Need for Speed Reviews
The aesthetic of the game is immaculate, stark yet beautiful, suggesting what a Fast and the Furious might look like as helmed by Michael Mann.
The new Need for Speed does a good bit of justice towards the original Underground games, it falls a bit short on the new aspects it tried to incorporate. The open city aspects and the way you start races might feel familiar to Burnout Paradise players. It honestly seems to share the same setup, which isn't a bad thing. The cars are certainly the focus, as they should be, but the tacked on story and constant interruptions hinder the experience. Add to this the A.I. uses rubber band aspects. The racing is solid enough, and it is pretty cool to see other people on your server completing challenges across the bay, live.
Ghost Games' Need for Speed reboot came with lofty promises, but fails to achieve greatness in any category, be it racing, building or customization. The core gameplay experience is half-decent, but it's marred by frustrating AI, technical imperfections, handling hiccups and constantly wet roads.
This latest entry in the Need for Speed series seems to be a reboot in name only. It neither feels like a reimagining of earlier ideas or a refining of the series' roots, but more of a mishmash of parts from the franchise's long history. As such, it lacks any sense of real identity. Ventura Bay often feels empty, the story is inconsequential, and the AI opponents are infuriating at times. That said, vehicle handling is quick and responsive and makes driving a real joy, while performance upgrades and customisation gives players an almost unlimited number of ways to make their cars their own. Those looking for a racing title to surpass all others should look elsewhere, but fans of the series' earlier street racing scene won't be disappointed.
This year's Need for Speed reboot feels like a fresh start for the series — and one that will likely be improved upon when its inevitable 2016 sequel rolls around.
The customization and racing itself is fantastic, but Need For Speed reboot has certainly not gotten out to a fast start behind frame rate issues and the insistence to be always online.
If you're a long-time fan of the series, you'll find something to enjoy here, but if this is your first time behind the wheel, you're going to want sit this one out and check out some of previously-released Need for Speed titles.
When you factor in Need for Speed's forgettable story, you're left with a slightly above average racing game that's not as enjoyable as past series entries. From a pure gameplay perspective, it works, but it never manages to elevate itself. If you're in the mood for a new cinematic racer though, you could do a whole lot worse.
Need for Speed takes driving into a gorgeous world with a modern edge, but its pesky attitude and strict online-only requirement make you yearn for the good old days.
Instead of exciting racing, Need for Speed seems more focussed on tapping into trends and desperately trying to stay relevant. Instead of bringing something new to the table, it aims to recycle ideas from its peers.
Need for Speed looks the part, sounds the part, and is surprisingly reverent to real-world car culture. I like the direction Ghost has taken here, and I think it's the right one, but beneath its flashy exterior it's not quite firing on all cylinders.
New Need for Speed could be called a succesor of the Underground sub-series. It looks really good thanks to the Frostbite engine, but there are some unnecessary mistakes that drag the gameplay down.
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Need For Speed promises so much yet fails to deliver to any high standard. While it is one of the most gorgeous street racers you'll set eyes upon, cringeworthy live action cutscenes, an empty world and a lack of singular gameplay direction mean it's nothing more than another average addition to the series.
Need For Speed was an okay try at rebooting the series. It comes with positives like the newly added features to the franchise such as daily challenges, wrap editors and the play styles which I really liked more than any other addition. The visuals and sounds in Need For Speed were stunning, and a real high point for the game. There are also some negatives like having no pause button plus the always online gameplay which was an odd decision to make. If you are a racing fan it's a recommendation from me, but non racing fans might not be that accepting for this reboot. I do however look forward to the future if the mistakes of this game are improved in the sequel.
The biggest shame about Need for Speed is that the driving is so satisfying that it makes the fact that the rest of it is so throwaway stand out that much more. This game would have benefited greatly from a mode where you can just get matched with other players and do a bunch of different race types back to back. Instead you're stuck in an online only game with other players who you won't actually be doing any races with. It's got a damn good soundtrack though.
The online requirement seems pointless, but it's an enjoyable racing game overall.
Utilizing the full extent of the current-gen hardware, Need for Speed revs up into a promising experience that is all about underground and urban street racing, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee a smooth ride.
With strong arcade-style racing, great visuals and sounds, Need for Speed looks the part, but falls short in other areas such as poor A.I., limited body part options and lack of incentives to keep you motivated to race.
A perfectly serviceable racer with great looks, plenty of customisation options, and passable driving, but it's a real shame that latest reboot of this franchise had the hallmarks of the greats in the series' past and could have been truly special.
Need for Speed is not a horrible game, but it is definitely not the amazing 'reboot' experience I was looking for.