Played the game long enough now to have some thoughts:
Things that I don't like:
1) Limited number of tracks/circuits for some modes e.g. the Pro Racing events, meaning the same bits of track keep appearing in races. Even with the alternate layouts there are parts of tracks that show up a lot, that multiple chicane turns up both ways. I know its the same map as the last game, mostly, but with such a huge map area, you would think they could have added more tracks somewhere.
2) i haven't completed some modes yet, but outside of the Street Racing events, all the modes i've done so far seem to only have around 9 races/events. Which means having to rerun the same races/events all the time to level up.
Plus, when I get a new vehicle, I like to run it through the available races/events for that mode. Of course, theres the freeroam aspect to enjoy for a new vehicle as well though.
Applies to Touring Car, Alpha, Drag mode, even Hypercar could be expanded.
3) Variable difficulty between different modes and even in races within modes. I'm winning Alpha car events by 30 seconds with underpowered cars. Whereas, there are 2 Touring Car races where, on Ace difficulty, it seems like Scott has almost infinite Nitro and I can't keep up...
4) Grinding for Bucks. It does seem a bit too slow to accumulate cash unless you're going to rerun an event over and over which gets tedious quickly and which I don't do in any driving game.
However, that's made a bit less irritating by number 1 below...
Things I do like:
1) The sheer variety of modes and vehicles. Some modes are better than others of course, depending on preferences. I've not done any flying yet and don't plan to spend long on the flying modes, plus I'm useless at drifting in any game...
But in this game it doesn't really matter. Because there is so much else to play with. Obvious I'm a fan of driving games otherwise I wouldn't be here, but I've enjoyed the powerboats too, I love how the wake from other boats and ocean waves impact them and add another level of tactics to the races. Which is why again it's a pity that there aren't more of them.
2) The quantity of vehicles. I know there is a certain amount of "duplicate-itis" e.g. having Drag, Drift and Street versions of the same car. But even so, what is it 360 vehicles now in total? Allowing for duplicates, how many separate vehicles are there - it must still be around 300 which is substantial and comparable to GT Sport as it is now for example. More than in the Project Cars games...
3) The vehicles included. By that I mean the fact there is F1 Red Bull, various Koenigseggs, classics like the Merc and the 240Z, a good selection of Ferraris and Lamborghinis, Aston, Mini, TVR, Harley Davidson, the new Shelby Mustang 2020, JDM favourites like the newly added Mitsubishi Eclipse etc. Obviously, that's a very subjective point, but to me they have a broad mix and a relatively up to date one too.
4) The handling. I've been impressed by the general handling model, which is not easy to achieve when you consider the variations involved. The differences when moving between Street Racing, Bikes, Alpha, Rally Raid, Powerboats and so on are substantial but I've never felt an issue with the handling I've encountered so far. If I have a gripe here, it's just that when the cars are maxed out (especially the Street Racing), all cars seem to handle the same... In fact, the natural variation in handling from e.g. the 1968 Dodge to the 2020 Shelby is only really noticeable if you drive the car without it being specced up.
5) The map, dynamic time of day and weather. Obviously these were in the first game as well, but that doesn't make them any less impressive to me.
Wow, that turned into a long post.......