Need For Speed has been a long running series on all platforms and the latest version has had gamers curious to see if this one brings the game back out of the slump it slipped into recently (we all remember Undercover). The game itself follows a linear story of Jack who has run into a problem with the mob and police and to help make it go away has been entered into a race that could score him $25million for the top prize. The main character Jack and his associate Sam are portrayed by real world stars Sean Faris and Christina Hendricks.
This is the first Need For Speed that will allow players to move on foot with their character as well as behind the wheel. Advertisements for the game have shown the character running from police, jumping buildings and going hand to hand combat when needed. The one thing that players will be dissappointed about this aspect is that it is not as it appears. There are very few ”on foot” moments and when they are they are relatively short and players do not control the actions of the character completely. While the cinematic plays of the on foot chase players must press or mash an indicated button for a few seconds to cause the player to perform an action, while players hoped for something more from this it is still a nice interlude to the racing and adds some extra drama to the unfolding story.
The controls are very simple for any player to pick up and play regardless of no tutorial being included, the game is a basic accelerate, brake and nitrous format and if you want to manually change gears. The game also offers the chance to play with a steering wheel if players prefer that over the Dualshock controller (tested with the Logitech Driving Force GT steering wheel) and this can add that extra challenge and feel to the overall game as you can feel the danger of black ice and other hazards much better.
The game is split into multiple game modes including Multiplayer Online, Challenge mode and The Run. The Run is the main story mode which takes players on the race from San Francisco to New York and there is four levels of difficulty Easy, Normal, Hard and Extreme. Extreme can only be unlocked after completing the game once on any of the other difficulties. Firstly let's get the downside to the run out of the way, for a competent racing game driver they can see this story mode through in a matter of hours, we are talking no more than 5 and even for those that aren't as skilled it will not take long to end the story mode. Obviously Extreme difficulty will be better challenge for those that are looking for something to work towards but it still will not waste too much time doing so.
Other flaws within the game include the race course itself, if you happen to go off a side of a mountain with a 100foot drop it is understandable that you may be out of the race and have to start again (or use the rewind function to go back to the last checkpoint). During the races however there are moments where you will veer off the course just a little bit and hit grass, or sand and it will disqualify you causing you to go back. This seems a little bit harsh due to the fact that this is not Formula 1 and you can't cheat, this is a ”Get to New York any means necessary” race and seems a little unfair that you must stick so faithfully to the road.
Much like when going off the side of the road the shortcuts also pose the same problem. On the minimap shortcuts are indicated by an orange colour rather than the white of the main road and provide players with the chance to cut ahead of opponents. They work great and they are fun to drive but the problem is that they are very limited and sometimes they are not what you thought might of been a shortcut. During the race it can be hard to look at your minimap for shortcuts as the action on the road might be intense so you have to use your judgement, some courses will make you take a sharp right turn to a side street but the main road may go straight but is just covered with a few glowing arrows, not an obstacle of any kind. Naturally players will think this is a shortcut and drive straight through it only to find out they are being put back to the last checkpoint. The game demands that you drive to ”their road” and not the road you want to drive. With more roads open to get from one point to another it could of given the game that extra bit of reality of truly racing from one city to another rather than just one road the whole way.
But, let's not have all the bad parts of the game brought into the light, regardless of all those the game is still very enjoyable to play albeit short. The races are designed well to make you feel like your not racing an event at a time, but that it is always about The Run. Certain game modes challenge you to take over 10 opponents, some maybe just three and hold the lead for a time or sometimes you don't even race opponents but you have to make up lost time. As you move from state to state you pass through some memorable sights and they all fit nicely one after another giving the players that sense of moving forward.
The scenery of the game is fantastic, from the mountain ranges of Dakota to cities like Chicago they are well detailed and if you can tear your eyes away from the race wonderful to look at. One of the other elements that adds to the race is the ”Natural disaster” issues, in Death Valley it is a sandstorm, on the snowy mountains it is black ice or avalanches. During these players need to not only be aware of the road, but of all the things they can't see, planning overtakes during a sandstorm can be dangerous at 150MPH. Sadly there is not a lot of these throughout the entire race but they are beautifully done when they do appear and add that extra fun to a track.
If dangerous roads and opponents weren't bad enough, then the mob and law enforcement definitely are. During some races the police will show up, chasing you down, literally bashing into you to get you off the road, setting up road blocks and other obstacles to stop you. Players need to be sharp to avoid being busted or run off the road and the police add a tougher challenge than sometimes your opponents can, due to the fact that they just aren't after you, but after everyone, causing police cars to be EVERYWHERE. The mob is just as bad, only this time they will shoot at you and they don't hit lightly and makes your run to New York even more difficult.
There is not a big selection of cars or modification within The Run, but it is enough to get you through the game without complaining of the lack of them. Classic cars and modern super cars are there and each will determine how you survive as you must make the decision of the right car for the right environment.
The Challenges mode is basically as it sounds, the player will race against other opponents in different challenges and trying to achieve a fast enough time to land a medal ranging from silver to platinum. Once you knock out the story mode this is a nice way to spend a few more hours to get your value for money, especially if you are after those coveted trophies/achievements. Online Multiplayer adds a different level of fun as it demands that not only do you race for yourself, but there are also challenges that must be completed with a group or partner.
Overall Need For Speed: The Run is a solid game, with a few tweaks and maybe a deeper racing map it could of been sublime. Graphically it is a great game to play watching areas change from mountain to forest and then to city and it looks and handles how a true race across the country might feel. Even though it is short it has that great arcade feel to it that you can always come back to and play again and if you play online with friends you can easily lose a handful more hours as you try to complete challenges together. Not the greatest Need For Speed to ever be released but EA are definitely on the right track with this one and hopefully we can see further development of this concept in future games.
