So... This is your typical sandbox as well as a literal one - you drive in a box across miles on miles of sand. And that is the game's problem. Sandbox games require lots of interesting or funny content. And it requires motivation. This game does have quite some content scattered around and if you count by numbers it's not bad, but the thing is, the map is way bigger. It is true to the series, lore, which is good, but not good for the game, especially, when existing content is not really that interesting. Besides, gameplay revolves too much around the car. Again - good for the lore, not so good for the game. Even though you have a goal, like to reach a certain place, yada-yada, in reality you still are doing all this in order to pimp your ride. For me - it's not a motivation. This should be a side show and not the main dish.
Technically, the game is not that bad. It looks good. Controls, even though a bit weird are fine. Although I am having issues with counter-attacks - it seems to be reacting with delay. And overall the quality of the game in general is good. If it was a linear game, a smaller one I think I would have been able to enjoy it, even though dialogues are like from the b-movies. Still, in sense, true to the origin.
I am marking this as recommended, since Steam does not give us much choice, but I would recommend it to fans only. It does have a proper atmosphere. But if you are into sandbox or free-roam games... Well, you can try it on discount, but not sooner. Better play Borderlands then. They have sand and boxes, too.
