I got the plat.
I absolutely loved this one and don't get the hate.
Some thoughts:
Loot Boxes - complete non-issue. they don't give much, you earn tons of free ones, and I never 'needed' one in any way. I'd pop some open if I needed some quick cash, but, really? I usually had 20+ in my stock that weren't worth the time to open. There is -never-, -ever- a need to buy any.
Car progression -- Using a variety of methods [buying from shops, a wheel spin with earned points, winning races] you upgrade cars in 6 different areas, often from level 1 to 18 [some cars start higher, some cars can't get to 18]. Each card can have a different brand and bonuses. It worked well, imo. Not offensive, not great.... once you're midgame it's pretty easy to ramp a car all the way up to max with your stockpiled cash/points/etc.
Car customization - fantastic.
Races - while open world, races are clearly defined by on screen markers, etc.
Police - police only exist in very specific events. I personally like NFSs that are more 'police centric' [with emps, etc] but this one seemed to find a good balance by having 'runner' events where you escape the police, but otherwise they don't harass you at random times like in, say, Most Wanted. There are also some random [by choice] events - you can find boxes that, if you take them, cause a police chase... win and get $20k plus some parts, etc. I did a couple, but you don't really need the money/parts so it's just optional fun.
Control - you have tuning options, and then the way you build out a car really does have a lot of impact [brands, bonuses, etc.]. there are many different base builds [drift, race, drag, offroad, etc] and each felt pretty right to me even without any tuning. I played with drift a tiny bit to get it exactly the way I like it, but even default it was fine.
Map - well designed, I think, with lots of distinct areas. You can teleport to any garage or gas station, so you can generally get really close to every destination.
Content - the story is alright, decent for a racing game. tons of 'any time' challenges [drift, time trials, etc] litter the map and provide a serious challenge.
Difficulty - hard is HARD. Medium generally provides challenge, wish it was a touch harder. Easy is easy. [translation, I wish they had one more level between medium and hard].
They've been patching in new stuff, like you can now find a free abandoned car every once in awhile. Kind of cool.
Favorite feature - you can find 4 derelicts around the map. first the chassis, then 4 major components [based on map clues]. find all the parts, and you get a level 1 car of that unique type, and can max it to level 399 [all 18s]. Really cool imo, they felt more personal than the ones you just buy out of a dealership. And since you can make them any type, you can make some crazy looking racers, etc that you wouldn't expect.
Not my favorite NFS, but certainly worth the $30 I dropped on it. Had a blast, I'm sad it's over, hope we get more NFS soon.
