New? Yes. Good? No.
-Water is flat, there are no more physics / waves, just some 2D wave animations. Ether this was done to accommodate water running, or to make the game run better and water running is there as an excuse. I'll take a guess and say that this is also the reason why boats are no longer drivable.
-Everything is darker, regardless of what visual override you use, therefore fewer shadows are necessary.
-The game actually looks better without Post FX now, since they alter colors like a motherf***er.
-Most vehicles have higher-polygon models and fewer black lines.
-Almost all unique buildings were removed.
Lazy optimization.