The customization is great. Burst NOS is an engaging mechanic. Sense of speed is good. The art direction is stunning. And while the narrative can be really jarring with it's "criminal negligence? oh yeah? well the mayor is corrupt!" scapegoat whataboutism, and being talked at in interview form by ASAP Rocky phoning it in as hard as possible, there are genuinely wholesome moments. I'd be lying if I said if it wasn't fun but it just does not reach the glory days of this franchise. OG most wanted had more organic car chases, more ways to interact with cops, to not aggro them, to give them the slip. Wipeout wasn't nearly as aggressive causing you to take more risky and in turn fun maneuvers to further incentivize cop chase craziness. The open world here is tacked on and vapid. The multiplayer is filled with bad balance, and as the meta develops, the game will suffer. People that are hyping this game up have either forgotten how good 2000s era of street racing was or just haven't played it. We're suffering from a bad case of Stockholm Syndrome. Master has finally thrown us a bone and we worship them for it as we completely neglect what we had beforehand.

Further iterations of video games are supposed to get better. Not worse and more expensive.