Need For Speed - Remembering the Good Old Days...
Today I'm in a philosophical mood, so I was moved to give a little speech. Lately the news has been only about World, so I want to diversify it somewhat by recalling all the past Need For Speed parts and describing all their merits and flaws.
I'll start with the series Underground, since all the games before it are simply the founders of an entire gaming genre, and criticizing them is simply not allowed. But still the best Old NFS is Porsche Unleashed, which combined not only excellent graphics for those times but also a wonderful realism of handling.
Underground caused a sensation with its theme. Night racing, tuning, everything fit perfectly into the atmosphere of the game itself. The only drawback was the not very large car list, the poor engine sounds of the cars and the absence of free roam, but you can turn a blind eye to that.
Undeground 2 is still considered by many players to be the best of all time, it is ideal in practically everything. Both the multitude of cars, and even the SUVs, and the huge selection of tuning made it the best of the best.
Most Wanted is the next legendary Need For Speed. Cops, a huge city with a bunch of obstacles, an excellent plot were the key to success. But that's where the good streak ended...
Need For Speed Carbon became the first failed NFS. Why? Well, I myself can't give an unambiguous answer to that. The cops became stupid compared to the previous game, the eternal night was to some people's liking, to others the opposite. The plot is sluggish and boring, and the characteristics of the cars and their handling are taken out of thin air.
ProStreet surprised the public a bit. Legal racing... It infuriated many, many liked it. It seems like everything worked out, but it seems like it didn't. Who needs arcade legal racing? If it's legal then it should be a simulator, if it's illegal then an arcade like MW. What I did like was the developed tuning system, where every part decently affected the behavior of the car.
Undercover in a word, crap. There's no one who wouldn't say that. Terrible instability, awful graphics, a plot just like in a tedious American action movie. It was a huge step backwards...
Shift changed both the genre and the developers, and the public accordingly. As for me, it's one of the best among the recent Need For Speed games, since in its genre it meets all the criteria.
Hot Pursuit 2010 is simply an excellent arcade with beautiful graphics and amazing landscapes, and it also largely succeeded. Both the ability to race as the cops, and as the cops themselves, a multitude of new features like EMP and spikes, everything is great. The only thing that's annoying is the absence of any plot and tuning. Although here the car list is such that there's nothing to tune.
SHIFT2 UNLEASHED is also very successful, but there are plenty of drawbacks. Keyboard players have a hard time controlling the cars, the career is rather monotonous and soon gets boring. On the other hand, the car list has become huge, and the selection of tracks with modes is also pleasing to the eye.
And now for a snack: The Run. Advertising above all! Feeding the public exciting videos and beautiful photos is a losing tactic. Can a normal game be completed in 2 hours? And the plot here is simply awful, some chick offers you to take part in the "deadliest and most dangerous race" that exists. The gameplay also "succeeded", the handling and characteristics of the cars are taken not just out of thin air, but probably from China. But what amused me most was the damage system. They shoot at you from a helicopter, and your body gets crumpled as if from a head-on collision. Fun. But maybe someone liked it... Well, you can spend an hour of your time completing it, but no more. I won't write about World, since, firstly, it's an online game, and secondly, it's still in the development stage. And I'm afraid I won't characterize it with beautiful words in any way. Well, my speech is over for today, I think everyone has recalled the past a bit and thought about their favorite part of the legendary series Need For Speed.