i think my ideal racing game would completely do away with any sort of voice acting and wouldn't bother with a overarching story as a way to motivate the player into the various races and challenges. of all genres i think racing titles have to potential to make really compelling gameplay loops that are enhanced by a lack of explanation or justification. wanting to go fast and make a cool looking car is its own motivation. cutscenes, phone calls between races, an end point to a story, distractions that pull focus from everything that actually matters. so many games in this series alone are made worse for just trying to explain themselves instead of letting the driving systems speak for themselves.
unbound at least makes the narrative into a gameplay concern. kinda dead rising in how it asks you to work within a set timetable which i really love. the first racing game in a good long while that's really broken out of the traditional open world racing structure and attempts to force new playstyles and ways of thinking about very traditional racer activities. i want to revisit this title someday and see if i can't crack it open.