[Review] Need for Speed

[Love Pulse]

 

This article is about the video game series. For the first video game from 1994, see The Need for Speed. For the 2014 film based on the series, see Need for Speed (film). For the 2015 game and reboot of the series, see Need for Speed (2015 video game). For other uses, see Need for Speed (disambiguation).

Need for Speed (NFS) is a racing video game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Ghost Games. The series centers around illicit street racing and in general tasks players to complete various types of races while evading the local law enforcement in police pursuits. The series released its first title, The Need for Speed, in 1994. The most recent game, Need for Speed Payback, was released in 2017.

The series has been overseen and had games developed by multiple notable teams over the years including EA Black Box and Criterion Games, the developers of Burnout. [1] The franchise has been critically well received and is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, selling over 150 million copies of games. [2] Due to its strong sales, the franchise has expanded into other forms of media including a film adaptation and licensed Hot Wheels toys. [3]

The Need for Speed series was originally developed by Distinctive Software, a video game studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Prior to Electronic Arts' purchase of the company in 1991, it had created po[CENSORED]r racing games such as Stunts and Test Drive II: The Duel. After the purchase, the company was renamed Electronic Arts (EA) Canada. The company capitalized on its experience in the domain by developing the Need for Speed series in late 1992. [4]

EA Canada continued to develop and expand the Need for Speed franchise up to 2002, when another Vancouver-based gaming company, named Black Box Games, was contracted to continue the series with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2. [5] EA Black Box has been the primary series developer on a yearly cycle from 2002-08.

In 2009, EA brought in Slightly Mad Studios, due to sagging sales, and they released Need for Speed: Shift, and EA's own UK-based company Criterion Games came with Hot Pursuit in 2010. In 2011, Slightly Mad Studios released a sequel to Shift, Shift 2: Unleashed and EA Black Box released The Run.

In 2010, EA introduced a social platform, titled Autolog, for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and future games in the series. Autolog provides social features for Need for Speed games via a mobile app and website; it allows players to track game progress, view leaderboards, share screenshots with friends, and more. [6]

At E3 2012, Criterion Games vice president Alex Ward announced that random developers would no longer be developing NFS titles. Ward wouldn't confirm that all Need for Speed games in the future would be developed entirely by Criterion, but he did say the studio would have "strong involvement" in them and would have control over which NFS titles would be released in the future. [1] [7]

In August 2013, following the downsizing of Criterion Games, it was announced that Swedish developer Ghost Games would gain control of the Need for Speed racing franchise and oversee future development of the main series. [8] [9] At the time, 80% of Ghost Games' work force consisted of former Criterion Games employees. [8] [9]

Gameplay
Almost all of the games in the NFS series employ the same fundamental rules and similar mechanics: the player controls a race car in a variety of races, the goal being to win the race. In the tournament / career mode, the player must win a series of races in order to unlock vehicles and tracks. Before each race, the player chooses a vehicle and has the option of selecting either an automatic or manual transmission. All games in the series have some form of multiplayer mode allowing players to race one another via a split screen, a LAN or the Internet. Since Need for Speed: High Stakes, the series has also integrated car body customization into gameplay.

Although the games share the same name, their tone and focus can vary significantly. For example, in some games the cars can suffer mechanical and visual damage, while in other games the cars cannot be damaged at all; in some games, the software simulates real-car behavior (physics), while in others there are more forgiving physics.

With the release of Need for Speed: Underground, the series shifted from racing sports cars on scenic point-to-point tracks to an import / tuner subculture involving street racing in an urban setting. To date, this theme has remained prevalent in most of the following games.

Need for Speed: Shift and its sequel took a simulator approach to racing, featuring closed-circuit racing on real tracks like the Nürburgring and the Laguna Seca, and fictional street circuits in cities like London and Chicago. The car lists include a combination of exotics, sports cars, and tuners in addition to special race cars.

Most of the games in the franchise include police pursuits in some form or other. In some of the games featuring police pursuit (e.g. Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit), the player can play as either the felon or the cop. [10] The concepts of drifting and dragging were introduced in Need for Speed: Underground. These new mechanics are included in the tournament / career mode aside from the regular street races. Drift races, in games like Need for Speed: Underground and Need for Speed (2015), the player must defeat other racers by totaling the most points, earned by the length and timing of the drift made by the player's vehicle. [11] In drag races, the player must finish first to win the race, though if the player crashes into an obstacle or wall, the race ends. [11] In the recent game Need for Speed: Payback, the player has to earn a certain number of points to win; increase their multiplier based on how many points they get, whist passing through a limited number of checkpoints. [12]

The concept of car tuning evolved with each new game, from focusing mainly on the mechanics of the car to including how the car looks. Each game except Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit has car tuning which can set options for items like ABS, traction control, or downforce,