Close enough you going to get racing these high performance cars.
http://au.gamespot.com/users/Azghouls/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=m-100-25767333&tag=all-about;blog1
Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 10
Sounds: 10
Value: 8
Tilt: 10
Actual score: 9.3
Trying to simulate any real life sporting events is certainly a daunting task for any game developer; being piloting the latest jetfighter screaming above the clouds to operating a tank among an intense battleground to a game of soccer where it comes down to penalty kicks, developers are having a hard time trying to captivate the true nature of sports. And of course high speed racing is no exception as history states there have been some moderate successes in getting the player feel for the road. Yet all things are going to change as E.A. released in 1994 the genre perfect ‘The Need For Speed’ racing game that truly captivate the thrills and spills of racing high performance cars and not pulling any punches and thankfully in 1995 the PC got its own version and man if this game can be improved, it just did.
After a swell intro that would put any adolescence Nirvana frenzy kid into a hormonal passion, the control centre is the main hub you’ll enter to select your race and victim/s. There are four styles of game play being head-to-head, single race, tournament and time trial. For me head-to-head is my favourite as this is where pitting up against the car of your choice whilst dodging Sunday drivers and cops abound. In addition you can select one from eight different cars being the Mazda RX7, Acura NSX, Toyota Supra Turbo, Porsche 911, Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, Dodge Viper RT/10, Ferrari 512TR and the Lamborghini Diablo VT (my favourite being the Porsche) and one hidden car (mum’s the word). Further on, you can select auto/manual transmission (go manual), ABS and traction control so as you can see, it’s a little more than your arcade racer. And if you manage to complete the tournament you’ll get the opportunity to race under the ‘rally’ mode which is basically a furious arcade racer.
Once on the road, there’s a little more than just turn corners as all the cars have realistic physics hence driving a RX7 will certainly feel different than driving a Porsche or the mega powerful Dodge Viper and knocking off the traction control will surely place a spin on the competition (oh the pun). The AI is peculiar human-like as they will block your path, honk the horn if you block them and crash if they’re not careful enough. Once the race is completed you’ll get the opportunity to replay the race in multiple camera angles. save them if you wish or view the other cars in full real-life videos with commentary to boot. And for massive bragging rights, all race data will be kept so the proof is in the pudding (my highest is third position overall but heck I won many tournament regardless).
You are not going to get any better visually than this game as instead of those typical 2D sprites infested platter, Need for Speed is in full 3D glory. That said, expect beautifully dotted landscapes ranging from the Alpines to the dusty desert to the city abound; all coupled with 3D trees, building, water effects and surrealism like the half-buried Statue of Liberty at the end of the Coastal Drive certainly adds immersion to your driving experience. In addition, there will be skid marks, functional break lights and spinning wheels which were rarely seen in previous racing games. The interior of all the cars are absolutely perfect as the dashboards are actual photos plastered into the game therefore its eye candy all-round.
One of my biggest grips for any racing games is the sound quality as my previous experience states the engines all sounds tinny and weak. Thankfully not in this game therefore expect the full roar of the engines and it goes further as the uniqueness to each vehicle all produce different humming sounds. Additionally the ‘clunk’ sound of shifting gears and even the Doppler Effect for passing cars brings total captivation when driving on the roads. Add catchy tunes and as mentioned before, full commentary when explaining these high octane cars is like music to your ears.
However considering the almost perfect product, it’s really hard to pin-point some of the annoyances without being absolutely picky. That said, some of my grievances are that when driving in reverse, the camera angle still regards looking forward hence when you are caught in a spinout, it’s really hard to judge what’s forward/reverse (especially when it comes to manual transmission). Also if you decide to steer too far off the road, you are greeted with that ‘invisible’ wall treatment hence falling off the cliff is an impossible task and your only ‘punishment’ is the car will slow down and lastly there’s no damage indicator so ramming is encouraged. Yet considering the game was made in DOS (and later on Windows 95) I feel it was more of the limitation of available technology than deliberately omitting these features.
Looking back in the amount of hours I have placed in this game comes to me as a surprise as I didn’t expect to be close to forty hours considering each racing segment lasts approximately three to four minutes. That said, this shows a great sign of ‘time flies when having fun’ as I had a barrel of fun competing for the top cheese. Actually it was more enjoyable experiencing the journey itself as the entire game is close to perfect from start to finish with quality graphics, sounds and game play. I guess you can look at it as it was equally fun loosing as well as winning (as strange it may seems). Unless you have loads and loads of cash, Need for Speed is as close enough you going to get racing these high performance cars without the sacrifice of forking out high insurance premiums.