A total let down compared to previous NFS games, such a shame!
While the environment looks more detailed and flashy than ever before, the cars themselves don't look nearly as good as they did in NFS Most Wanted which is a 4 years older title.
But that is only a minor annoyance compared to the glaring fact that the handling of the cars reminds me of very early NFS games, say around 2000: there is no feeling of grip, cars feel like boxes you can shove through corners at any speed (90° tight corners at 130 km/h with the second car I can get my hands on in the game), there is barely any drifting at all going on.
In addition, the opposition seems incredibly dumbed down to the point that most racing modes do not pose any challenge at all... As of the very start of the race, it's child's play to put your foot down, accelerating faster than any of the other cars (and that's not even using NOx) and staying ahead for the entire race even while making mistakes.
If you thought Need for Speed Underground 1 or 2 were often easy and felt a bit cartoonish to drive, this is 10 times more aggravated.
Steering feels very arcade-like, there is absolutely no comparison to the refinement of how one could master a car in Most Wanted.
A final gripe is that the menu is poorly executed and not exactly clear to use, coming across like a bad console port.
In very short summary: the crucial elements of any racing game are messed up beyond recognition which is even more of a shame since earlier NFS titles managed those elements just fine!