****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
One of my favorite racing games, this one got a lot of things right in my book. The handling/physics is arcade rather than realistic, but it's predictable, well tuned, and allows for drifting around long corners like a hero.I never liked racing games that just unlock cars (most of which you might not want) with progress through races, and earning money to spend on whatever cars and upgrades you want is great. The night time Heat mode to level up and daytime races to earn money was a great idea, being that you can switch between any time you want.One of my favorite features was the engine swaps. There's nothing like buying little 1960's Alpha Romeo Giulia and stuffing a V8 under the hood, upgrading it until you can pass up Lambos and Ferraris. There's nothing like hearing the rumble and whine of a Viper V10 coming from an Infiniti Q60.The customization system is also great, for wheels, aero, and even the look of the tires, so you can get street, race, dirt cars looking appropriate even if it doesn't affect handling. Another cool feature: you can choose upgrade parts to tune your handling to make a car have more grip or easier to slide. Balancing this to taste does make a difference when driving.The cops at night are aggressive and scary, not dumb and clumsy like some other games. Once they ram and damage your car enough, you're done! There's plenty of stunts, speedtraps, collectibles to find, and a nicely designed world to explore. The story is cheesy but actually better than most games in the series.
