Just like in the other NFS games the setup of the game is very obvious. Win a race, deserve cash, buy or tune your car and then race again.

In the ‘Career’ mode you need to win thirteen events all over the world. By winning races you deserve some cash and experience points, which you can use later on for upgrading your vehicle or expanding your fleet of cars. Compared with the console version of the game the tuning aspect is rather limited, you can only modify your induction, chassis, engine, suspensions and the amount of nitro. Also changing the looks has remained simplistic.

By winning races you acquire experience points, these lead to a better acceleration ability and race intuition. In the Career mode you have to accomplish various kinds of challenges. There is the ordinary race where you simply have to cross the finish as first and besides that there are also other kind of races. You have; ‘Speed Trap’, where you need to obtain the highest possible speed when you pass a checkpoint, and ‘Time Attack’ where you need to finish the circuit before the timer reaches zero. Especially ‘Speed Trap’ I found to be quite good thanks to the tactical aspect which brings some variation to the game.

One of the biggest changes, compared to the other NFS games, lies in the gameplay. Now you have the choice of three different ‘race-personas’, which you can consider as difficulty degrees. The entry-level is the "Weekend Warrior" which will not only offer the best lines to take throughout the course, but will even adjust your speed during turns. The middle option, "Adrenaline Junkie," will offer lines, but will not adjust the handling of your car, and finally, the most difficult option, ‘Speed King’, turns off all assistance. However, every advantage has his disadvantage. You deserve less money and race intuition at lower personas.

A second innovation is the introduction of a damage model. This is surprisingly well developed. After contact with a wall or other cars you can see the scratches and the dents on your car. The more damage, the worse the performances of your car becomes and the more you will have to pay for repairs after the race.

Graphically the game shows imperfections. The cars do look quite alright, but it’s the game itself that looks grubby and ridged. The circuits look all the same and there is no sign of animation or spectators in the surroundings. Beside the bad graphics the maximum of players has been restricted to four, which is a huge disappointment. As a result of that some races feel repeptitive.

EA has been known for their good soundtracks in games and also this time they managed to achieve top quality. With excellent engine sounds and the possibility to add you own music to the game thanks to NFS: media center there is really nothing negatively to be said here.

When you are tired of racing in the Career mode (which won't happen quickly), you can always try the multiplayer mode. With online leaderboards, eight players face-off, an extensive choice of cars, and a gameplay without any lag the multiplayer is really well-done.