How can this be the first 12 minutes of gameplay with no spoilers. Keep in mind I haven't watched the Adrien Cho interview where he allegedly unleashes a major spoiler about the beginning of the game.
I love how they cut out all of the loading screens. Guess they want to keep that a secret until the release, eh? Here's to hoping they've heeded our pleas and made them into something interesting instead of an elevator.
As of right now, they are simply traditional load screens with probably some fancy design and a "Loading..." somewhere on the screen. They are significantly longer than those of the first game, but there's no texture pop-in. However, things are subject to change before the release.
Maybe watch the video. They show load screens when they go to "Purgatory". As well... There are no spoilers guys. Everything that Cho said in that interview I already knew about. Honestly.
That was only one load screen, which was the traveling load screen. (truth be told, I loved the way they did that in ME1. Wish they'd kept it) Anyway, I'm talking about the walking around load screens. Idiot.
There still are elevators. Before going to the Core I believe you can see the inside of it. As well, he mentions there are Elevators in the game. And technically, you don't load a new map when you go from one place to the other on the Normandy. Only when you actually physically LEAVE the Normandy.