I honestly wanted to stay out of this one but I have to speak on it. I do not know what everyone was expecting in all honesty, EA does not waste excessive time and money on any projects that are totally new anymore very often... Look at the EA titles they have available, most of them are sports related or franchise games (like NFS:XXXX or NFL, NHL, etc.) These games in their belief are supposed to be more or less "updates" on the existing games they've tossed out on the market. Put a few new names and numbers on jerseys, update the textures slightly, maybe tamper with the game engine, simple things like that, add in a 50-70 dollar price tag and you're done. Then sit back and wait while people buy it due to the fact they're Die-Hard fans of whatever the related field is. With NFS that is what they've banked on for years, the vast majority of NFS fans enjoyed racing around the cars, the reason why the sales have dipped is not so much the lack of a pursuit mode (most people honestly do not play the game for that, we are in the minority. Most enjoy being chased by police and racing).

In all honesty I believe it's the short one way storyline Bull that has doomed nfs, not to mention the whole ricer theme has been done over and over again by everyone, not just them. I absolutely loved NFS:HS, not just because you could roam around as a cop or that it was easy to mod, but also for the CAREER mode that worked off of a simple system where you could tune your car and raced in races, the high stakes mode was especially enjoyable for a high tension race where you lose you lose big. That's what made the games in the past from NFS great, you had replayability to them where you could try different things, compared to the ones of today where you're stuck in a "locked" storyline where you can change your car yes, but other than that you're pretty much stuck listening to the same storyline no matter how you play.

In all honesty the storyline kick did not add anything to the game, if I wanted a story I would've purchased an RPG or something of that style, Racing should be about racing, it should be about the cars, it should be about performance modification! Look at all the successful racing games out there, be they sequels or not, most meet the criteria I listed above, you start out with XXX you have to earn your way up and have options to go many different ways to complete the game through your skill. No storyline, no bs, just flat out racing to better your car/garage.

This was from Mike Knuckey Sorry

As a dedicated NFS2SE => NFSPU fan I cannot help but agree that you've come up with more than just one good point.

A few comments:

1) Even if a storyline allows for different outcomes - which is not the case w/ the recent NFS instalments - their number will still be too limited to provide the player with an element of genuine surprise, and will ultimately amount to a waste of valuable resources that could be invested into improving the gameplay aspect.

2) The HS / PU career mode should return with a full customizability option - at least for 'power users'. Examples: choose the tracks, the race types, the number of laps, the difficulty level, the 'probability' level of cops / traffic. Choose the cars of your opponents & tweak them to your liking. Define the rechargability mode of N2O (if present). And so on...

3) The 'high stakes' duel concept was seriously more exciting (if not downright nerve-racking) than any of MW's blacklist encounters. I mean, where's the element of risk if you can simply restart any race without worrying about the possibility of losing your car? Personally, I'd love to see sth like that: while in free roam mode, you encounter a racer (UG2-style) - if you happen to like his / her car, you challenge them to an outrun / any other race event by pressing 'activate'. A screen comes up listing your opponents car parts. You can either select a part while putting your own, similarly priced part on the line, or risk your very car if you hope to win the car of your opponent. Shouldn't be too hard to code that in, uh? What do you think of this little update of the 'high stakes' concept?

4) Until they fix that innocent li'l tomato sauce issue I won't be taking the NFS racing experience seriously. I love MW (and I like UC) - for the fantastic environment and the excitement of pursuits - but the 'racing' part (which one would consider the key aspect of a racing game) is a laugh. Make a mistake, hit the nitrous, pass your opponent, block them, wait for the nitrous to recharge, shoot out in front and maintain the distance. If you see a sharper turn ahead of you - worry not! Just use our revolutionary next-gen device which we have called the SpeedBreaker(TM)! You'll make it through that turn just fine, kid! That's how you win races in an NFS game from MW through to UC. Pathetic!

5) For the record, it was (disappointingly) not possible to fine-tune your car's performance in HS' career mode - all you could do was buy the upgrade packages. Still... this feature was present in PU's 'evolution' mode, and I get your point anyway.

(...) if I wanted a story I would've purchased an RPG or something of that style (...)

If I wanted a story I'd read Dostoevsky - one of the best storytellers out there. I don't expect EA to come up with anything remotely as intense as, say, 'The Brothers Karamazov'. :-) So they might as well give up and present us with a classic racing game - such as those that made us go out and buy their more recent titles despite their numerous imperfections.

(...)I do not know what everyone was expecting in all honesty (...)

Well... as I've already stated in another thread, I was expecting MW2, and that's pretty much what I've got. That being said, I would still prefer High Stakes 2... any day!