Pirated it some years ago, then redownloded it on Origin when it was free. I'm not really playing it right now, but I actually quite liked it.
Played it for a few hours when it came out free on Origin. Pretty mediocre gameplay, decent graphics maybe but the handling (even for arcade) was awful, everything was DLC, and Origin is cancer so it got uninstalled pretty quick
2012 isn't bad, not a terrible game, but it fails to be as good game wise as the original 2005 game. 2012 has much better graphics and more super-cars but that's all I can think of in its favor. If you have not played the original I cannot suggest it highly enough, if you can get past the graphics its a fairly simple, but solid arcade racer. Strikes a nice balance between customization similar to NFS underground games, and play-ability, but don't go in expecting realism however as this is the fast and furious of the game world. Plus MW2005 has the best police chatter in any game I have played so far.
I'd say handling with a wheel is pretty good, I can take the Lancer 95MPH through a turn on the highway and stay in my lane. But you can play good without DLC, half of the DLC are painted versions of the stockcoars
