u/Skywarped_

https://preview.redd.it/6ivui23zxymh1.png?width=1140&format=png&auto=webp&s=956028c9ec4026abddc3569df8372268b621a6e2

Explanation for each tier:

Tiers haven't played and want to play are self explanatory

Actively bad games: I have played these 3 games and hate all 3 for different reasons, i hate undercover for its awful driving, ugly graphics, boring police and the stupid race ai. I hate 2015 manly for its online only nature, horrible handling model and police ai you could out run in a stock civic in a straight line. i hate payback for its lack of police in free roam, and its abhorrent upgrade slot machine bullshit.

Fine but dragged down by certain issues: i know im gonna get flack for this but i personally think underground 2 is mediocre at best, its incredibly repetitive, the star rating requirements that make you have to butcher your cars looks, the URL races being a slog to get through and the progressions generally being a little too slow, however the driving in this game is quite good, and the open world, while a bit empty was kind of cool to just explore and was pretty to look at. Most wanted 2012 has many issues, no car customization, no progression, but this game in my opinion is saved by 2 things. first the police are some of my favorite in the entire series just because of how brutal they can be, secondly the soundtrack is one of my personal favorites in the entire series.

Fun but notably flawed: The run is a very underrated game, its a neat concept, it actually is challenging and has some good action set pieces, but this game has hampered by a few things, mainly the short campaign, which is fine if you bought the game on sale, but if you bought it back in 2011 for $60, i could understand why you were not happy secondly im not over the moon about the QTEs was not a fan of them in other games and nfs is no different and lastly the really sluggish handling, in the early game its okay with muscle cars, but toward the end when you are racing supercars it just feels like the car is out of control sometimes. Shift i had more fun with than i thought i would, especially with first person, the sense of speed is amazing but its held back by awkward steering physics that verge on being unpredictable at times, and the sometimes almost jelly like suspension which made the car hard to control, but its still an enjoyable experience. Unbound is fun but it was a let down after playing nfs heat, while there is more customization, more cars, it has some flaws, first of all the campaign, probably one of the worst i have ever played, cringe dialogue, restrictive structure and lack of things to do post story that are not just evade the cops. however despite not having as much fun as heat cops, i enjoyed trying to evade the cops in unbound despite their spawning in from no-where nonsense.

Most wanted: Now this will make people upset but i have a few gripes with this game that will not let me put it into the second highest tier. first of all the campaign is stupidly repetitive and is too long for what it is, its pretty much: Race a few times, upgrade car a little, do police milestones, face blacklist member, repeat 15 times, its not the fact that you are doing the same thing over and over, its the fact you have to do it 15 TIMES. secondly the car handling in this game is fine, however the low speed handling is completely uncontrollable and led to me getting busted more than once due to lack of control, have no idea why they thought this was a good idea but i digress. the soundtrack fits the game (but I'm not a fan of metal) finally the spike strips are total bullshit, i can live with the rubber banding but the fact that clipping a spike strip ends the chase completely is not good game design. However, i cannot deny how fun this game can be, the police chases are awesome fun, the car list is a huge step up from the underground games, the city is fun to speed around, speed breaker is fun to screw with and the overall chaos that you can bring to Rockport will never not be fun.

Really fun with some flaws: Underground 1 is one of the most surprisingly fun games I've played in recent memory, the car handling is sharp and precise, the racing (while repetitive) was in shorter bursts so it was not too bad, the customization was nice and you don't have to ruin your car to max out the rating, but their are a few things about the game im not the biggest fan of: the car list while fitting with the underground street racing scene of the time, had little diversity, in the ratio for jdm to euro and us in 10-1 while i understand that it fit the tuner scene better, it would have been nice to drive things like an e46, or a new edge just for some more diversity in the line up, secondly the campaign is too long, it could have been halved and it would still be a complete package, and the rubber banding ai in the last quarter of the game is ridiculous probably the most op ai rubber band in the series. despite these issues, its an amazing game. Carbon is great in many ways but has a few notable flaws, while most wanted's campaign was too long, carbon's is way too short you can finish it in a few hours, secondly the police presence was a huge step down, i had to actively look for cops to start chases rather than them being integrated into the story, and the chases themselves were not as good as MW. but this game's crew battles were simple but still cool, the car wars were fun and the canyon races were awesome and i liked how you had to take over territory to progress, reminds me of san andreas in a way. customization is better with the autosculpt even if it is limited. and overall it felt like a more competent game than MW. Now rivals has the best police of any nfs hands down, they are brutal, and they are fast. the abilities were so much fun to screw around with, this game is carried by its chaos and aggression, however the progression is not great and the game can be buggy at times which never "ruined" the game for me but they did annoy me from time to time. the risk and reward system was pretty cool also despite being done better in heat.

Favorites despite flaws: Hot pursuit 2010 is the perfect balance of nfs and burnout, it has the best brake to drift system i have ever played in a racing game, it has an awesome car list, the gadgets are fun but not over the top, the progression while simple is effective and not confusing or non existent. the soundtrack is great both the licensed and original soundtrack, the ai provide a fun yet fair challenge being able to play as both the cops and racers was fun and done better in this game than rivals in my opinion. Heat was just the ultimate love letter to nfs fans, the racing was fun even if the handling was sometimes a bit off, the cops were fun but challenging, the day and night system was awesome having to chose between rep and cash was enjoyable, and the risk and reward system was done perfectly, you either played safe and got consistent rep and money or you played risky for high payouts, everything about this game is just magnificent, the campaign while short was effective on what it set out to do, and the progression being heavily tied to the risk vs reward system was genius, not much else to say here just a solid experience.

Prostreet: This is hands down my favorite nfs game and 3rd favorite racing game of all time, this game no matter how many times i play always scratches that itch that no other game in the series can, unlike MW being too long and carbon being to short, this game is in that sweet spot, where its just long enough to have a full experience but short enough to not get too repetitive, this game's car list is impeccable, the soundtrack not only fits, but is probably my favorite of any video game, the atmosphere is the best the series has seen to date, the small car details like the gears grinding when you miss-shift to the dynamic paint scratches on the car or the damage system rewarding you for clean moves on the track, the sense of speed, the variety of racing modes its all just so nicely wrapped in a bow, while this game has flaws like the performance on consoles or the notorious continue bug, i just don't care, no matter how many times i play through it, i can never get enough, from the cars to the atmosphere to the art style it just perfectly encapsulates the car scene of the time and i don't think i will ever find a game quite like it again.

finally i want to clarify this is MY OPINION so if you disagree with my takes you that is fine... unless you say 2015 undercover or payback are top tier, because your wrong.

if you're a policeman and there has been a murder in your area, simply arrest anyone with a practical renault.