I don't think I ever played Black but do remember it being heavily advertised.
Huge maps would have gotten on my nerves as well. I dont' recall which of the characters was my go to in TM1 but i think it was some sort of military vehicle that had heat seeking missiles or something like that. I think I'll go watch a YT video about all the characters right now and go on a mini trip down memory lane!
Black was awesome online if you had a group that were interested in fighting, much like Battle Royale games today - sadly, being in a group like that is harder than it should be. Even back then there were people that camped, hid, didn't want any part of the actual fight till they could come in with an advantage. That meant a lot of boring driving around looking for them.
Kind of like Battle Royale games if they did not shrink the map and force players into smaller areas as time went on. If Sony would have added some kind of shrinking of the playable area, it would have been a game changer for Black.