So after watching the game of the year content I was shocked to see that NFS:MW won best multiplayer in a year with so many other games with a great online experience. I've watched the quick look and a few other videos and it seemed ok, but never really interested me. But with so many sales going on I could pick it up for relatively cheap, so here are my questions.

How does finding a match work? I will either pick this up for my PC or my PS3 (I would be able to buy it for a little cheaper on PS3) and I was wondering if you can search for a lobby, or if you are inviting friends on your friendslist to play with. In either case is there an active community playing on either platform, have I missed my opportunity to play? And lastly is this the kind of multiplayer experience that is fun while playing with random strangers online, or is the enjoyment racing your friends and beating them to the finish line. None of my friends really play video games, although this does seem like one they might be interested in, but it is most likely I would be playing with strangers. I have a week off still until I head back to school and I would like to pick up a new game, but with my history of getting bored with racing games (single player ones to be exact) and videos of the game not really selling me on it I am hesitant to pick it up. Thanks for the help duders.