Need For Speed The Run: game review

For many years, the NFS series gained great popularity. But it began to slide in 2000, when Motor City Online was released. The project failed. But later, fans increased with the release of Most Wanted and Underground. And then, down again. Black Box's first attempt at making an action game, Undercover, once again went down the drain. I hope the second attempt, titled The Run, won't let us get bored. This game was created by the same Black Box, who used the Frostbite 2.0 engine from DICE, the developers of the high-profile Battlefield 3. So, let's begin:

1. Campaign

Our protagonist is Jack Rourke, who has a small debt. Sam Harper tells him that there is a race that will allow him to win 25 million dollars and get rid of his debt. Jack, of course, agrees.

Game modes:

1. Sprint - you need to overtake all opponents. Maximum number of opponents - 10.
2. Checkpoint race against the clock.
3. Battle Race - you need to overtake several opponents against time (one opponent - one time interval)

When you crash off the track, you return to the last checkpoint, but recoveries are not infinite - maximum 5 crashes. If you use all your chances, you start the race over. During races against opponents, you can see a gas station. There you can change cars, body kit, color, and apply decals. But, besides gas stations, you can also change cars in other places; usually they are tied to the storyline.

The campaign is gripping, but toward the end it gets a bit boring. However, it's worth playing; it's clearly more interesting than World.

1. Race Series

After each stage completed in the campaign, one season of Race Series is unlocked. For completing Race Series events, we unlock new cars; these cars can be used in multiplayer races. Race Series uses a slightly modified medal system:

1. Fire medal. It gives the most points.
2. Gold medal.
3. Silver medal.
4. Bronze medal.

If we didn't get a medal, the race is considered failed.

1. Multiplayer

The Run seems to have taken an example from BF3 - they made a boring campaign, so you have to buy a license to play multiplayer. So, it has a changed reward system compared to previous games. The creator of a new race selects the conditions for the race. Then, when everyone has pressed "Ready", a screen appears with a virtual "wheel of fortune" that determines what the winner of the race will receive. Usually, by winning a race, you can get a large amount of XP, and sometimes even unlock access to a car.

Verdict

Overall, the game lived up to expectations. Everything is done with quality, but two significant downsides should be highlighted:

1. Unfinished campaign. The game turned out interesting, but slightly unfinished. There is a feeling that part of the plot ended up outside the campaign. There are few modes, and the single-player game is too short.
2. Soundtrack. Songs play too rarely - in about 5 races, and the rest feature tracks by Brian Tyler.

Bottom line - 810. The Run is certainly not a triumphant return for Black Box, but the game is still worth attention. Thanks for reading!