26.11.2015

“…Need for Speed does a lot right, but a lack of care and attention has gone into the story…”2015’s reboot of classic street racing title Need for Speed is now upon us. With no game since the awesome Underground 2 quite seeing as much success as when the series was in its prime, fans have longed for more for a while now. Several new twists on the game have as yet been unsuccessful in emulating the adrenaline and fun factor of the high point in its lifetime. Could this new edition be the one that changes that? I played to find out.The first thing that stands out in this game is that it is dark. The use of a night time setting and artificial lighting does make you reminisce of the Underground 2 days gone by,but this game looks much sharper and has certainly been given a glossy finish. Then you realise just how “street” the developers have attempted to make it. People start talking and making actions and it behind to feel a bit like a cheap rip off of the early Fast and Furious films. You know the ones, when it was still about street racing? Anyway, it is over the top, and it cheapens the entire atmosphere of the game to come.Before we get to the part about driving, there is something else that is off-putting about this game from the offset too, and that is your character. The cinematic parts of the game are played out from a first person perspective, and you play the part of an unnamed driver. It is curious then that you are forced to play a male, and frustrating how sexist the context of the game is as a result. When my girlfriend played the game, it very much bothered her, and she is by no means a strong feminist or even easily offended by these things. It does seem in some ways like half of the potential audience of the game has been entirely overlooked, and this really is a very big mistake to make.Ignoring the corny story and borderline-sexist attitude of the game, the driving itself is actually a great experience. Freedom to customise your ride using real world cars and genuine upgrades allows you to modify your driving experience to suit you. It also means you can optimise it for each individual challenge you will face. You can feel every change you make acting upon the car after you make it, and gameplay is influenced strongly as a result of how you choose to drive. All of this adds credibility to the street racing setting, and the ability to make aesthetic changes means that you can make the experience and the vehicles in your garage your own.Behind the wheel you are in full control of the action. You don’t have to make every single gear change, but where you drive on the road and what you do with your car is up to you. The game does not try to drive for you or tell you what you should and shouldn’t do. At the same time, driving is easy. That isn’t to say every challenge is a piece of cake, and in fact I finished one drifting course with just 0.05 seconds to spare! What I mean by easy is that driving doesn’t feel like a chore in this game, and it doesn’t lead to the inevitable frustration that a number of others do.There is a good variety of different challenges for you to test your flashy automobiles with in Need for Speed, which is where it really pulls through. You can choose from races, time trials, drifting challenges, accumulating high bounties and many more options to enjoy and work your way through the game with. There is even a Burnout style system for destroying cars and pulling off skill moves, similar to that in Need for Speed Rivals, which helps bolster the action. Many challenges come down to the wire too, with a challenging AI and just enough time provided for you to get round them. The game allows for a couple of minor errors along the way, but you have to be the best to win in this game, which also helps to push its authentic street style.In all, Need for Speed does a lot right, but a lack of care and attention has gone into the story which should give the game context. The technical side of things and the actual gameplay, alongside the way the game looks, are very good indeed. In fact, they are much better than we have seen from the series in a long time now. Even the choices in cars pay attention to street racing culture and preferences, with Mustangs, Skylines and some Subaru racing beasts being among the options. With the right DLC to provide a better, more thought out story to the game, Need for Speed could easily be among the best games in the franchise and make a mark on the racing game market. As it stands, the game is fun to play, but what it lacks prevents it from being the market leader it once was.The Good:The game looks fantastically sharp and makes great use of artificial lighting in its dark setting.A variety of true street racing vehicles combined with a vast, accurate array of modifications add credibility to street racing the theme of the game.Easy to get to grips with and take full control of the well developed and largely player-controlled driving action.Plenty of challenges which often see things come down to the very last second.Great variety in challenge types keeps the game interesting throughout, as does its noteworthy AI competition.An authentic street-racing experience in terms of technical content.The Bad:The game is overly-enthusiastic when trying to put across its “street” attitude, cheapening the overall experience.A lack of care and attention has gone into creating a fully immersive story.The game has an awkward air of sexism about it if you are a female playing through the male-led story.Always online means that sometimes when you pause, your car keeps going into a wall…

30.4.2016

As an ex NFS fan from the days of Underground 1 that stuck with the series all the way through Underground 2, Carbon, Most Wanted, Undercover, Pro Street, Shift 1 and 2 with a return for The Run (which was very meh compared to the other listed titles) and the newer Most Wanted (which was garbage on the highest level). I can honestly say at first, I was very dissapointed... AT FIRST! The fact of the matter is the physics were not the best BUT they worked and have since been improved by patches to the degree that grip builds ARE 100% viable now, drift is still good but a properly tuned grip build will leave them in the dust now, as it should be. This game SHOULD have had better physics to begin with but to be honest,the physics worked even then, it just requires practice to get the hang of (exactly what any new racing game physics engine requires of the player, whether it takes days or months, the physics WORK and they work damn well when you get used to them).I'll try and keep this to a minimum while still being specific;1. Customization is incredible, with mods from full body conversion kits and fender flares to hoods, trunks, rear wings, wing mirrors, front bumpers, side skirts, splitters, exhausts, rear bumpers, tail lights, headlights, rims, tires, brake calipers, brake discs and diffusers. The amount of customization for most of the cars is staggering, a true return to the old days of visual mods in the NFS series.2. More than enough amazing cars lovingly recreated to look absolutely beautiful and engine notes to make you feel like the car's in the room with you if you have surround sound. From things like the Trueno AE86 and Volvo 242 to the insane Beck Kustoms F132 hot rod/F1 car, classic Porsche 911 and Nissan GT-R 2015 (new 2017 now in game too) just to list a few of the amazing cars on offer.3. The wrap editor has been vastly improved since release with general improvements to the UI and now even a wrap sharer so you can share your design with the community or download someone else's and includes the ability to mirror vinyls and even edit and recolour other people's wraps that you've downloaded.4. A more than reasonably sized map with some really nice mountain roads and a sweet as hell highway loop, downside being that it's always night and always raining, maybe that'll change one day.5. Some new updates include things like massive improvements to the ingame screenshot taker and now you no longer need to return to the garage to repair your car (damage is visual only) just drive through a gas station anywhere on the map for a free repair. Latest update included speedlists, a new way to quickly join PvP races directly from the menu and also a new prestige mode that allows you to replay story races with new and much harder time/point targets (on a side note new cars and visual customizations are being added for free and the updates are fairly chunky and will remain free).6. The fact of the matter is that this game has a vast amount of content and requires time and patience to get to grips with but is very rewarding in the end. I believe the problem is that other old fans are going into it expecting everything to be like say Underground or the old Most Wanted and you can't do that, because they were old and we were blind to the issues that plagued them because they were the best we had of that type of game back then and because we got so hooked on the way they play we reject the fact that the new NFS is NOT the same, it's an absolutely incredible game but it has been years, the series had to move on to some degree.All in all my overall opinion is if you like visually customizing cars or even making sleepers, you WILL love this game, IF you give it a big enough chance for YOU to master the new physics and it will reward you well if you do. IMO, the best racing game currently on PS4, over The Crew, Driveclub, Project Cars, now to see if it can out do GT Sport due this year but I doubt it lol.

26.2.2016

I have really enjoyed playing the game, the graphics are stunning and the races are fun and sometimes challenging. Despite the drawbacks I would definitely recommend buying it, for both NFS fans and for anyone who hasn't played the games before.ProsThe first thing you'll notice about the game is the stunning visuals. All the cars look incredible and the customization is really good, although some of the super cars have a lack of new visual upgrades which is a bit annoying. I love the fact that you can upload your own car designs and use other peoples for your own car, it means you can have an amazing looking car with very little effort as well as putting the time in and making a car exactly how you want it.The gameplay is good and the cars handle quite nicely.

28.11.2015

I am a big fan of need for speed Underground, and I have been waiting several years to play this. I have read many unfair reviews for this game so I decided to review it. It requires a stable internet connection to be played, but this cannot be considered a problem, who doesn't have one? Nowadays a fast and stable internet connection is more important than water! And what if there is a blackout? (I am serious it happened on my first day with Need for Speed) Do we blame EA and Ghost games because they didn't provide us a backup battery for ps4? First of all the game is really fun, on the first day I couldn't turn off my ps4 for 8 hours.The game looks stunning,

5.11.2015

First impressions are good, the graphics are as beautiful as you would expect from a latest gen title. It is a shame the whole game takes place at night, if playing in a well-lit room, I expect it will be difficult to see where you are going! The fact that it is constantly wet too only adds to the problems! The real-action cut scenes are blended really well with the CGI, so you end up watching the actors walking around your car. unfortunately the cut scenes can't be skipped, which I can see being a nuicance going forwards.Coming from playing ProjectCars, the handling is taking some time to get used to, however this is always the case swapping between two racing games with very different approaches.

6.11.2015

Given the hype surrounding this game, and an expectation of it being similar to older versions of the series I personally would say it achieve a lot of its aims. That being said it does also have a few draw backs that I will highlight later.The most notable element to this game has to be the graphics and sounds which are beautiful and really bring out the next gen quality. The game is also easy to get to grips with and drifting in particular is simple to master and pleasantly satisfying throughout. The customisation options are adequate giving each car in the game room to differentiate from one another but are limited to the combinations of parts that can be put on.

9.1.2016

I bought this game not really knowing what to expect, but being a big car fan the trailers made it look great.The game looks stunning from the environment to the cars!However there was not as many cars as I thought there was going to be, and I found the customisation a little bit frustrating, i was hoping I could customise parts of rocket bunny kits with other parts but this is not the case, I found with the cars that you can have rocket bunny kits , you have to have the full body kit which cannot be missed or have none of the rocket bunny parts, a little bit disappointed.The other major fault I have with this game is the driving once you setup your car for "race" or "drift",

12.11.2015

Loving this game, slightly easy to get money quickly, slightly annoying that you get so many phone calls but you quickly over look that when your screeching sideways round a corner at 140mph!Graphically this game is just gorgeous, the city looks amazing, the road somehow looks alive. There's near constant reflections in the wet road and it shows just much attention to detail really has been put into making the game. When you get to the cars you really appreciate the little details, the smallest piece of metal manages to change the whole look of the car, then you've got every little possible decal design you can think of, in any colour combination you want.Every car manages to have its own sound which really helps make each one an individual within then game.

4.12.2015

If I had just read the reviews on here I would never have brought it but then seeing most ps4 games have three stars and alot moaning we treated our selfs to our favourite game on Playstation. Few hours playing it's wow!!!!!!It's a movie with a game inside said my hubby best need for game so farI am a huge racing fan in gaming best I've played and yes we have the crew, project cars etc already.We even think need for speed have some in put on the crew like they helped bring it out and so good while people waited for need for speed 2015.RE Internet anyone with a ps4 or xbox one when you buy says you need Internet it's not the games fault if you brought it knowing that so stop blaming the games blame Sony.

28.1.2017

The game is very well put together with amazing graphics and fun to be had.Need for Speed offers some unique races, a huge open map and great multiplayer. However, the racing is short lived as you find yourself doing the same thing over and over again. Also, the integrated constant online feature messes with your single player - as you are racing AI, online drivers could drive into you whilst free roaming, this then messes with your race.Overall, for the price - it is worth it. However, the fun will not last unless you start finding your own challenges. There are only 50 cars in the game which is terrible, but the game focuses on customisation, so this is understandable.

8.11.2015

Need for speed has attracted a lot of critism which I feel is unfair and is the reason I'm writing a review for it. Some people get a little upset, well quite a bit upset it would seem, then shoot a product down with a 1 star review. My advice is don't believe everything you read and if in doubt try it before you buy. Not everything people tell you on the net is gospel.Need to speed is an arcade racing game - if you're after realism walk away. Don't rant about how hard it is to control - it's not, it just takes time to get used to it.The game is always online which I agree is something which is not necessary - it does take an extra 20-30 seconds for it to connect as a result but once it is active I've had no trouble with it all.

6.5.2016

Its a good game, superb graphics, good achievements. Features like stance make me happy. I'm a big NFS fan, however.... I do not like the characters or storyline, its like.. bad.. I feel like to block my ears when some of them speak, it just so unnecessary and unfitting. There is no pause either and the way the cars handle could be so much better, the car goes places I do not want it to go. I'm being generous giving it 5*, too many bugs, as others said the customisation aren't alot and EA need to focus on the player/customer's point of view, what they want. FM6 & The Crew kicks this game's butt, but this is still a must buy ! If they wanted to create another Underground they would've,

5.2.2019

Delivery time spot on on the day earlier time than estimated as I'm a big fan of need for speed playing one more of the titles game is absolutely magnificent smooth great graphics great control features on customisation of the vehicles sounds of the vehicles are amazing storyline strong as ever although you'll have to have an online account as it is a online game live players driving around the open map occasionally while you're driving in the game you will come across other life players doing their thing drifting racing or breaking the speed limit or or attracting the attention of the police that when you go past 1 star you become a outlaw and the police will push harder to stop you if you

6.11.2015

It is a brilliant game. Downloaded the digital version (deluxe) and had the M3 too. I was tricking out my BRZ to start with and then moved on, sold it for the GTR. The sound engineering and graphics are brilliant, could listen to the amazingly tuned GTR roar all day long. The downside was when I was trying to play with a friend. Turns out I had to start the game again with my crew settings to invite only. The other thing that pushed my buttons were the cut-scenes being excessive and had no skip button (except this one time, not sure how).Other than those two downsides, the story mode is great and the fact it was like a co-op story mode with my friend, completing them with him,

6.11.2015

What can I say, Need For Speed is back! Gone the days of stupid crash scenes, lack of customisable cars, and driving around in hyper cars. Once again we're able to tune and modify the likes of nissan skylines, BMW's, subaru impreza, focus rs etc. The customisation in this game for me is awesome, not quite as out there as NFS Underground 2 with underfloor neon and spinners, but its up there with the best. I've been reading reviews saying that the handling is arcade like, and sure its not realistic, but NFS has never been a simulator. Its been all about fun which is what this game is. You can choose if you want to drift at silly speeds, or make your car grip like a true race car.

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