What killed off Need For Speed?

[ShinyCharizard]

I'm a bit surprised by all the hate for last years Most Wanted. It's been on my wishlist for a while and it seemed to be well reviewed (certainly better than a lot of the most recent NfSs). Forget about whether it's a Need for Speed game or a Burnout game, what exactly is wrong with it? Is it seriously worse than The Run, or Undercover or Pro-Street, or is it just worse than the original Most Wanted or Underground games? How does it compare to say Forza Horizon?

Here are my issues with it.

1. The city is boring and empty.

2. There is no sense of progression whatsoever as you no longer purchase or own cars.

3. Every car handles like a brick.

4. The upgrade system is terrible and limited. Also the upgrade on the fly system is pointless as you can no longer steer the car if you try to use it.

 

[NewYork_Comedian]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4JnshyKOOQ - this right here looks like what Need for Speed should have continued to be.

Dammit, why do you have to get me hyped for a game I didn't even know about five minutes ago?

OT: Since EA pretty much owns Criterion now it seems I doubt seeing any future Burnout games, but I have to admit I have enjoyed the last couple of the games they made in the NFS series, with Hot Pursuit now probably my favorite in the series followed by Carbon and Porsche. The others though like Shift (just a weaker version of GRID) and The Run (completely sucked) have shown that the series is declining, so I'm hoping they can introduce something that interests me or I'll start looking elsewhere.