I have it running in a VM too. The command prompt is still there and working fine. I have two major apps that I need to work, and they seem fine, so I may just go ahead and upgrade my laptop with it next week.
I'm not really after the "bling", but for a while I've been reading about the work that's been going on under the skin to make it more stable and efficient e.g.
this. There are some people working on Windows 8 who are a bit tired of the "bloated" reputation Windows has had over the years.
One handy keyboard shortcut I've found so far: Win+X brings up a quick "power user" menu with essentials such as Control Panel, Explorer, command prompts (normal & Admin), Task Manager, & more. Other Win7 shortcuts work too e.g. Win+L to lock the console.