Cheesy as hell maybe, but exhilarating definitely.
After almost 20 hours of play time, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed the game and totally disagreed with ratings of 6s and 7s. Sure, the on foot gameplay isn't great, but the on foot game isn't the important aspect of the game, nor is it featured much. This game is all about over-the-top, arcade style driving/crashing. It takes elements from various action/driving games e.g. Twisted Metal and Road Rash and exhibits a cohesive, dynamic and thrilling experience. After mastering the various techniques and playing a few too many side missions, I found some of the most consistently satisfying gameplay, on par with NFS Hot Pursuit (2010).
It was disappointing in other ways; Vin Diesel is grossly underused and his character is dull and underdeveloped. The plot is one big lame cliche, so is the screenplay and Barcelona isn't particularly well represented - it has that lack of detail a lot of driving games have. As soon as you stop moving, everything looks empty and repetitive.
Hoever, the driving alone (which did makeup the majority of the game) was enough to warrant all 20ish hours spent on it. 8.5/10 highly recommend, just don't jump in with the wrong expectations