Character Visuals

A question mainly aimed at the devs.

I was wondering what the reason behind the cartoony looking characters were. It is the same with Skate. 

Is it because it is easier to code/create/put into the game and that more realistic characters would cost too much to do?

I can't really think of another reason. NFS Unbound has great visuals everywhere else. The car customisation is spot on, the paintwork looks great, and the weather/rain works really well with great lighting. I know that there is the cartoonish smoke that come from the rear tyres as you drive (thank God that can get turned off). But it just seems like such a let down to the overall experience of the game in my opinion.

EA games of the past did facials so much better. Gameface in EA sports came and went. I just don’t know what they were thinking.

Any ideas?