Ever since the teaser demo that Electronic Arts showcased at E3 2015, fans have been waiting for the release of Need for Speed, a game franchise reboot by Ghost Games, an EA studio. The game was supposed to come out last year, but was delayed by EA for further development.
As promised during EA's E3 press conference, Need For Speed has gone back to its roots – all about underground street racing, which is quite evident with the story set in Ventura Bay and with the races during night time. Great visuals and deep customization options were both delivered in this reboot of the game franchise.
The new Need for Speed looks good; gorgeous even. While the game revolves around underground races, sitting behind the wheel feels like watching one of Ken Block's gymkhana videos, especially during drifts, where you can see the grains fly. Note that drifting is one of the highly-rated aspects of the current reboot.
"Ghost Games brings us a Need for Speed game with many fan-favourite features such as customization, impossible skids and arcade driving," comments Antonio Lopez, a game critic.
Drifting can easily be configured based on the player's preference using the customization menu, which pops up when the player looks at a car. It's quite straightforward, slide the bar away from the "Grip" toward the "Drift." Tuning the other aspects of the car, such as the spring, ride height, differential camber and more to change how the car handles can also be done through the customization menu. Paint, vinyl, stickers and other external décor can also be added and replaced using the same menu.
Nonetheless, not every customization option will be available from the start. The game needs to be played and reputation needs to be built to unlock the said tweaks. Hence, players will be stuck with the initial white car for a couple of hours.
Even though the racing game has its graphics and customization covered, Need for Speed was slammed by some users and critics for a variety of faults. A prominent one is the rubber band AI, which is quite unfair for players. It really doesn't matter how fast you go, the AI will be there and will stick with you. Unresponsive steering is also a current issue. Some people loved the cut scenes, others hated them.
Another common user complaint is the limited amount of cars, which EA will address with the upcoming free DLC release. Hopefully, the free DLC will come with manual transmission, too.
However, the biggest problem with the current reboot is the digital rights management, which requires players to be always online in order to play. While the move can be seen as a way to prevent bootleg copies of the game from circulating, it also creates a predicament for people with slow Internet connections.
"Ghost gave a bunch of reasons why N4S is always online and it all points to a better experience, the sad truth of it all is that it is not and none of the reasons that they gave really justifies why the game should be 'always online,' says Metacritic user CevaQ. "If you have a poor connection or your Internet is down for a period of time the game will be inaccessible."
Furthermore, when EA needs maintenance done on its servers, players also can't play. A toast to EA not working during weekends.
Need for Speed is currently available only through Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The PC port is scheduled for release in the spring of 2016.
