Insatiable Thirst

Need for Speed was invented by Canadians. Developers from the studio Distinctive Software, located in the city of Burnaby, made a name for themselves with racing arcades: Test Drive (1987), The Duel: Test Drive II (1989) and Stunts (1990. At the publisher Electronic Arts they noticed the talented game developers and offered a deal – 11 million dollars for the company. Soon the studio Distinctive Software was renamed to EA Canada. In 1992 the development began of The Need for Speed, a racing arcade that blew up the genre.
By the way, the full title of the game is Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed. Electronic Arts agreed on a partnership with one of the largest American car magazines Road & Track. Experts from the publication consulted the developers on all matters, organized several test drives, and helped with the reference information presented in the game.
However, the game was loved not for its encyclopedic nature, but for the fact that it, funny as it may sound, infected us gamers with an insatiable "need for speed".

Need for Speed

The Need for Speed saw the light of day in August 1994 of that year. First came the version for the 3DO console, but soon the game was ported to Sega Saturn, PlayStation and PC.

The arrival of The Need for Speed was an event. And not at all because Electronic Arts invested in promotion, but simply because it was a genuinely excellent game. It combined the traits of a serious car simulator and a rollicking arcade racer with simple controls. Each car (there were eight in total in the game) behaved in its own way. Speed demons took the Lamborghini Diablo VT or Ferrari 512TR, fans of careful driving preferred the obedient Porsche 911 Carrera and Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, while those who value balance in everything settled on the "Japanese" cars: Mazda RX-7 or Toyota Supra Turbo.

Magnificent for the mid 90-90s graphics (and who cares that the resolution was no higher than 640 by 480), well-designed tracks and circuits, dynamic races with smart AI rivals, police chases, cinematic replays, a driving soundtrack of rock and techno tracks, multiplayer over modem and TCP/IP – The Need for Speed had plenty to love. Today this game is rightly considered a classic of the genre.

Need for Speed II

The sequel to Need for Speed, which saw the light of day in April 1997 of that year, is considered a step backward in the history of the series. Yes, the game turned out noticeably worse than the first part. It could not boast imagination-stunning graphics, an extensive car roster (again 8 cars, all exotic) or a variety of tracks – only circuits in the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia. Despite the car tuning menu, there was not even a whiff of realism in the game. Need for Speed II was a purebred arcade in which it is quite hard to understand how one beautiful, fast car differs from another beautiful, fast car. On top of that, there was no place for police in the game, and what's the point of reckless driving if there are no cops on your tail?

No, Need for Speed II was not a complete failure. The game's pluses include adrenaline-fueled races, interactive objects on the tracks, changing weather conditions, and improved replays. In November 1997 of that year, Need for Speed II: Special Editionappeared on store shelves, introducing the game to 3D accelerators. However, improved graphics and additional visual effects did not change gamers' attitude toward the game as a whole – an arcade that differs little from others.

Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit

The studio EA Canada took gamers' comments into account. The result of this work on mistakes was the brilliant, stunningly beautiful Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. The developers managed to preserve incredibly high speeds and simple controls, while the game no longer seemed like a "dumb arcade". Nine sports cars (plus three bonus ones that can be unlocked by winning tournaments), a dozen tracks (all circuits), with most races taking place in North America. It would seem nothing special. Where is the genius? The answer becomes clear after getting acquainted with the new game mode – Hot Pursuit. It's not for nothing that they put it in the title. How great it was at night to flee from the cops or, conversely, in a police Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR to chase and pull over speeding racers. The officers of the law blocked the road with their cars and punctured the speeders' tires.

Need for Speed III is also remembered for full support of 3D accelerators and the ability to create and download additional car models from the internet. Modders were delighted.

Need for Speed: High Stakes

In the summer 1999 of that year, Need for Speed: High Stakes was released – the first game in the series without a number in the title. It is quite possible that the publisher simply did not dare call it the fourth part – it resembled Need for Speed IIItoo much. All the tracks that were in Hot Pursuitmigrated to High Stakesas well. This is understandable – only eight months passed between the release of these two games. The developers worked in crash mode, which could not but affect the quality of the product.
However, in Need for Speed: High Stakes there were also new tracks, new cars (the car roster grew to 16 cars), and new modes (including "Career"). For the first time, racers were rewarded for victory with ringing dollars. With the money earned you bought cars and parts for them. The developers also tried to make the game more realistic than Hot Pursuit. A car damage system appeared. A battered Pontiac Firebird behaved on the track completely differently from a brand-new one. You had to drive more carefully, avoiding unnecessary collisions.

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed

In March 2000 of that year, the publisher Electronic Arts greatly surprised all Need for Speed fans. Firstly, Porsche Unleashed, developed by the studios EA Canada and the French Eden Games, is dedicated to the cars of one company – Porsche. Secondly, it is the most realistic game in the series. The developers deliberately complicated the gameplay, because they needed to show how a model from 1950 differs from, say, a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
In the "Evolution" mode you got acquainted with the model range of Porsche, starting from the 60s of the XX century. Won a race, unlocked a new car. Also, many people liked the "Factory Driver" mode, in which you had to test cars and perform various stunts. Gamers began to spend more time in virtual garages. You had to invest large sums in repairs – car damage in races became much more realistic and… um-m… more destructive. On top of that, Porsche Unleashed allowed the player to customize the car to their liking and tune it however they wanted.
Overall, Porsche Unleashed was, so to speak, a progressive game, with excellent "graphics", interesting tracks (most of them non-circuit) and 80 (!) Porsche models in the garage. However, despite the favorable reviews from critics, not everyone appreciated the project properly. Many gamers wanted a simple, fun arcade game, not a simulator where you have to learn how to drive. Commercially, Porsche Unleashed was a disappointment for Electronic Arts.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

The unsatisfactory sales of Porsche Unleashed and the weak interest of gamers in Motor City Online (even though this multiplayer game doesn't have the words "Need for Speed" in its title, it was exactly NFS Online) put the future fate of the series in doubt. However, they decided to give "Need for Speed" another chance. Electronic Arts had no other well-promoted racing series, and they didn't want to lose part of the market, especially since new consoles had just appeared: PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It was decided to make a sequel to the hit Hot Pursuit. Development was entrusted to a new studio – Vancouver-based EA Black Box. And, in principle, the team handled the task.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 turned out to be a decent game. Pleasant graphics, picturesque, exotic tracks (just one island with an active volcano is worth something!), a rich car roster, long tracks, aggressive highway police, elementary controls – it would seem, what more could you want? Alas, the developers never found the golden mean between arcade gameplay and realistic gameplay. As a result, the cars behaved absolutely implausibly on the track, and the damage system was laughable. You could only get caught by the cops out of stupidity by running into "spikes" laid out on the road or hitting an exploding barrel that the police dropped from helicopters.

Need for Speed: Underground

Need for Speed: Underground, released in November 2003 year, proclaimed a new era in the history of the series – the era of street racing. The developers didn't hide that they drew inspiration from the movie "The Fast and the Furious." Credit must be given, they managed to transfer the aesthetics of illegal night racing into the virtual world. Olympic City, simultaneously reminiscent of New York and Los Angeles, is flooded with neon light. Cool music, cool girls, cool cars – in this fictional city everything is cool. And you're happy to spend hours on end in the garage, making your car prettier. Here add a sticker, there add lighting. Gamers had never seen such "all-consuming" tuning. The races themselves somehow imperceptibly moved into the background. Except that the drift and drag modes that appeared for the first time were a pleasant surprise.
Need for Speed: Underground – a purebred arcade game about street racers (yes-yes, a plot appeared in NFS), with insane speeds and constant leniency. In fact, that's exactly what helped the game become a people's favorite. More than 15 million copies of Underground were sold worldwide. And in 2004 year the sequel came out. The action of Need for Speed: Underground 2 unfolded in the city of Bayview, and it was entirely open for exploration. More cars, more parts and stickers in the garage, more of everything. Only there's still no police, and that, you must admit, is strange for a game about illegal racing.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted

In principle, Most Wanted, which hit store shelves in November 2005 year, could have calmly borne another name – Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 3. However, the developers decided that they had made a quite original game, and it didn't need a number in the title. Incidentally, the name doesn't change the essence – we're again fighting the police on the roads. Moreover, this time the cops are as aggressive as never before. A good dozen police cars chase after a malicious violator, and their drivers are not at all concerned about the fate of state property: they cut across, sideswipe, set themselves up.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted features various types of races: circuit race, sprint, checkpoint race, elimination circuit, drag. But the drift that many loved is absent.

Need For Speed: Carbon

The action of Need For Speed: Carbon (2006) unfolds in a sunny city on the East Coast of the USA. True, the sun isn't visible in the game itself, since most races take place at night. Street racers don't get along with the cops, and therefore hold their competitions when it gets dark.
The developers from the studio EA Black Box brought in racers from real-life street racing clubs to work on the project. The reckless drivers gave the game makers the idea of dangerous races in a mountain canyon, where, frankly, it's unsafe even to walk on foot. It's victories in the canyon that bring power over certain territories in the city. Why are controlled districts needed? The thing is that, having become the owner of a couple of neighborhoods, you'll gain access to illegal auto shops and parts stores at low prices.
Specifically for Carbon, the developers came up with the technology Autosculpt, allowing gamers to remake cars to their own taste, however corrupted it may be. Another innovation was the need to create your own team. Each member of your super squad possesses a set of useful and, of course, "upgradable" skills. Someone eliminates competitors from the track, someone seeks out where you can cut the road. The coordinated work of the team will allow you to finish first.

After the release of Need for Speed: Carbon it became clear: the cult series needs changes.

Need for Speed: ProStreet

And the changes followed. Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007) put an end to the era of street racing. This time, the developers were interested in professional motorsport with prestigious tournaments. The main feature of the game is a realistic damage model. Any collision is fraught with dents, breakdowns, shattered glass and a noticeable drop in speed.

The change of course was an interesting experiment. Many gamers, accustomed to arcade racing, initially doubted whether they could get comfortable in the realistic ProStreet, but soon realized: the game is no harder than before. You just need to get used to it. The new driving experience more than makes up for the time spent.
Unfortunately, ProStreet was not without its flaws. It lacked variety, while the annoying in-game advertising was, on the contrary, in excess. Even the management of Electronic Arts acknowledged the problems: when less than a year passes between the release of two Need for Speed parts, making a spectacular, original game is extremely difficult.

Need for Speed: Undercover

Need for Speed: Undercover (2008) was developed not in a year, but in a year and a half. This time, the developers drew inspiration not from "The Fast and the Furious," but from another film – "The Transporter". The plot told of the fight against an international criminal syndicate. The developers promised "cinematic quality" and all the best from previous Need for Speed parts: simple controls, an open world (175 kilometers of roads!), limitless tuning and strict police (as in Most Wanted and Carbon). And they kept their promise. Undercover only slightly lacked depth. The opponents' artificial intelligence was disappointing. Admit it, winning is pleasant, but no one likes it when the game openly lets you win.
Critics and gamers were not particularly kind to Need for Speed: Undercover, although the general public received the game quite warmly.

And soon Need for Speed SHIFTappears, promising even more changes, as well as stunning graphics and good physics. There's not long to wait, we'll check it all out ourselves soon!

Source: nfs.ru