I've been a fan of the first The Need For Speed game for considerably longer than most. How so? I'll tell you was one of the eight stupid people who shelled out % for a 3D0 console in 1994. Prat? W Yes, I know. And I continue to be a W prat, because I now own a Saturn 1 rather than a PlayStation.
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But that's a different story, so back to The Need For Speed, and just for thosewho never even got to see the original game (even on the pc), maybe a brief outline would be in order...Six tracks: The Need For Speed contained six tracks, which doesn't sound like a particularly big deal until I tell you that three of these weren't 'closed circuits', but were in fact proper open roads. Eight vehicles: Or eight 'flash motors', of which could be bought - if rich enough - from real-life car showrooms: a Porsche 911, for example: a Ferrari something-or-other; a Lamborghini Diablo: and so on. All the cars, incidentally (or so they said), handled in a realistic manner. I can'tvouch for that, but I can add that they certainly differed greatly from one to another. (My fave was the Porsche, 'cos the back end was twitchy.)Traffic: The selling point! Two way traffic! Cars to overtake on a blindcorner at isomph, and, more importantly, oncoming cars to smash into on that same blind corner. Some of the crashes were stunning, and there was a comprehensive replay mode.Filth: Overtake a cop car at over ssmph and a car chase ensued, with you, obviously, as the chasee.More: And there was more, but I want to end this paragraph and tell you what was crap about the game. Cue the next paragraph...
Need for Speed Forums Buy Now All Games Forums Buy Now Learn More Buy Now Hit the gas and tear up the roads in this legendary action-driving series. Push your supercar to its limits and leave the competition in your rearview or shake off a. Play Need For Speed For Free! - Compete with challengers from around the world in visually stunning 3D race environments! Challenge the toughest opponents to race in abandoned tunnels, on deserted city streets and dark industrial areas. Design and upgrade your dream car to improve performance on the strip by purchasing with powerful engines, better tires and making. Need For Speed is an online game. An Internet connection speed of 192 Kbps or higher is required. Become an icon of urban car culture in Need for Speed™, Race in and explore a huge nocturnal open world, express your style with authentic car customization and become immersed in a story staring real world legends like Magnus Walker and Ken Block.
The next paragraph...
Crap things about The Need For Speed...Okay, due to the design of the game engine the roads could only be viewed from one direction. It was possible to drive Cthe wrong way', but in doing so you could only access the exterior car view, meaning you were constantly driving towards yourself, your joystick, and your monitor screen, with not a clue as to what bend or road vehicle was coming up next. Poo!
Another slightly crap thing about the game engine was that it tended, occasionally, to give you that Cstreamed straight from cd' feeling. You know? Like when you're confined to a small lateral area, and the scenery is being shoved at you?
Onto the artificial intelligence of the computer-controlled road users, then, and it wasn't brilliant. The general two-way traffic had pretty much no ai whatsoever, although oncoming cars would beep at you when you Cscared' them (just like real-life ones do, ho ho). Oh, and the coppers weren't overly bright either... but then again you could call that realism, I suppose. And as for the computer-controlled competitors, probably the best word to use here would be Cpredictable'. They'd block and they'd shunt, but you tended to know where and when to expect this behaviour.
Er, but apart from that little lot, the original The Need For Speed was (and still is) one of the best car games about, so one can only assume the sequel will be /naff American accent) Cawesome, and will kick ass'.
So what's the score?
I've got an incredibly unfinished version of the game which contains a couple of courses, but with no trackside scenery: just roads suspended in space, in other words. No Ctraffic' in it, either, but I was able to do the main thing you couldn't do in the original - namely drive the wrong way round the track. So, an all-new game engine then, I bet. Let me just check the press release for details. (Reads for five minutes.) Yes, I was right, it's an all-new rendering engine. I'll paraphrase some of the other just-gleaned nuggets of info before I forget them. Righto, firstly is the fact that there's going to be a hell of a lot of Coffroad freedom' this time. I've already said that you can drive the wrong way, but apparently this is as nothing: there are to be short-cuts and alternative routes, some obvious, some harder to find. Ramps, too, and also loads of unusual terrain, plus interactive roadside objects. Add to this the Call new revamped instant replay system' and things are beginning to sound very groovy indeed (what with the proper 360 degree view of the track allowing for panning cameras rather than just Cbehind the car' jobs).
But what about the actual track visuals? Where's the game set? Well, it sounds as if things are a bit more cosmopolitan this time around, not to mention surreal (or naff - time will tell). No longer are we confined to the States, because the programmers, and I quote: have taken areas of the world that they believe would provide a captivating driving experience, and have compressed all the distinctive characteristics of these regions - much like a caricature - into the courses. In other words, they've done stuff like take Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the desert roads of the outback and spliced them into the Australian track. Likewise they've taken twisty mountain roads, ice caves, Tibetan villages, swinging rope bridges and scrunched them all into the Himalayan Track. (If England's in there, I bet you a zillion pounds that Big Ben will feature.)
What about the cars?
The original The Need For Speed had the Road & Track licence. Road & Track have now been ditched in favour of real car manufacturers in an effort to get closer to the engineers and what have you: more feedback, more realism. And the cars themselves? Eight supercars, some of which are actual production vehicles, some of which are Cconcept' cars. If you want a list, then here it is: the McLaren Fl, the Lotus Esprit v8, the Ital Design Cala, the Ford GT90, the Lotus gti, the Ford Indigo, the Isdera Commendatore 1121 and the Jaguar XJ220.
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If the early code we've seen is anything to go by, TNFS2 looks to be shaping up very nicely indeed. Not only will it sport all of the playability of the first game, but the developers claim that it'll run around 30 per cent faster in glorious hi-res and will also feature extensive multi-player and Internet modes. I can see those pile-ups now.