Overall, I wasn't greatly impressed but I'm no HATERZ!!. Yes, I am a fan of the -ation series and would have liked to have seen where it would have gone if it hadn't been cut short but I went into AHM with an open mind and a willingness to see how it went and, OVERALL it wasn't too bad though there were some things that I wasn't too fussed about...
Firstly, when I heard about AHM I was under the impression that it wasn't canon and that it was something like an extended "what if...?" series. Then it was canon.
Secondly, I liked the art (despite the HUGE mass-displacement issues... hey, I "believe" in mass-displacement but some of it was ridiculous) but, I have to admit, I felt like I was watching the G1 cartoon and, design-wise, I think it was a step backward from the work that EJ had done. There were times where all I could think of was "Universe toy advertisement" and, throughout the -ation series, that never even occurred to me.
Thirdly, the glaring plot holes (which many people have complained about and pointed out). You know the one that bugs me the most? Why the HELL would the Seekers revert back to F-15s? That was something that McCarthy specifically said would be explained... and it wasn't. (If it was explained and I missed it can someone tell me the reason for the downgrading of alt-mode and I will retract that statement.)
Fourthly, the #*$%ing WITWICKYS!!! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! DON'T CARE! Etc... "Yeah, let's chuck in an 80s throwback and we'll make him a hardcore marine and make him all cocky and stuff. Oh, and he'll have daddy issues!"
Fifthly, the way that Prime ended up making a miraculous recovery right at the end to save the day.
There were good parts such as the characterisation between Megatron and Starscream. It was also a cool idea with how the Insecticons were created (and the subsequent swarm on Cybertron) though I couldn't figure out where it fit in with the continuity (which was another issue with this series).
Though, overall, I enjoyed AHM the fact that it tried to shoehorn itself into place and then tried to cover up the major cracks afterwards didn't sit too well. I think, personally, that it should have been a "what if...?" G1 story (especially with the art) and not a direct follow-on from the -ation series.
With that all said, I'm really looking forward to the new on-going and seeing how that turns out. I would also like to state that I'm a fan of Don's redesigns though I think a like revision on the faces and Prime's head may need to be in order down the track...