We've Played The New Need For Speed, But Does The New Iteration Hold Up To Its Predecessors?

"Shifting Lanes" (shiftinglanes) 11/16/2015 at 11:13 • Filed to: None

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This is not !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Forza, or !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Need for Speed is a fast and the furious simulator and this year’s iteration, though not perfect, is the best one yet.

If you haven’t played any Need For Speed games, it is an arcade style racing game where you get to modify and tune your cars. It typically has a good assortment of mechanical and visual upgrades that simulates the modding and tuning experience. As for the game franchise’s story, it is usually, “Started from the bottom and now we’re here.”

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The recipe hasn’t changed for 2015’s version of Need For Speed. From the get go you’re thrown into a fictitious world where car enthusiasts, lawbreakers and ravers commingle. They all meet in gritty and sexy “Underground” environments similar to what you have seen in the Hollywood movies. This is a good thing because the reality of car culture is normally quite ugly, basically a bunch of single dudes meeting up in a strip mall parking lot talking about cars.

The game’s storyline, or lack thereof, is delivered live action and through the first person point of view. Your character is a nondescript, non-talking male that communicates via fist-bumps and pound-hugs. There’s nothing interesting about your character other than being a ‘Noob’ that can drive, and that is reason enough for the game’s cast of characters to gravitate to you. As you progress through the story mode, finishing first in various sprint, gymkhana, and drift events, you continually impress your one-dimensional cohorts. There’s an overly excitable dude that, for some childish reason, becomes jealous of your driving abilities. There’s a nerdy mechanic that tries too hard at being one. There’s a Dominic Torreto, big-brotherish type. And there’s a bunch of other forgettable characters that don’t really add much to the game. Finally, there are some celebrities deep in the B-list such as Ken Block, Nakai San, and Magnus Walker to help drive the story. In case you don’t know who they are, you will be able to tell them apart because they are the worst actors in the game.

The cutscenes aren’t worth listening to but definitely worth a few looks. Cars that you have modified would occasionally pop into the same scene with the live action actors and actresses. The first time you see this effect is when picking out your first car. It’s hard to notice that these cars are computer generated as the cutscenes are shot with a lo-fi, overly saturated filter. Eventually as you improve your car, every modification and decal art can be seen right along side the live actors. This neat effect makes the cutscenes something to look forward to, as the hard work that went into customizing your ride pays dividends by looking good on screen.

When not watching the live actors you get to actually drive in the open world of Ventura Bay, pretty much a condensed version of Los Angeles. The world is beautifully crafted, containing city streets, highways, and hilly switchbacks, allowing for interesting race courses in various event styles. It also rains A LOT, which makes it hard to believe that this fictitious town supposedly exists in the state of California. The weather effects also make for very pretty pictures, though the car’s handling doesn’t suffer from it at all.

The handling does depend on your vehicle’s tuning and performance, and thus lies the core of the Need For Speed games. The game’s progression works on a reputation/level based system. The more you drive, the more reputation you earn, and the more parts you unlock. The visual modifications are rewarding as you can see your car’s transformation. However, engine and mechanical upgrades are purely a stats game with no visual payoff. Basically it’s “buy this much and you become faster by that much.” The engine modification experience I was hoping for gets lost in the numbers.

In addition to buying upgrades, tuning is an essential element in winning the game. Tuning the handling is a matter of sliding the various settings such as tire pressures, brake bias, sway bar adjustment, etc. Whichever parameter you modify does not really matter as they all contribute to the more important Drift or Grip handling styles. The more you tune for Drift, the easier it is for you to initiate and maintain drifts. The more you tune for Grip and the rear end does not break loose as easily. You will be re-tuning more often than not in order to keep placing first in the varied events. Sprint race and time trial events would be easier to accomplish with Grip style tuning, while Touge and Drift Train events would obviously favor cars tuned for Drift. Then there is Gymkhana which requires both stylish and fast driving. This event requires a balanced approach between both Drift and Grip styles.

Whichever race you participate in, the overall look of the cars and the environment is downright gorgeous. Blazing through highways at 200+ mph looks just as good as when you’re standing still. The mountain roads are densely populated with details like lush trees, vegetation, rocks, cliffs, and streetlights, while the cityscapes and suburbs are filled with unique buildings, each with their own supporting infrastructures, such as parking lots, trash cans, bus stops, miscellaneous guard rails, and construction zones. Ventura Bay feels like its real world counterpart.

Despite the gorgeousness of it all, a few design elements take away from its polish.

The environment is devoid of human existence and contains little to no traffic. It can be assumed that everyone in Ventura Bay is no longer on the roads and are at home sound asleep. While this gives the sense of being part of an “Underground” crew racing through the night, the absence of other lifeforms give off a weird post apocalyptic feel to an otherwise vibrant looking city.

Another missing feature is daytime. The game exists only between the evening and dawn/dusk timeframes. Ventura Bay must be going through its winter solstice. What’s even worse is that the lighting transition from golden hour to darkness is not dependent on the passage of time, rather it is dependent on your location. In other words, you can watch the game lighting quickly shift from evening to dawn/dusk just by driving a short distance. Drive that distance in reverse, and you’ll undo the transition as if you’ve just traveled back in time, it is truly off-putting.

Finally, the AI can at times be horrid and downright frustrating. The game will apply “rubber banding” where computer controlled players will miraculously catch up to you, keeping races artificially exciting until the last second. This rubber banding effect is manageable in the beginning but becomes more unforgiving and unrealistic in the later stages. I refuse to believe that my 1000+ hp Lamborghini Aventador can be decimated by a Nissan Sileighty.

This broken attempt at making races exciting gets goofier in Drift Train events, where the goal is to score drift points while staying close to competing drifters. Go in front of the pack and your opponents will recklessly missile their car while you are in mid drift. Stay too far back and you will be left in the dust not able to score points. The middle of the pack seems to be the best place to earn points but you still risk being derailed by nonsensical opponents.

Considering the shortcomings and oddities, Need For Speed is still a thoroughly fun racing game. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Nailing down drifts through hairpins and switchbacks is an amazing feeling as it is a delicate balancing act. Controlling your car at insanely high speeds looks downright beautiful as the richly detailed surroundings naturally blur around you. Running through Gymkhana courses is seriously difficult even in a fictionalized and simplified game environment. And if the racing doesn’t satisfy you, there are endless hours in which you can spend creating works of art.

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Gregson is the co-producer of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! where he and 2 gear head friends started an enthusiast website for shits and giggles to write about whatever they damn well please. You can contact Shifting Lanes !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to tell us how wrong we are about everything, or yell at us on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

 > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 11:25

1

Does it have be a cop mode like classic NFS games?

EKnineTIME > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 11:30

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THERE IS NO OPTION FOR MANUAL TRANSMISSION

I dont care if its not supposed to be a sim... that is just straight up garbage.

Paullubbock > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 11:30

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So no damage or car deformation physics, no traction physics, no realistic racing mode (rubberbanding). No way, just another fake kiddie game.

jaredfromspace > EKnineTIME 11/16/2015 at 11:33

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I was just going to ask about that. I’m hardly interested if there’s no clutch. Do you even counter steer or do you push a drift button? lol

EKnineTIME > jaredfromspace 11/16/2015 at 11:36

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Not sure about that... I played it for literally 30 seconds before I told my friend to turn it off. The steering feel is total junk as well.

To drift, I think you just have to hold the e-brake button...

CALUSA > EKnineTIME 11/16/2015 at 11:38

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Underground never had that option, right?

CALUSA > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 11:38

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H0w is the drifting?

472CID > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 11:39

2

It blows my mind the number of these games EA cranks out. At least one NFS ever single year (except last year?) Do we really need that many street racing games? I thought that fad died 7-8 years ago.

Blondude > 472CID 11/16/2015 at 11:42

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A lot of people would say Carbon was the last great NFS, so 9 years ago really.

jaredfromspace > EKnineTIME 11/16/2015 at 11:43

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So sad. I remember the old NFS 2 on the PC even let me shift on the with A and Z. How can you detach shifting from a racing game, even if it’s an arcade game? Sim or not, that’s a central component.

Krieger (@FSKrieger22) >  11/16/2015 at 11:46

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Nope.

Krieger (@FSKrieger22) > EKnineTIME 11/16/2015 at 11:47

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It’s been on the request list for a while, but apparently underglow neon was considered to be a more important addition to the game than an option for manual transmissions. Or the asinine steering aid system that fights you for control of your car.

not for canada - australian in disguise > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 11:50

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Prostreet was the last decent NFS game, and even after Underground 2 you could definitely notice a major drop in quality.

Maxaxle > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 11:54

0

ThatbastardKurtis > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 11:55

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The M2 is in this, correct? If so, how was it?

ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 11:56

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I bought the game day 1, and I enjoy it, but I give it a solid 6/10. Some races (component parts with Amy and her 180sx) makes me want to pull out my dreadlocks from my scalp cause I’m in a fully tuned aventador getting passed up by a fucking Volvo 242. The customization is authentic and great... On a few cars, which is unfortunate that some cars don’t have shit (both ferraris can’t change rims).

Not a Sunburst Miata > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 12:03

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My personal favorite is the original Most Wanted.

ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy > jaredfromspace 11/16/2015 at 12:04

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You do. Drifting is actually enjoyable in some ways.

HideyoshiJP > EKnineTIME 11/16/2015 at 12:04

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You can just let off the gas, depending on how your car is tuned. You can also use a feint motion if you have drift stability assist turned off. As far as manual transmissions are concerned, see my theory in this reddit post .

Yeah, it definitely understands gears. A lot of game engines with car functionality seem to - even the “III” era GTA games. With Frostbite, though, I’m betting there’s a complexity issue, and that the issue is more than just the technical part of adding it.

With EA betting everything on Frostbite, I am guessing there’s not just the issue of mapping out dependencies, but also addressing code manageability. I’ve never seen Frostbite, but I’m betting that like most software, there are certain functions that are exposed to the SDK, and certain functions that have to be dealt with in the game engine itself. If adding manuals meant low-level engine changes, then you have to make a choice. Do you:

A. Hack it in for only this game?

B. Work with DICE to move it into the main engine?

C. Fork a custom build of Frostbite for racing?

D. Create some crazy shim to go around the engine?

There’s so many issues that come from this. Does DICE have the resources to do this? If it’s moved into the engine, how will it affect other games? If they hack it in, will their SDK start to break when they patch Frostbite v3.0.5.whatever downstream from DICE code? If it’s forked, who maintains the modifications every time Frostbite is changed; who spends the money to test? Does Frostbite use some unified server architecture on the back end that’s going to stop working for this game if they patch the code in and end up having to freeze the Frostbite engine version level?

Once again, I’m not trying to make excuses or anything. Honestly, I’ll lose interest a lot faster without manuals. (I’m the guy that gets excited when he gets to do a 4-3 downshift on an uphill stretch at 40mph in an econobox.) This game has other issues that bother me too, like the lack of a decal editor (for custom decals), but this is still one of my top issues. Despite this, I can definitely appreciate the position the devs at Ghost are in. I hope they can find a way to save you, Manuél Transmission , but I fear you are already omae wa mou shindeiru .

Drunk-Commy > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 12:06

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carbon was the worst

Zade Kekhia > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 12:06

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When will they make a game with the caliber of Porsche Unleashed again? Something with a realistic story, excellent graphics, and more realistic handling than anything else NFS?

I’ll stick to Enthusia until something like that comes out. Maybe give GT6/Forza a try, some day.

ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy > Krieger (@FSKrieger22) 11/16/2015 at 12:08

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I think it's cause the frostbite 3 engine simply may not allow it. There is no racing game within that engine that used manual transmission.

James May is my spirit animal > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 12:13

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Does it have a Pontiac Aztek or Tercel AWD? Can you make the horn say “B!TC#” when blaring it? IF not, no deal.

redheadedburnout > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 12:16

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I’m super on the fence on this game. What you’ve said is line with just about what everyone else has said. Everyone here, if you’ve bought the game, do you feel the car customization and pretty graphics makes it worth the $?

BIGJake111 > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 12:20

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NEED FOR SPEED IS NOT FAST AND FURIOUS SIM.

Not at its core. And that’s why this game is so depressing. Need for speed is about the old Porsche unleashed game which has the biggest selection of digital 356s in the world.

Need for speed was about driving the Diablo and murdialgo and carrera gt when it was just a concept!

Need for speed is about red wood forest and limited production exotics.

The lowest car in a need for speed should be a lotus Elise like in hp2 or a boxster spyder in hot pursuit. It’s all uphill from there, which is saying something in its own right.

Sadly this game lost sight of that.

Blondude > Drunk-Commy 11/16/2015 at 12:21

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Compared to Undercover or the shitshow that was The Run? Yeah, no.

It's a "Porch-uh" > EKnineTIME 11/16/2015 at 12:24

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I’m just happy to hear you can use a wheel. When I picked up Rivals I was PISSED to find out it had no wheel support.

RedEyeNinja > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 12:26

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Can someone just remake the old NFS:HP2 from the 90’s with today’s graphics?!

Drunk-Commy > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 12:30

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put it this way.

played Underground 1+2, had a shit ton of fun in Most Wanted, tried carbon, and i havent played a single NFS game since. that shit was awful

wiffleballtony > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 12:32

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I’m annoyed that the PC release isn’t until 2016.

Blondude > Drunk-Commy 11/16/2015 at 12:33

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So Carbon was the worst NFS that you played . It’s still better than every NFS that came after it.

AeroNerdPorsche > RedEyeNinja 11/16/2015 at 12:35

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I’d buy the shit out of that if it came out.

EKnineTIME > It's a "Porch-uh" 11/16/2015 at 12:38

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I played with sticks, but I dont see how a wheel would make this game any better.

Drunk-Commy > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 12:40

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thats just sad.

absessive > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 12:48

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Nice wheels.

dddsff > ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy 11/16/2015 at 12:50

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a fully tuned aventador getting passed up by a fucking Volvo 242.

And that’s a bad thing?

Blondude > dddsff 11/16/2015 at 12:52

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When you’re in the Aventador you just dumped a ton of cash on? Yes.

Blondude > wiffleballtony 11/16/2015 at 12:53

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I’d rather wait and have a working game than have a game that was rushed and is unplayable.

Blondude > Paullubbock 11/16/2015 at 12:55

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There’s damage/deformation, the game physics change drastically depending on how you tune your car, and the rubberbanding is getting fixed with the next patch.

Blondude > redheadedburnout 11/16/2015 at 12:59

1

I haven’t bought the game, but I participated in the beta. The actual gameplay isn’t bad (especially considering the rubberbanding AI is getting patched) but the fact that I can only own 5 cars at a time and that the map is no bigger than Underground 2’s map from 2004 is what’s keeping me from getting it. Maybe if I can find it on sale during Black Friday.

Dave L. > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 13:01

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The environments and original music score alone make The Run a worthy NFS title.

wiffleballtony > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 13:05

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To be honest, I would have bought that excuse in 2005, but not 2015.

cstealth > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 13:11

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Rubberbanding = automatic dealbreaker for me. Racing is about being faster than the other(s), not about being slower so that you can fake out cheating AI before making a crazy final push.

JayQC > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 13:11

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No manual, always online, so obviously, it blows chunks.

It handles like Ridge Racer on PS1 with prettier graphics.

There are two modes of driving :

1. Not drifting.

2. Drifting.

The car snaps in and out of each in a binary fashion.

Granted, the only NFS games I played after Porsche Unleashed were the two Hot Pursuit remakes, which were as close to a good NFS game you can get.

djmt1 > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 13:14

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There’s 2 things I have zero tolerance for in racing games. Compulsory Auto Steering and Rubber Banding AI, the fact that this game has both makes it garbage as far I am concerned.

Blondude > Dave L. 11/16/2015 at 13:16

4

The Run literally killed EA Black Box.

ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 13:31

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The last race in The Run was epic I'll say at least, it was really like a movie.

ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy > dddsff 11/16/2015 at 13:34

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Not in a traditional sense, but a Lambo should beat a Volvo at least 98% of the time.

ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy > redheadedburnout 11/16/2015 at 13:35

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I have the game, and while I love it, I just wanted something different from driveclub. Wait until Black Friday.

Sam > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 13:43

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Alright, give me a number. How much would you be willing to pay for this game?

green_man_group > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 13:45

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I gave up on the NFS series a long long time ago. The best NFS games were the ones like the original NFS, NFS II, NFS III, and NFS IV: High Stakes.

Porsche Unleashed was great too, from a game play standpoint - although I was a bit frustrated by how you could only drive Porsches.

But truly, after PU, it turned into the tuner games which were never my thing. I know that those Underground games sold extremely well, but I just found the gameplay to be downright boring.

Sam > wiffleballtony 11/16/2015 at 13:45

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Really. Why do the devs of all these games keep having to delay PC releases? We’re freaking 20+% of the market! (Counting 360, PS3, XB1, and PS4 as the other systems)

Sam > djmt1 11/16/2015 at 13:47

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Rubber banding AI is the worst. You put all that work into getting a solid 1st place lead and then the other cars just engage hyperspeed and catch right up.

djmt1 > Sam 11/16/2015 at 13:48

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What’s worse it that in this game the AI (and I’m not joking here) will stop at the penultimate checkpoint to let you pass?!?! How was this design decision allowed in a RACING GAME!

dogisbadob > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 13:53

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My favorite NFS game is Hot Pursuit 2

ex.saint > djmt1 11/16/2015 at 14:05

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Rubber-banding in effect was all I needed to hear to know that I won’t be buying this game until it’s <$20.

darkpuppet > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 14:14

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I must be the only person who things Rivals is a better game than this one.

1) Rivals proves you can make your surroundings look gorgeous without it raining ALL OF THE TIME

Seriously, it’s not just more depressing than Bruce Wayne’s childhood, it’s b-o-r-i-n-g. And looks like the intern coding it thought the effect was so cool, it should just be the whole game.

2) The AI drivers are beyond ridiculous.

This means, sprint races can be damn near impossible to win, and drift trains are a mess of carnage that you can’t seem to lose.

Or forcing you to buy different cars for SINGLE missions when you can only have five in your garage? C’mon! I don’t want Nakai-san’s, or Magnus’ car. Nor do I want to build a 250HP wunderkind for a single race either.

Other than the retarded sprint races, the game is actually pretty easy to complete.. and I can’t say I’ve seen any roadblocks that the outlaw keeps telling me to bust through, and I’ve puttered around the entire city with a single cop on the tail of my 800HP focus RS for nearly HALF AN HOUR before giving up. I even reversed into him a few times — no roadblock was ever found.

I find I can still go back and play Rivals for hours on end and be entertained, but once I’ve seen all of the story clips in NFS, I can’t be bothered any more (hint, you’re done when said B celebs invite you in for a par-tay).

And multiplayer? Where is it? what’s it good for? Other than random dweebs ramming into my pristine bodywork, I just don’t see anything that warrants the always-online requirement.

So much of the game feels mostly, but not quite done yet.

I love driving games, and I used to love NFS — but this is not a return to roots, it’s a return to Midnight Club II.. I hope they add more to it than what they’ve currently got.

darkpuppet > wiffleballtony 11/16/2015 at 14:15

1

Maybe they’ll actually have finished the game by then... right now, it’s about 90% finished...

darkpuppet > dddsff 11/16/2015 at 14:17

2

When you spend 200K building up a 1078 HP monster, getting passed by a volvo that’s crashed more than you have is quite annoying.

Kin Polaj > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 14:26

1

I got this game when it came out and I’m still playing it. I actually love the game. Its fun as hell. Something I cant really say for P cars. (Yea two totally different games, whatever)

wiffleballtony > Sam 11/16/2015 at 14:26

0

Don’t know, the days of delayed releases for PC were years ago. Back when they were trying to protect console sales. That’s why I’m shocked.

BILL-LONGDICK-CLINTON > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 14:29

3

CArbon was awesome. NFS 2015 sucks. It’s horrible.

Underground 2 was the best.

BILL-LONGDICK-CLINTON > wiffleballtony 11/16/2015 at 14:30

0

That’s how it always is for you mouthbreathers. Surprised you bottom dweller pcmasterrace fatties aren’t used to it by now.

darkpuppet > redheadedburnout 11/16/2015 at 14:36

2

If you can answer ‘yes’ to the following questions, sure, it’s awesome....

1) do you like the rain?

2) Like, really love the rain?

3) and the night?

4) Eternal rain and night?

5) Do you live and breath automatic transmissions?

6) Do you have unlimited internet to play extended Solo sessions?

7) Do you think that team drifting is 0% coordination and 100% demolition derby?

8) Do you believe that deflating your front tires is a great ‘grip’ enhancer?

9) Do you agree that driving through puddles should feel the same as driving on dry pavement?

10) Do you like being forced to sell a car for pennies on the dollar so you can buy a zero dollar car to finish a mission? (why would I trade my own porsche for Magnus’ lame duck 922?? WHY!?)

11) Do you have any friends that fit into the following demographics:
- Adderall addict
- White trucker Fast and Furious Fan
- Tomboy princess with a co-dependency problem
- Tough chick mechanic with an anime fetish
- Token black(ish) buddha

If so, perhaps this game is for you....

darkpuppet > JayQC 11/16/2015 at 14:40

0

You can avoid it from snapping into drift if you max your grip settings, but then you have the turning radius of a train.... so good luck with that..

wiffleballtony > darkpuppet 11/16/2015 at 14:55

0

What exactly isn’t finished, that wasn’t a design decision?

wiffleballtony > BILL-LONGDICK-CLINTON 11/16/2015 at 14:58

0

RE: please see release dates for Fallout 4 and Battlefront 3 as examples. Thanks for playing.

Scott > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 15:20

3

My personal favorite was NFS: Porsche Unleashed.

Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 15:21

0

Carbon was terrible, a poor rehash of Underground 2 with Most Wanted’s physics engine.

Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns > EKnineTIME 11/16/2015 at 15:23

0

Wait, really? No manual? Bullshit.

cstealth > djmt1 11/16/2015 at 15:29

0

Wait, what?! If you’re losing, it’ll wait at the second last checkpoint for you?

djmt1 > cstealth 11/16/2015 at 15:32

0

Yup. You see the AI’s brake lights come on just before flying past them. I’m sure you can lose a race but I’m yet to see it happen.

benjohnson626 > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/16/2015 at 16:19

1

Shift wasn't too bad either. people just hated it because it wasn't on the streets anymore. My favorites were Most Wanted and Underground 2. Carbon wasn't near as bad as everyone says it is too. but every post Undercover has just been... ugh...

Nauraushaun > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 16:30

0

Does it make you cringe often? Does it feel like you’re actively lowering your own intelligence while you play it?

The demo to The Crew did that for me in spades. I couldn’t own the game, I just couldn’t. Even if it has redeeming features.

Tomek G > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 16:53

1

The last great NFS in my books was NFS: HP2, way back when.

Hot Pursuit remake wasn’t that horrible, but couldn’t touch it.

I still think High Stakes was golden game that needs to make a comeback

Andrew P. Collins > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 16:57

4

No cop mode no care. The whole point of NFS is slamming supercars into the gutter with a ridiculous police weapon!

phimuskapsi > ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy 11/16/2015 at 16:57

1

The engine would have nothing to do with it. It’s job is to handle the rendering of the game, it’ll do whatever they program it to do. The fact that it has an automatic shows that the game has ‘gears’ all they have to do is add a feature to allow switching of it.

Thing is, they know their audience. They know that NFS is an arcade game, and very few care about shifting. Whereas the guys that do like that kind of depth are going to be looking at sims anyway.

ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy > phimuskapsi 11/16/2015 at 17:05

0

True, you make a very good point.

Shifting Lanes > Andrew P. Collins 11/16/2015 at 17:16

1

I haven’t personally played this one, but I’ve played about 5 other NFSs and this statement is exactly what the game should be made for. Project Cars and Forza and Gran Turismo are the better simulators. This game just seems like one big “DAMN! JDM TYTE YO!” phrase after another.

Blondude > djmt1 11/16/2015 at 17:39

1

I see you have yet to play Component Parts.

Hot Takes Salesman > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 17:40

0

I played the beta, and immediately died after hearing the characters. Yes, this is my disembodied ghost writing this, because I fucking flatlined after hearing the annoying squealing Spike mofo

Blondude > darkpuppet 11/16/2015 at 17:42

1

- Adderall addict
- White trucker Fast and Furious Fan
- Tomboy princess with a co-dependency problem
- Tough chick mechanic with an anime fetish
- Token black(ish) buddha

Oh god, this is so accurate.

Blondude > Nauraushaun 11/16/2015 at 17:43

0

The Crew’s story sucked, but luckily you can blaze through it in no time. After that it’s a pretty great game and the new content coming with the Wild Run expansion tomorrow looks amazing.

Blondude > benjohnson626 11/16/2015 at 17:45

1

The Hot Pursuit reboot was decent, but the lack of emphasis on freeroam was disappointing. The entire game could have been made up of closed circuits and it wouldn’t have changed anything.

Blondude > RedEyeNinja 11/16/2015 at 17:46

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I just want HD remakes of Hot Pursuit 2 (preferably the PS2 version) and Burnout 3. I would never need to buy another game.

djmt1 > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 17:50

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No I haven’t. I opted not to borrow it from a friend but I have heard of this end game boss that only be beat via glitches. I assume this is the Component Parts that you speak of.

Blondude > djmt1 11/16/2015 at 17:51

1

Yeah, it’s possible to win, it just takes several dozen tries. No 240SX should be faster than a 1000 hp Aventador...

GunplaFighter! > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 18:25

1

This game wont entice every racing fan, but for those who just want a casual romp and a nice “do anything devil may care” game, this isnt a bad choice. As someone who wasted eight years playing the Initial D arcade games, I like this game for the sole purpose of beating the records of my friends. In those days, it used to be Set a record on Akina or Akagi, come back in a week or two, and see if your name is still at the top of the timeboards. If a familiar name is above yours or someone new, it was a “goddammit so & so”, and you would waste $5 trying to take back your spot. Or if you go on those friday nights, and theres a bunch of asian high schoolers thinking theyre the shit because they can tackle Akina in a R34 and think they can beat anyone, and you whip out your suzuki cappucino and announce your dominance. This game brings back the feelings I used to have back then. When you have a bunch of friends on your friends list that play this game, or if that familiar name you ran into online a few days ago is chasing after your REP score or Drift score or fastest time consistently and making you log on every few days or so to see if you’re still at the top of the autolog standings on the events. This game brings back those feelings from yesteryear.

If I had to rate this game, honestly it would be a 7/10. It’s too easy to get to the end game, the characters are forgettable, and the cops aren’t as agressive as they are in earlier titles. It’s too easy to get away from them. To compare them to an agressive chihuahua is accurate, as opposed to the wolves they were in Hot Pursuit or Rivals. hopefully its something they can change later.

Take it from me, when you play the game with the aim of keeping your other friends from taking the top of the leaderboards, the game changes into something enjoyable.

Nauraushaun > Blondude 11/16/2015 at 19:28

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It wasn’t just the story. It was the characters mostly I think. I started getting that sweat on the back of my neck. That feeling that if somebody walked in and saw me watching those cutscenes with that dialog, they’d judge me hard. I didn’t even own the game.

Mockngbrd > Shifting Lanes 11/16/2015 at 21:39

0

I hate that there is no daylight

boxrocket > EKnineTIME 11/16/2015 at 23:05

0

Older versions had manual shifting in drag mode... maybe it's hidden there?

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Shifting Lanes 11/17/2015 at 00:25

0

You lost me when you stated most of the car scene is single dudes at strip malls.

Alexandru74 > Shifting Lanes 11/17/2015 at 02:06

0

I’ve always ask this whenever this game is mentioned.

Am I the only one who hates the way the cars handle? I feel there is a real lag between direction inputs and the car moving.

I really wanted to like this game, I actually managed to get the game a day early. I love racing games that allow you to modify your car and I’m a huge fan of Speedhunters. I’m not angry just really really really disappointed.

Krieger (@FSKrieger22) > phimuskapsi 11/17/2015 at 04:24

1

Bonus: This game and Rivals before it actually has a “coasting” function that automatically shifts your car into top gear when cruising at highway speeds. In this game, it’s more notable for never snapping out of it whenever you need it and ruining corner exits. If they can program that, a manual isn’t impossible. And I’m not sure how exactly they managed to bungle the coasting system in this game. Style over substance, I suppose.

darkpuppet > wiffleballtony 11/17/2015 at 08:31

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Well, I’d like to think the non-existent multiplayer is an unfinished bit of business.

Or the outlaw tasks that I can’t complete because I can’t get the cops mad enough at me to set up roadblocks — literally half an hour with me crashing into the popo — if it were GTA V, I would have been sniped by a heli in the first 10 minutes.

Or the fact that the story lines with Magnus and Nakai-san (and to a lesser extent, ken block) just end after a single arbitrary race — often requiring purchase of their personal ride for that single race...why? I can’t even mod it... why not just equip it and go? Is there more going on here? I dunno...

I’m even led to believe that there’s more depth to the game, like the tips saying you can hide from the police by going into a warehouse area and turning off your engine. Seriously, all you have to do is drive in a straight line for 2 minutes and the cops are lost.

Or the ability to put mustang rims on a civic, but no rims on a ferrari...

Or you can drive around and get free parts, but there’s no need for them after the first couple of missions.

Or the idiocy of the AI in drift events. That has to be unfinished business, because it is THAT bad.

how about the scenic lookouts you can get snaps of, but half of them don’t have any content in them — not even your car shows up in some of them..

And the body kits.. how come I can’t tune more of my car’s body kits? Is it because I picked cars that are un body-kitable? ugh..

I can see the perpetual rain or location based environmental changes being a design decision, but there’s so much unfinished business... I have to believe that my $70 is going to go towards finishing these things over time (Bungie DID fix Oblivion — sorta)

Sorry, am I ranting again?

wiffleballtony > darkpuppet 11/17/2015 at 09:13

1

That does seem pretty bad, haven’t seen those things covered in reviews. Thanks for the heads up.

darkpuppet > wiffleballtony 11/17/2015 at 11:00

0

Yeah, most reviews seem to have a lot of unwarranted praise for the game in my opinion... NFS: Rivals is still the better game IMO.

Nathanael > darkpuppet 11/17/2015 at 11:28

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Rivals is garbage. NFS MW 2012 was better

darkpuppet > Nathanael 11/17/2015 at 13:01

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I didn’t say it was awesome.. only that it was the better game compared to this incarnation of NFS..

Full disclosure — I really enjoyed Rivals. I still play it as it’s a fun pick up and play type of game — it at least seemed like they were on the right path back to the NFS:MW days of glory.

Nathanael > darkpuppet 11/18/2015 at 07:31

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I think our definitions of a GOOD game are very different which is why we don’t agree on this.