I love 2142. Absolutely love it. It's the game that got me to break off my EA boycott. Good thing, too, because I also enjoy C&C 3.
2142 has tons of room for improvement, though. Too bad it won't ever see the changes it really needs. Wish I could blame EA for that, but it seems that not too many companies actually give the kind of support online games need for long term play. Obsidian, Bioware, and VALVe being exceptions.