I finally got to play this at the local arcade, it's been there almost a month, but I've been unable to get up until now.
It's a damn fast game. Like, most KOFs are quickly paced, but 2k2 seems faster. The characters I use have changed a little too..different moves, different normals. Iori, despite reports from people, is still sickly good. Yuri seems to also be a real beast in that game. Athena is different as hell, but still great. Takuma is someone I'm trying to reget the hang of, due to him playing crazy now.
The engine rocks. It's KOF, but on crack. The new CC engine I didn't get to play with much yet, but it seems like it could become a major part of the game.