Like any other mostly mediocre or poor example of storytelling, Countdown had its moments. The genesis of Kamandi/When Furries Ruled the Earth (which was... What? Issues four and five?) was something I found honestly creepy, but I was a big enough dupe to think the Great Disaster occured on New Earth, thus...
The last surviving New God wasn't really a shocker, but it was almost a fight worthy of Kirby, and something of a cathartic resolution for the winner (at least I thought so).
I'll just judge each story arc's resolution individually... Una/Karate Kid's was a real downer, Challengers of the Unknown's had one nice twist but wasn't very meaty, Pied Piper and Trickster felt kind of hollow (this was a thread of Salvation Run, which is still a worthwhile mini-series), and Jason Todd was mostly set-up for future stories involving the character. I didn't much care for Mary's single issue, compressed reversal in a decompressed, multiple issue storyline, and alongside Monarch's "origin," I want a better explanation for them down the line. They both scream "editorial made me do it." I've always been a fan of and identified with Jimmy (I suppose you can judge that yourself), but he's always been such a static goof that I'd like to see him become more dynamic, and it certainly seems like DC's intent ("I'm not a geeky screw-up anymore"). Superman-Prime kind of endeared himself to me when he bitched up Mr. Mxyzptlk... In that the issue in question made me slightly nauseous (though it wasn't due to the violence, per se). I still think the character has promise, so I was glad to hear that the Battle of Earth-51 isn't going to keep him down.
However, I still have to read issue one. Whoops! I'll stop by the dork store later and maybe do an update. Still, I can safely say that 52 was superior. I'll be collecting the trades, but I'm an admittedly biased fool with money.
Speaking tangentially about meta-fictional characters, there's an Ambush Bug special coming out down the line. Giffen is involved, and that's all I or anyone else needs to know. Someone really needs to get him (the absurd and comedic perspective), Animal Man (the spiritual/meta-physical approach), and Prime (fanboy rage personified) in a story together, honestly. ...Though, yeah, that could just make for bad fiction.