Need for Speed
A proper Need for Speed reboot has been a long time coming. I used to spend hours racing along the highways in Need for Speed back in the 90s and into the 00s, but the series has gone downhill in recent years – the latest Need for Speed Rivals was one of the worst offenders.
and reach lengths.
Thankfully, developer Ghost Games has listened to the immensely strong, and loud, Need for Speed fan-base, skipped their traditional annual release and really drilled down into what makes for a great Need for Speed game.
What Ghost Games is hoping to achieve is the “definitive Need for Speed experience”, concentrating on three core gameplay pillars: Heavy car customisation, a “deep” storyline and an underground setting.
It definitely has the first part right. Once you get past the first race or two, you’ll be taken to the garage and asked to pick your first car. I went with the Subaru BRZ Premium (2014), and then pimped it out to high heaven. You can take a look at my first efforts below. Afterwards I quickly found myself regularly coming back to the garage to tweak and further customise my ride during my hands-on.
The beauty of the Need for Speed reboot is the sheer amount of customisation options on offer. You’ve got simple visual customisations, where you can choose the paintwork colour, add decals and pimp your new ride out with spoilers, wheel trims and other bodywork.
But you can also drill down into the handling, tuning and performance upgrades. If you’re not a massive know-it-all on handling, Ghost Games has made it easy for you too. You can adjust the handling along a gradient between “Grip” and “Drift”.
If, like me, you’re not great at taking it sideways, you’ll be tempted to opt for the Grip end. But, be warned, it will feel like the game is punishing you for being driftphobic. Instead, you’ll be much better off starting near Grip and slowly moving towards Drift, as you get used to your car.
When it comes to performance upgrades there’s a plethora of choice too. You can upgrade various aspects of your car, including the fuel system, intake manifold, the ECU, engine block, camshaft and more. And of course, you’ll want to add nitrous as one of your first upgrades. It is Need for Speed after all.
Even if you don’t know what any of those car parts are, the game will advise you on how they will affect your speed and other factors before you buy.
You’ll also notice in the video above that Ghost Games has gone for live-action cutscenes. But it’s a bit more complicated than that, as whatever car you choose and however you customise it, your ride will always be in the garage alongside the characters. I’m still not sure whether it’s entirely convincing – it definitely needs more research.
These live action characters signify the five ways to drive in Need for Speed, and will each give you specific missions and races to complete.
There’s speed, which is obviously focused around hitting the top speeds, and is lead by the slightly irritating, but enthusiastic Spike. Then there’s Style, which is all about drifting and gymkhana racing, headed by the passionate Manu.
Next up, you’ve got Build, for which you’ll need to customise and upgrade your car. Amy, the flame-haired lady in the video above, will help you out with that though. Robyn is obsessed with crew racing, where you can race with AI buddies or get some real ones to come play with you.
Finally, there’s Outlaw. This column is focused on breaking the law, causing destruction and playing with the cops. And it’ll be Travis that you’ll be talking to about this, although his races are a lot harder to discover, meaning you’ll need to check your text and seek him out more than the other racers.
The idea is, the more you explore each of these five storyline tracks, the closer you’ll get to their respective icons. The characters are five real-world racing icons in their own rights and aim to ground Need for Speed in a real underground racing environment. The five icons are Magnus Walker, Ken Block, Nakai San, Risky Devils and Morohoshi San.
To complement this underground vibe, Ghost Games has swapped out the bright daytime sun of Rivals for a dusk ‘til dawn setting. That comes with rain that streaks across your windshield, fills the roads with puddles and makes the streetlights streak the wet roads with colour.
The graphics in general are a sight to behold, with every detail made to feel entirely realistic. Potentially with your mind tricked a bit by the inclusion of live-action cutscenes.
Early Verdict
Anyone looking for the traditional Need for Speed experience shouldn’t be disappointed by the driving in this reboot. There’s plenty of variation in the races and enough to challenge more experienced drivers.
I’m slightly worried that the initial intrigue of the live-action cutscenes will start to wear off over time, with each one blending into another.
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