Need for Speed Racing Games

This message was edited 7 times. Last update was at 12/05/2009 14:12:36

Lots of people around the world talk about Need for Speed. Where it has been and where it comes from. What it represents and what it doesn't. Truth is, most really don't know the history behind NFS. It may be because it's before your time, or because you weren't interested in games or cars at that time, or because you didn't enter the franchise until recently.

Regardless of the reason, I was inspired recently to write this article to reflect on and highlight where Need for Speed has come from over the past fifteen years. I hope you find it entertaining, wether your learning about the franchises roots, or simply feel like taking a walk down memory lane.

Need for Speed starts nearly 15 years ago with the first title launching under the name “The Need for Speed.” The game was developed by EA Canada and was sponsored by Road & Track magazine.

There was no other racing game on the market like it. With a mixture of closed circuits and open road races, random traffic and police, not to mention a very unique and diverse selection of cars to choose from, the Need for Speed was born. Another important factor of this game was the major bar it had set for other would be racing game developers. For the first time in a racing game, all of the vehicles performed differently with the Need for Speed.

What many don't realize about this title is that it was not the exotic escapade that many seem to think it was. While the few exotics in the game were insanely fast replicating their real life capabilities, there was much more to this eight car list then it may seem. All of the major classifications were there, the tuners, the muscles and the exotics.

A Ferrari 512, a Lamborghini Diablo, a Porsche 911, a Corvette, a Viper, an Acura NSX, a Mazda RX7 and a Toyota Supra headlined the birth of the franchise. I remember this list like it was yesterday. And there were so many ways to admire these cars: from the instant replays to real video footage in the showcase... Those were the good old days.

A few years past before seeing Need for Speed II. “The” was dropped from the title making the game simply Need for Speed as was the Road & Track sponsorship. The cops were left out of this game and so were the Sprint style point-to-point tracks. Instead the game featured only circuits based around the streets of real world locations. The traffic from the first game remained but the diversity in the car list disappeared.

The NFS shifted the focus to the unobtainable. The million dollar extreme machines of the late '90s. Cars like the Ferrari F50 and the McLaren F1. One of the greatest ways to enjoy these rides was the awesome feature to be able to select fast-paced arcade physics, or realistic simulation physics. Minor elements of tuning were also present. You could tweak the gearbox for acceleration and top speed as well as adjust the steering response of the vehicle.

This was actually the first Need for Speed I owned. Having loved the first one so much after playing it for hours on end with my friends, I saw this on a shelf when browsing a local department store and decided to purchase it with my Christmas money. I remember being shocked when I found out there were no cops, lol.

A year later saw Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. The cops were brought back into the franchise having been absent from the previous game. NFS III was very similar to NFS II in that it had closed circuits and the latest in exotic rides, though the new Corvette C5 appeared in the game bringing with it a little bit of American muscle.

The new police pursuits were much more dynamic in this game and featured more realistic AI and mechanics. If you had the game on PC, you could even play as the cop and arrest street racers.

A few short months after the release of Hot Pursuit saw a huge change in the face of the racing genre on consoles. The release of Gran Turismo was met with huge appraise. Boasting several hundred cars, super realistic physics, and a state of the art vehicle modification and tuning system. Need for Speed had to adapt if it were to survive.

The following year saw the release of Need for Speed: High Stakes. Reinventing the franchise and kicking the spiraling roman numerals from the title. Yhis new NFS presented a ton of incredible new features, better police and the most massive car list the franchise had ever seen.

This title is by far my favorite of the classic NFS titles. I can remember the introduction video to this day: a Porsche, clean and stock parked at a red light next a tricked out hatchback resembling a Honda Civic. When the light turned green the Porsche flew off the line and the little tuned hatchback broke down, eating Porsche dust. This moment is probably the single most awesome moment in NFS history when you consider where the franchise is today.

One of the most interest aspects of the game was the new High Stakes mode. The concept was simple: lose the race, lose your ride. Something like this had never been done in a video game before and helped the franchise to remain unique.

Another awesome feature was the ability to play as the cop on all versions. When selecting one of the games police cars, you could hunt down and arrest would be racers. You could even call for road blocks and spike strips. This provided hours of fun, especially in multiplayer.

The car list was massive as more then twice the amount of cars were featured in this game then the last. For the first time players purchased the cars instead of selecting them and could upgrade the cars to make them faster. Doing this enhanced the visuals of the vehicle to make it look more aggressive. More muscle cars such as the Camaro joined the once lone Corvette, luxury sedans such as the BMW M5 entered the fray. There were small little roadsters like the BMW Z3 and even the return of some exotic favorites like the ever-dominating McLaren F1 were there. This returned much diversity to the franchise though tuner cars had still yet to return.

A brand new, in-depth career mode was introduced encouraging NFS drivers to explore the entire range of cars offered instead of jumping into the fastest car and moving on. The career was complete with trophies and rewards such as the Pro Cup Corvette and Porsche cars made this NFS title a very rewarding one to finish.

There was so much in this game, from the ability to race day or night, through a variety of different weather, turn signals and hazards, headlights and high beams, 3d cockpits replaced the pre-rendered ones of the past, even a little bit of damage was in there. Never in the franchise's history had there been so many awesome features.

The only real downside with High Stakes was the lack of real car footage. Such a massive array of new and unique features and a huge car list meant some sacrifices had to be made. Despite that small little absence of a once cool feature, the future of Need for Speed was secure from the looming Gran Turismo.

Time passed by and suddenly it was the year 2000 and it was time for a new Need for Speed. This NFS was a special one as instead of featuring a wide variety of cars from different makes, it instead chronicled the last 50 years of history of one of the world's greatest sports car manufacturers: Porsche.

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, though revolving around a single make, was a milestone in NFS history. The new Evolution career mode allowed players to experience a manufacturer like no other game in history. There was so much amazing Porsche history and knowledge in this game that you it could turn into a Porsche fan just playing it. I'm one of those.

Factory Driver mode was another really awesome mode in the game. In this mode, you were basically a Porsche test driver, pushing various Porsche rides to their limits and essentially, help Porsche become the amazing sports car manufacturer it is today. Virtually of course.

Many would argue that the physics in the game are the most realistic the franchise has ever seen and I'll join that side of the argument. Not to mention the incredible, for the time of course, damage model featured in the game. The damage in this game was truly memorable. It was also permanent. That is until you repaired it. This meant you had to be cautious, especially in the early stages of the game when money was very tight.

Speaking of damage, that truly provided another unique experience to the game. In Porsche Unleashed, you had the option of buying used a Porsche instead of just a new one. The used cars had a random amount of damage done to them and needed to be repaired before their full potential could be experienced.

Regardless of what sort of cars you like, everyone could find a way to enjoy Porsche Unleashed. I couldn't stand Porsche before this game and I found myself fascinated by the history of the company, not to mention the incredible gameplay and career modes. I think the only thing lacking from this game was the split screen. That's right, no split screen multiplayer fun in Porsche Unleashed.

Next up is a rather debatable Need for Speed title. One available only for the PC. It was a MMO game called Motor City Online. While the game did not have Need for Speed in it's title, it still has a huge following from the Need for Speed fan base and is considered by most to be a core Need for Speed title.

This game had jumped continents and supplied players not with cars from Europe, but cars hailing mostly from America. More specifically, classic and old school muscle cars. You could upgrade these cars with various parts that would improve performance. There were even rare parts that boosted performance a lot more then the common parts.

Sadly, I can't really go into much detail since all I know of this game is hear-say. Having never been a PC gamer, I unfortunately missed out on this milestone in NFS history. I understand there were quite a few interesting game modes and regular updates, one of which saw the return of some tuner cars towards the demise of the game.

In 2002, NFS returned to consoles (and the PC of course) with Hot Pursuit 2. NFS development was now being handled by a new studio called Black Box. This new studio turned back the clock and tried to recreate that classic NFS experience from the nineties on the latest hardware.

Until this title, the franchise has always leaned towards a more realistic style of driving. While by no means was it a simulator, the physics were psuedo-realistic. Performing much like one would expect, but managable and accessible for everyone, not just race car drivers. In Hot Pursuit 2, Black Box Studios decided to build the game with a new style of adrenaline filled action with a modern arcade style engine.

Another interesting aspect to this game was the tracks. Based off of real world locations much like the games of NFS past, Hot Pursuit 2 offered a new dynamic when driving on the tracks. Players now had a variety of side roads and shortcuts they could choose to drive down. Some were good, some were bad, some were fast, and some were slow.

The car selection had also returned to it's roots, providing a massive well rounded selection of exotics and modern muscle cars. Once again, the exotics rides stole the spotlight with their ever so dominating performance characteristics.

Police pursuits were back as well, hence the subtitle, “Hot Pursuit 2.” Once again they were reinvented in an attempt to make them more exciting and more enjoyable and of course, more realistic.

This was the end of the classic Need for Speed era as the next year would revolutionize both the franchise and the racing genre...

this was a great article

but, I have to admit that I rember High Stakes as a "remake" of Hot Pursuit, with many of that game's tracks took place in HS. for that reason, the pike of Need for Speed series was Porsche 2000 (or as they call it in your country, Unleashed) for me.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 03/26/2009 05:21:05

Thanks Marcell!

I don't recall any recycling in High Stakes. If there was, that still would have been fine by me. Back then (and still today), when the simulators started to show up, thier sequels carried over the old tracks and added some new ones. This was awesome because you weren't learning everything all over again. I've always enjoyed that aspect of them.

Porsche was an excellent title. I wouldn't call it the best, but it definately is up there. Heck, it made a Porsche admirer out of me.

That is a great article I have all of those games except MCO and still like to play them every once in awhile. BTW the last two videos are not working anymore.

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 03/26/2009 17:04:19

I remember Need For Speed: High Stakes (aka Road Challenge) getting fairly molested in reviews for being similar to Hot Pursuit. In reality as EA Torque says, it features so many new features (such as damage) that it is more everything that Hot Pursuit should have been.

The recycling is mentioned as when you complete(?) High Stakes, you unlock all the tracks from Hot Pursuit!

In some ways I think of Hot Pursuit -> High Stakes similar to the competing Test Drive series, where Test Drive 4 and 5 were extremely similar but 5 was much better. Basically evolutions. Of course the better games may have been less well reviewed as they were compared to the previous titles and seen by reviewers as extensions of them (or all that those titles should have been!).

I'll also mention the versions EA Torque missed out:

The Need For Speed Special Edition - PC only version with selectable day/morning/evening conditions, 2 extra tracks and Windows 95 compatibility (the first version was DOS only). EA ran (in UK at least) a half price trade in option for owners of the original version, which I went for!

Here's the Transtropolis inner city track, one of the two extra ones (the other being Burnt Sienna):

Need For Speed II Special Edition - didn't have the trade in option (grr) but was the first Need For Speed title to support 3D accelerators (as long as they were 3Dfx Voodoo based). It featured much better graphics/detailed tracks (the bugs splatting on the screen in the Outback track stick in my mind!), plus a Lost Resort Mexican themed track. On the downside, EA didn't manage to combine the 2D cockpit overlays with the 3Dfx version (as it was hard at the time to do 2D+3D!) so you had no in-car view in the 3Dfx version. What many people DON'T know about this version of NFS2 is that it also came with an unaccelerated version too, so you didn't need a 3Dfx card in reality (and in-car was still present with that version!). NFS2SE also added 3 extra cars (the Italdesign Nazca which appears in the PSX NFS3 video above but not in the PC version hmm!), a Ford Mustang concept and the Ferrari F355. It also made the Ford Indigo no longer a bonus car but added 3 new bonus fantasy cars!

Here's the opening plus all the individual car portrait videos (some have amazing music and editing I think!):

One other thing I must mention is Hot Pursuit 2 - the 2 versions conflict... the PlayStation2 was the lead platform for this game, and Black Box concentrated on that. EA Canada (I believe) handled the PC/XBox versions and as a result they were sorely lacking. The basic game was similar but the PS2 version had so many more features, including a Rocky Canyons themed track (harking back to NFS3/NFS1) which the PC/XBox doesn't have, plus split screen mode and also lots of ways of getting points by pulling cool powerslides, jumps, etc (a reward theme that would continue into future games) - the PC/XBox versions only really however rewarded race wins and escaping the police! Black Box attempted to tidy up the PC version late in the day with a "beta" patch, but it never was as good as the PS2 version.

Oh and as for the police being more realistic in Hot Pursuit 2? I'm not sure that real life police drop exploding canisters from helicopters on speeders just yet hehe!

Here's the PS2 Rocky Canyons track that the PC/XBox never saw:

I should also mention a little web game called "Need For Speed Web Racing" that was released. It was a PC game, a cut back version of Hot Pursuit for playing online.

That was a thumping good read, it actually makes me want to buy some of those games so I can get better aquianted with the NFS franchise. Athough it was very insightful, this thread missed a few NFS games such as V-Rally, but captivates the roots of the franchise very well which nullifies what it lacks. I can't wait for part 2

xbox.Dillano609 wrote:That was a thumping good read, it actually makes me want to buy some of those games so I can get better aquianted with the NFS franchise. Athough it was very insightful, this thread missed a few NFS games such as V-Rally, but captivates the roots of the franchise very well which nullifies what it lacks. I can't wait for part 2

Technically the Need For Speed: V-Rally games were not Need For Speed titles. They originated in Europe simply as the "V-Rally" series, published by Infogrames (later Atari). As EA were publishing these in the USA they tagged on Need For Speed to help increase sales/awareness, but they're in no way official Need For Speed games.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 03/27/2009 10:42:23

MAIN.IceManVirtua wrote:Technically the Need For Speed: V-Rally games were not Need For Speed titles. They originated in Europe simply as the "V-Rally" series, published by Infogrames (later Atari). As EA were publishing these in the USA they tagged on Need For Speed to help increase sales/awareness, but they're in no way official Need For Speed games.

Which is exactly why I left them out. One of the V-Rally games was badged under the Test Drive brand as well on the Sega Dreamcast.

As far as the Special Editions, I did think of including them, but as I was focusing on the Core NFS and the SEs are pretty much just re-releases with extended content while remaining 90% the same game, so I left them out.

I don't know why- it must have been something in the water that year- but 1998 was a great year for racing games.

EA had NFS III: Hot Pursuit, of course. I think Road Rash 3D was released that year, too, correct me if I'm wrong.

Sony had the original Gran Turismo.

Namco had R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, which is considered the best Ridge Racer game ever made by many.

Midway had the Nintendo 64 port of Cruis'n World- the only Cruis'n game to get a competent home port- as well as Hydro Thunder. Hydro Thunder is finally getting a sequel in everything but name, in the form of H2Overdrive.

And of course, there's Sega. Sega Rally 2, Harley Davidson & LA Riders, and of course, the greatest racing game ever made...

1998 was a great year.

Wanna know what would be a good idea? Putting the old NFS games up on GOG.com. Along with every other classic EA title. Just sayin'.

Good article as usual Torque...

But a few things to note.

A) In the Canadian version at least the RX-7 was actually an MX-6. Same car with a V6 instead of the rotary engine.
B) NFS II actually showcased the Ford GT90 and Lamborghini Cala which were never put into production.
C) Porsche Unleashed had a multi-player cops and robbers split screen option for PSX.

So are you going to put out an article covering the modern era of NFS games?

cem_ea_id.UberSil wrote:Good article as usual Torque...

But a few things to note.

A) In the Canadian version at least the RX-7 was actually an MX-6. Same car with a V6 instead of the rotary engine.
B) NFS II actually showcased the Ford GT90 and Lamborghini Cala which were never put into production.
C) Porsche Unleashed had a multi-player cops and robbers split screen option for PSX.

So are you going to put out an article covering the modern era of NFS games?

A: Really? Interesting...
B: A very valid point. The the Lamborghini Cala was actually represented through it's designer's name, Italdesign.
C: Oops. I don't remember any split-screen. Too long ago... memory is a bit fuzzy. My bad.

Final question. Yes, of course!

Don't forget the NFS arcade games from Global VR!

The last NFS i really liked was Porsche. I remember buying NFS2:SE only becose it had few new cars and better graphics ^^

Btw, anyone know what happen to EA Canada ? Why they stopped making NFS and let Black Box continue the series ?

nfs_web.Bezdusznik wrote:The last NFS i really liked was Porsche. I remember buying NFS2:SE only becose it had few new cars and better graphics ^^

Btw, anyone know what happen to EA Canada ? Why they stopped making NFS and let Black Box continue the series ?

EA Canada became EA Global. They're the umbrella company. At the time of Blackbox's dissolving there were three separate programming houses in British Columbia where EA Canada originally hailed from.

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