The game is not actually that bad (haven't played the newest code yet). I give it a C+ grade. Here is what rescues it from D or F-dom:
1) In gears 5 and 6 you must clear the drops and then hit both deadly stand-ups in a short period of time to get the gear - original and fun to do
2) 6th gear or bust for the 100M 2x super
3) Setting up the 2x nitrous shot before starting Drift or SS and then trying to save it for the last remaining valuable shots of Drift or SS
Flame away.