The State Of Need For Speed Right Now
Need For Speed has always been a game that is close to my heart and I have been playing it since I was 5 years old and I am very glad to say that they have come a very long way. The following you're about to read is from my point and there may be some games which I have not played so you will have to excuse me for that.
To reminiscence from the beginning, my first need for speed was the second part where there was 2D like 2-bit graphics and the cars ranged from the legendary McLaren F1, Ford GT90, Ford Indigo and not to forget the insane Jaguar Xj220. After that in a quaint hobby store in Mumbai was where I got the next one that is Hot-Pursuit 2 and that was okay for me in terms of racing and difficulty. then came High Stakes which I played for a very short time. To be fair though my mind was in a different state that time and never was I so serious as I am now, a little playfulness is expected here.
For those who have played every game in this series, a word of caution as I have not played Most Wanted (2005) or even both the Underground (2000 and 2001) games so I cannot give my true opinions about those games but after most wanted released, the same can be said of Carbon (2006) followed by Prostreet (2007) and Undercover (2008) all of which were developed by BlackBox and received rave reviews.
But the prime period came for me around 2011 when I got my ps3 and need for speed was in their low period but 2 games came and changed their fortunes according to me, Shift (2009) and Hot Pursuit (2010) - two very different styles of gaming as one was simulation mixed with arcade handling and the other, full-on arcade with brake to drift which I love even now as I could easily control a 570bhp Lamborghini, yes you heard it right a Lamborghini on a very wide corner at about 190mph, That was insane and Shift presented a new light to simulation with the need for speed flavor when accelerating hard gave one a sense of speed that was never felt before in any other game ( ProStreet was let's say 50% having played it on the PSP and that was a second rate port as well as Carbon where there wasn't much excitement). The autologue system was a genius idea and the intense cop chases on Hot Pursuit made the game more exciting. Also, the only Need For Speed game I have completed in career-wise is Shift and that might shock some of you as I had my best experience in that game.
I even got to play Shift-2 (2011) and Most Wanted (2012) which I can honestly say never lived up to Hot Pursuit as that was overall a better game and the takedown system was irritating. After that, there was pretty much the same logic in Rivals (2013) where you gain speed points and buy tech and cars.
Although it sold well, it didn't go down with the people as hoped, thus leading then developer Ghost Games to take a 2-year break and come back with the rebooted Need For Speed (2015) which then brought customization back in its proper form after 6 long years. But it was not perfect and the handling lets just say was like a bouncing wall where after hitting it the car will go to the other side and one cannot control the minor inputs required to steer it.
Fast Forward to 2017 and the latest and greatest in the franchise Need for Speed Payback was released and according to me, it is a fantastic comeback and an all guns blazing effort for the franchise. although, there are niggles but they can be fixed through updates which improves the overall experience. After playing it though, what can be honestly said is that it is a marketed improvement over the others in terms of customization and the story can be said as damn near cheesy with cringe-worthy lines but it is playable? what needs improvement though is the handling as there isn't much differentiation between drift and grip as the two seem to overlap a lot and it may cause trouble for some looking to try and gain a good medium in the game. Yes, there are still ways to go for the franchise or so as we thought.
I feel that the reviewers need to cut some slack and approach with a different mindset to these games especially after the reviews have come out and the comparisons made with a simulator to an arcade game have absolutely no connection at all in terms of fun and experience as they are two different genres of racing all together.
In all honesty though, I see this as a good return for a long lost franchise and they can definitely get back up on their feet and if they can put their hearts and souls into it, they will definitely gain the love and loyalty from fans who have always been with them from the beginning.
To conclude, I can safely say - "welcome back old friend, we have missed you".
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