Well, it seems like it could fill the void left after SC Societies crashed and burned. City Life, Monte Cristo's previous attempt, was more like Societies - a good idea, but not so much aimed at SimCity fans. (Actually, I'll be honest: City Life drove me nuts.) Hopefully XL will change that; what I've seen is promising.
Oh, and thanks for the +rep, guys! I'm a longtime member of SC3000/SC4EVER as well, but there are still things I go back and look up.