LGR - Remembering the Classic Need For Speed Games
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Date: 2022-04-14
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Comments and reviews: 9
Nick
This is a very interesting perspective for me to see. I come from a few years later as far as my introduction to the series. I started out with Porsche Unleashed, then got Hot Pursuit II, then High Stakes (all 3 on PC, then Underground for GC all within maybe 2 years in the early '00s. My favorite of all of them was Hot Pursuit II. I can't explain why, but it just felt like the most interesting game. The controls were hard but not too hard on a keyboard, it had a lot of music with rock elements that I was into at the time, and that intro video still gets me even today. For the longest time I thought that intro video was real, done with stunt cars. I never really got into the older 1-3 games though, and 4 was kind of just fun for the be the cop mode or whatever they called it then.
As I got older though, I really got into the tuner games. Underground 2, Most Wanted, and Carbon all probably got the most playtime from me out of anything else in the series. I even got into Pro Street a bit, long enough to at least beat the game once. After Hot Pursuit (the 2010 remaster) which I enjoyed but kind of disliked the lack of a real -career- mode, I kind of lost interest in the series. I didn't really play anything else until Heat came out a few years ago and went on sale for PS Plus members. I liked the visual upgrades, but the music was repetitive and the story just didn't click. I'm not sure I'll ever like an NFS game like I did those '00s ones ever again.
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This is a very interesting perspective for me to see. I come from a few years later as far as my introduction to the series. I started out with Porsche Unleashed, then got Hot Pursuit II, then High Stakes (all 3 on PC, then Underground for GC all within maybe 2 years in the early '00s. My favorite of all of them was Hot Pursuit II. I can't explain why, but it just felt like the most interesting game. The controls were hard but not too hard on a keyboard, it had a lot of music with rock elements that I was into at the time, and that intro video still gets me even today. For the longest time I thought that intro video was real, done with stunt cars. I never really got into the older 1-3 games though, and 4 was kind of just fun for the be the cop mode or whatever they called it then.
As I got older though, I really got into the tuner games. Underground 2, Most Wanted, and Carbon all probably got the most playtime from me out of anything else in the series. I even got into Pro Street a bit, long enough to at least beat the game once. After Hot Pursuit (the 2010 remaster) which I enjoyed but kind of disliked the lack of a real -career- mode, I kind of lost interest in the series. I didn't really play anything else until Heat came out a few years ago and went on sale for PS Plus members. I liked the visual upgrades, but the music was repetitive and the story just didn't click. I'm not sure I'll ever like an NFS game like I did those '00s ones ever again.
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Ideitbawx
got NFS2SE at a school booksale when I was a kid, no box, no special packaging, just a burnt orange CD and instruction manual in a jewel case. and I played that game a TON! I became obsessed with the McLaren F1 like Clint was obsessed with the Viper. I guess you could call the game arcade-like, but it was still far removed from games like Cruisin' World (another game I spent a lot of time playing. somewhere down the line we ended up getting NFS3, and it was excellent! we ended up getting a bunch of custom cars, including a Jaguar with such ridiculously over-adjusted settings. seriously, if the car wasn't doing at least 50 mph, the slightest tap of the arrow keys would turn the car 90 degrees! it was so broken, but that's what made driving it fun -
haven't really played any of the other ones, though my ex had a copy of the last one that came out on Xbox One (can't remember the name. we played that for a while, it was fun, but more in a Cruisin' World meets GTA kind of way. sometimes I just don't care about driving around the same city over and over again, looking for missions to do. sometimes, I just want to jump in an exotic car and race like I'm really the one behind the wheel
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got NFS2SE at a school booksale when I was a kid, no box, no special packaging, just a burnt orange CD and instruction manual in a jewel case. and I played that game a TON! I became obsessed with the McLaren F1 like Clint was obsessed with the Viper. I guess you could call the game arcade-like, but it was still far removed from games like Cruisin' World (another game I spent a lot of time playing. somewhere down the line we ended up getting NFS3, and it was excellent! we ended up getting a bunch of custom cars, including a Jaguar with such ridiculously over-adjusted settings. seriously, if the car wasn't doing at least 50 mph, the slightest tap of the arrow keys would turn the car 90 degrees! it was so broken, but that's what made driving it fun -
haven't really played any of the other ones, though my ex had a copy of the last one that came out on Xbox One (can't remember the name. we played that for a while, it was fun, but more in a Cruisin' World meets GTA kind of way. sometimes I just don't care about driving around the same city over and over again, looking for missions to do. sometimes, I just want to jump in an exotic car and race like I'm really the one behind the wheel
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koenigscat
Most of the music in the early Need for Speeds was made by Saki Kaskas and Rom Di Prisco (In Porsche Unleashed just under different aliases.
The first one is not with us anymore, may he rest in peace. The latter still makes music under the same name.
Also, your story with NFS III reminds me a lot of my story with Battlefield 2. Looking at pictures and videos for years since I couldn't afford the game, nor was our computer able to run it. Later, on my birthday, I got it as a gift from my mom. I didn't care it was already out for two years, I loved it! Also we had a computer that could (barely) run it. Now, just looking at the box and thinking of that moment brings tears to my eyes as my mom got ill not long thereafter and died of cancer the next year.
As far as your conclusion, the NFS games you like and you don't like, how you moved on to different types of games, and loved the open games like TDU2/Forza. I can relate to that a lot. It's like my mind was your teleprompter in that part of the video.
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Most of the music in the early Need for Speeds was made by Saki Kaskas and Rom Di Prisco (In Porsche Unleashed just under different aliases.
The first one is not with us anymore, may he rest in peace. The latter still makes music under the same name.
Also, your story with NFS III reminds me a lot of my story with Battlefield 2. Looking at pictures and videos for years since I couldn't afford the game, nor was our computer able to run it. Later, on my birthday, I got it as a gift from my mom. I didn't care it was already out for two years, I loved it! Also we had a computer that could (barely) run it. Now, just looking at the box and thinking of that moment brings tears to my eyes as my mom got ill not long thereafter and died of cancer the next year.
As far as your conclusion, the NFS games you like and you don't like, how you moved on to different types of games, and loved the open games like TDU2/Forza. I can relate to that a lot. It's like my mind was your teleprompter in that part of the video.
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PJ
Love this video. Been a Need for Speed fan since my cousin introduced me to the franchise since I was a child. I-m currently in my mid 30-s. My first Need for Speed game I owned was Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. Truly a legendary game. Still is till this day. It-s unfortunate how Need for Speed went down hill. I-m not sure you heard the recent game Need for Speed Heat? I played it and sadly it got very boring. They didn-t add any new racing events or content. I wished they remastered the Need for Speed III Hot Pursuit and Need for Speed Most Wanted (2005) Since EA had went back to Criterion Games. I don-t see the franchise surviving any longer. I really wish that EA would stop making Need for Speed games all together because every 2 years or so. They continue to be disappointing and get worser each every 2 years. The older classics will never die. The music and soundtrack that goes with the classics will forever be remembered. Love your collection.
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Love this video. Been a Need for Speed fan since my cousin introduced me to the franchise since I was a child. I-m currently in my mid 30-s. My first Need for Speed game I owned was Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. Truly a legendary game. Still is till this day. It-s unfortunate how Need for Speed went down hill. I-m not sure you heard the recent game Need for Speed Heat? I played it and sadly it got very boring. They didn-t add any new racing events or content. I wished they remastered the Need for Speed III Hot Pursuit and Need for Speed Most Wanted (2005) Since EA had went back to Criterion Games. I don-t see the franchise surviving any longer. I really wish that EA would stop making Need for Speed games all together because every 2 years or so. They continue to be disappointing and get worser each every 2 years. The older classics will never die. The music and soundtrack that goes with the classics will forever be remembered. Love your collection.
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Will
-12: 18 Really sorry for your loss but also really appreciative of you opening up and sharing. When I found these games I was also in childhood going through family struggles. Just like you, man did these games click and make a difference! It was a place to go where I could forget about the sadness around me and get into flow state and find some enjoyment in life. In a way these games got me through too.
I haven-t found a NFS since High Stakes that was as immersive. Like you the Grid and Forza series have been my go-to since NFS went mega arcade. I probably would enjoy the new games if they at least had the damage modeling (where damage affected your car-s handling) and cockpit view. Without those two, it-s too hard to get engaged for me.
Simply wanted to say sorry, I feel for you, and I had a similar experience. These games were awesome!
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-12: 18 Really sorry for your loss but also really appreciative of you opening up and sharing. When I found these games I was also in childhood going through family struggles. Just like you, man did these games click and make a difference! It was a place to go where I could forget about the sadness around me and get into flow state and find some enjoyment in life. In a way these games got me through too.
I haven-t found a NFS since High Stakes that was as immersive. Like you the Grid and Forza series have been my go-to since NFS went mega arcade. I probably would enjoy the new games if they at least had the damage modeling (where damage affected your car-s handling) and cockpit view. Without those two, it-s too hard to get engaged for me.
Simply wanted to say sorry, I feel for you, and I had a similar experience. These games were awesome!
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Bogdan
Damn, I'm so happy that I discovered this video. There's actually an interesting story about how Underground 1 was developed. The Windows and Xbox versions of Hot Pursuit 2 were developed by EA Seattle (afair) and they outsourced the development of the PS2 version to BlackBox. Because BlackBox did a brilliant job (the PS2 version was better in any way starting from graphics, handling and overall gameplay, EA disolved the Seattle team and gave BlackBox full power for the next release hence Underground 1 is the all time best selling game. BlackBox continued to develop the series until The Run.
Initially I couldn't understand how was is possible that the quality of the games decreased so much, but after getting into software development I'm sure that it is just another result of key people leaving, bad management and lack of vision.
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Damn, I'm so happy that I discovered this video. There's actually an interesting story about how Underground 1 was developed. The Windows and Xbox versions of Hot Pursuit 2 were developed by EA Seattle (afair) and they outsourced the development of the PS2 version to BlackBox. Because BlackBox did a brilliant job (the PS2 version was better in any way starting from graphics, handling and overall gameplay, EA disolved the Seattle team and gave BlackBox full power for the next release hence Underground 1 is the all time best selling game. BlackBox continued to develop the series until The Run.
Initially I couldn't understand how was is possible that the quality of the games decreased so much, but after getting into software development I'm sure that it is just another result of key people leaving, bad management and lack of vision.
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Samp98518
It's really funny how I have the exact opposite experience with the NFS series. I didn't play games on a PC and really got into gaming on the GameCube, so right where you stopped being super into NFS is when I started, with Hot Pursuit 2. The thing about crashing cars with your friends, I would do the same thing, but in Underground 2 on the highway track. And now that I'm older I can go back and play these older games, surprisingly well on my modern computer, and appreciate them for what they were at the time. Even if half of them are older than I am. It's a shame the NFS series has really fallen off and not managed to recapture the magic of these older games, I think the last one that got close was Hot Pursuit in 2010. Heat was pretty good, but now they seem to be almost rebooting the series so who knows what they make next.
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It's really funny how I have the exact opposite experience with the NFS series. I didn't play games on a PC and really got into gaming on the GameCube, so right where you stopped being super into NFS is when I started, with Hot Pursuit 2. The thing about crashing cars with your friends, I would do the same thing, but in Underground 2 on the highway track. And now that I'm older I can go back and play these older games, surprisingly well on my modern computer, and appreciate them for what they were at the time. Even if half of them are older than I am. It's a shame the NFS series has really fallen off and not managed to recapture the magic of these older games, I think the last one that got close was Hot Pursuit in 2010. Heat was pretty good, but now they seem to be almost rebooting the series so who knows what they make next.
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Thorstein
So, this is weird.
Obviously a lot of love for the series and racing games in general. The review of the first two games make it seem like he enjoys the realism and mocks the silly physics of NFS2.
In this video he arrives at the pinnacle of the Need for Speed series: Porsche Unleashed and. Nothing. Wait what? -
It has it all, excellent music and ambiance, a revolutionary physics and handling model, the -build and tune- your garage part which he now gets in Forza Motorsport, a shit ton of various cars from decades of history from one of the most prestigious brands on the planet, and on and on.
Read anything online, Porsche Unleashed is still hailed as a pinnacle of driving games. And with good reason. In this video it's a -meh-. Weird, but to each his own I guess.
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So, this is weird.
Obviously a lot of love for the series and racing games in general. The review of the first two games make it seem like he enjoys the realism and mocks the silly physics of NFS2.
In this video he arrives at the pinnacle of the Need for Speed series: Porsche Unleashed and. Nothing. Wait what? -
It has it all, excellent music and ambiance, a revolutionary physics and handling model, the -build and tune- your garage part which he now gets in Forza Motorsport, a shit ton of various cars from decades of history from one of the most prestigious brands on the planet, and on and on.
Read anything online, Porsche Unleashed is still hailed as a pinnacle of driving games. And with good reason. In this video it's a -meh-. Weird, but to each his own I guess.
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sebastianali
Some people would see High Stakes like just a more complete version of NFS3, and therefore, much better (like Worms World Party/Armageddon kind of thing, and while i agree than High Stakes is a masterpiece and without any doubt a top 3 of the series, this would be very unpopular, but i still prefer NFS3 for only two reasons, the handling on rain that is so stiff (unless you use a fully upgraded Porsche 911 Turbo or the Mclaren, and all the padding it has the career mode and unlocking the cars in the hot pursuit mode. NFS4 is the most complete experience, but NFS3 imo was the most refined and consistent one. I understand why people prefer High Stakes though, and it still lived up to the magnificence of NFS3.
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Some people would see High Stakes like just a more complete version of NFS3, and therefore, much better (like Worms World Party/Armageddon kind of thing, and while i agree than High Stakes is a masterpiece and without any doubt a top 3 of the series, this would be very unpopular, but i still prefer NFS3 for only two reasons, the handling on rain that is so stiff (unless you use a fully upgraded Porsche 911 Turbo or the Mclaren, and all the padding it has the career mode and unlocking the cars in the hot pursuit mode. NFS4 is the most complete experience, but NFS3 imo was the most refined and consistent one. I understand why people prefer High Stakes though, and it still lived up to the magnificence of NFS3.
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