A thoroughly entertaining game
For a start, the game is completely different to the more leasurely and scenic DRIV3R, and pumped full of the NFS juice it sorely needed. Despite the obvious advancements in video clip graphics, it seems to have actually declined in terms of in-game graphics! Weird, but easily get-over-able. The upgrades in car-modding and actual car choice, as well as the ease of cheat activation, make this an extremely user-friendly game - capable of both scenic crusing, and mind-blowing nitro-blasting.
Sure, the fact that the entire story, characters and voice actors have completely changed is a bit odd, but the new 'Blow'-esque outlook and story is a happy change, with new dimensions and a breath of fresh air from the original trilogy.
I'm not sure about the loss of his talent for swimming and loss of boats, but this is thoroughly made up for by a) the cool twist of two different eras (and cool changes involved) and b) the aforementioned car range and modding features.
Trust me, you'll love this game!! I know I do...