in the region (either by yourself or with friends). I got the deluxe edition and there is some bad/good guy characters you can help but it honestly doesn't interest me and seems kind of silly. The lack of tutorials leaves something to be desired. My power plant almost ran out of coal.
Personally I think they should offer a single player experience with one plot that is as large as all the plots in the region combined, with the ability to add highways and offramps yourself. Even when I play "social" games I like to do things solo sometimes, so I'm always going to have a private game where I am working all the plots anyway, it would be more convenient to ditch the region aspect in this instance and having to manage trading with myself in my own region. I imagine it cuts down on computations and whatnot to split a region up but I wonder how much of that could be handled locally.
Anyway, my experience has been good so far (albeit somewhat limited, talk to me when I've put 100+ hours in with friends/clan/guild/etc). It is a fun game and very addicting and has a lot expansion and DLC potential (personally I'm not a fan of DLC). I wouldn't write it off completely, maybe wait until there is a price cut, but I guess I'm getting a free game so I think it was worth it.