EA will never again capture the essence of the FIRST Need For Speed

[MaxAwesome]

I was 12 years old when it came out. I remember rushing my dad to the store to buy it for my Sega Saturn.

I still play it to this day.

Remember?

Those cars: The Accura NSX, The Porsche Carrera 911, The Ferrari Testarossa, The Lambo Diablo, The Corvette ZR-1, The Viper, The Toyota Supra, The Mazda RX7...and then the unlockable secret TRACK and CAR. The crashes were spectacular for the time, you could send your car flipping and flying! Damn EA! How could have lost that formula?

Oh man... Open road racing divided into stages How awesome was that? Sure, it had closed circuits as well, but the mix of the two made that game the one and ONLY worthy need for speed game.

And man, it had a complete, and I mean COMPLETE encyclopedia with details and specs for each car, with voiced commentary and Full motion video.

I don't know what it is about the game, maybe it's the nostalgia, maybe it is indeed the game itself... No other NFS game ever came close to the essence and spirit of the first of them all.

AND MAN! The soundtrack! Smashing Heavy Metal Instrumentals like i've never heard \m/

EA: Just leave NFS alone... shut the damn franchise down. Go back to the roots, or leave it. Seriously. Hell, I'd EVEN BE HAPPY WITH A REMAKE OF THE FIRST GAME!

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Sz11oAdrsM&feature=related And listen to that blasting heavy music in the background! I sometimes rock my NFS Sega Satrun CD in my car! \m/ Is has 4 GREAT metal instrumentals!

THIS IS NEED FOR SPEED! No tuned cars, no storyline, no crappy gameplay, NO BULLSHIT!

If nothing else, REMAKE THE FIRST GAME!

 

[Frick]

My first NFS game was 2, and it rocked our lans. I think Most Wanted was alot of fun, but only because it was GTA light.

 

[Champ]

they've had a bad past few years. They also make the games the exact same every year. Race or run from police and cheesy cut scenes. Time to let that franchise go.

 

[Rey17]

i agree on you with many things uve said... but there are also some goods that EA has done to NFS... which would be free roaming..... it would be boring to race, race and race all the time.... its fun to drive around.. hitting traffic... getting in trouble with police... and seriously... they've literally changed the level of racing with the police.

they start with heat 1... and keep going.... the higher the smarter police and smarter tactics... like roadblocks and spike strips... and that makes the game more fun to play... it makes it feel life like....

now with the music... they've added in-car music... which sound perfect with cars... im not a rock person... so thats why but most of the soundtracks they have... are awesome to listen to..

if they could have a survey... asking everyone what is it that you want in the new nfs... then everyone could state their opinion... and i for one would say that bring the full info on cars, with voice over readings.... amazing race tracks.... good physics etc etc.

 

[MRCL]

Eleven years old Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is the best part of the series. Graphics were pretty decent at that time, and the biggest factor: it was so much goddamn fun. FUN!

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Sz11oAdrsM&feature=related And listen to that blasting heavy music in the background! I sometimes rock my NFS Sega Satrun CD in my car! \m/ Is has 4 GREAT metal instrumentals!

That's instrumental rock/techno (what most games had 2000 and before)...and vacuum cleaners for engines.

Most Wanted is effectively the same as what is in that video. Just turn the music off and run some rock/techno in the background.


Come to think of it, I think the genre is just dying. There isn't enough there to keep players entertained anymore. I mean, compare it to the other games available today like Wheelman, GTA 3/4, and Test Drive Unlimited. It isn't enough just to drive from point A to point B over and over and over again. People need other stuff to do in racing games be it collecting classic cars, racing in ridiculously long events, or get out of your car and shoot something. Need for Speed needs to be reinvented or it needs to be put to bed. Closed courses certainly aren't going to get a passing grade much longer but open courses need reasons to explore as well (meaning ability to get out of the vehicle).

 

[thesonglessbird]

The Porsche one was the only one I really enjoyed. Still got it somewhere I think...

 

[sttubs]

Eleven years old Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is the best part of the series. Graphics were pretty decent at that time, and the biggest factor: it was so much goddamn fun. FUN!

NFS3HP was my favorite too. I had quite a few tracks & cars made by fans. It was the best.
Also loved NFS4, the EA servers were great then, excellent racing.

 

[BUCK NASTY]

NFS3HP was my favorite too. I had quite a few tracks & cars made by fans. It was the best.

Same here. Nothing like launching a CLK-GTR airborne @ 220 mph. Bitter irony was the game emulated real life.

 

[KainXS]

the hot pursuit titles were my favorites but the latest game have not been very good

 

[1Kurgan1]

I got to disagree. The first game was amazing for it's time, but future NFS titles were just as great for their time, NFS II: SE was awesome, NFS Hot Pursuit and NFS Most Wanted.

 

[KainXS]

lol so I guess prostreet was good then too

 

[freaksavior]

lost me after nfs underground II

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I liked...

Porsche Unleashed: PC and PSX versions weren't the same--both had lots of upgrades, variety, and its neat to play through the history of Porsche on a track/in a city.

Underground 2: The first NFS aside from PSX Porsche Unleashed to be open.

Most Wanted: Rapsheet p00ned, r!cing optional, and it was just plain fun to destroy Cross and his g00ns. XD

ProStreet: The announcer and working your way through an entire championship.

All those games I have played through at least twice.


Dislike about all NFS games: Can't brake and maneuver at the same time. Whenever you brake, the steering input is ignored. You are forced to brake before entering the corner when you should be able to brake through the corner and accelerate out.

 

[n-ster]

NFS3HP, Underground 2 and Most Wanted are the only ones I owned... and They were CRAZY good I guess I chose to buy NFS games at the right time

 

[BrooksyX]

I remember playing Need For Speed I, II, and III a lot back in the day. I also liked underground 1 too. Didn't spend to much time playing any of the others though.

 

[n-ster]

I was too young to play I and II lol YOu should try underground 2 and most wanted! Great games

 

[MRCL]

Most Wanted is awesome, yes, nothing beats an adrenaline pushing fourty minute pursuit through the whole city with Hollywood-like stunts.

Carbon was the most disappointing. Played that only for a brief time, then sold it. Was angry that I threw so much money away for that crappy game.

 

[Creatre]

Eleven years old Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is the best part of the series. Graphics were pretty decent at that time, and the biggest factor: it was so much goddamn fun. FUN!

I miss that game so much. That game, was officially the best NFS imo. The first couple were awesome too, but just did not match the graphic quality and reality like Hot Pursuit did. And yes, the soundtracks were epic back then.

 

[DaedalusHelios]

The only ones I enjoyed were NFS underground 1 and 2. Its not realistic but its fun.

 

[MRCL]

I miss that game so much. That game, was officially the best NFS imo. The first couple were awesome too, but just did not match the graphic quality and reality like Hot Pursuit did. And yes, the soundtracks were epic back then.

I'm glad I still have the CD of it, but it looked awfully scratched, it still works perfectly but I made an ISO anyway

 

[Wile E]

Underground 2 was the last one I enjoyed. The mod system was the best for the cars out of all the games. They need to bring that back.

 

[Deleted member 3]

i agree on you with many things uve said... but there are also some goods that EA has done to NFS... which would be free roaming..... it would be boring to race, race and race all the time.... its fun to drive around.. hitting traffic... getting in trouble with police... and seriously... they've literally changed the level of racing with the police.

It's the whole point of a racing game... Though assuming you have a fair point, it would also be boring to be in your car all the time, so it needs the ability to get out of your car as well. In fact, there should be aliens and time travelers who are after your ... whatever.
Just read the first sentence I wrote.


I liked NFS2/NFS2 SE best. Had a certain feeling the others didn't.

 

[El Fiendo]

Now if they made it more like Spy Hunter of old. And I'm not talking about the 2006 game that was apparently released (that I learned about 5 minutes ago). I'm talking 1983 stuff here. Now that would sell.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Most Wanted is awesome, yes, nothing beats an adrenaline pushing fourty minute pursuit through the whole city with Hollywood-like stunts.

Carbon was the most disappointing. Played that only for a brief time, then sold it. Was angry that I threw so much money away for that crappy game.

Heh, yeah. I managed to survive a 35 minute, 10,000,000 bounty chase (well over 100 destroyed cop cars including Cross). I was definitely hyped up on the adrenaline when I decide to finish it and almost got stopped. My Ford GT had over 50,000,000 bounty on it and all my other cars had at least 1,000,000 bounty. The total was north of 75,000,000 and no arrests (rapsheet said "apprehend at all costs" ). All of the cars were pitch black (body paint, mirrors, rim paint, etc.) and all stock except for performance upgrades and rims. Only two cars weren't black--two spare Ford GTs (one blue and one red) in case my primary GT got too hot. I had a blast on that game.


Carbon sucked...a lot. It was a major downgrade from Most Wanted because they added all the crap back that made Underground and Underground 2 mostly meh (gangs, semi-organized street racing, etc.).

Undercover isn't much better.


Here's a post where I did a brief writeup on most of the NFS games:
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showpost.php?p=1077167&postcount=159