Reviewed on April 7, 99.
Graphics
The are truly the best graphics in the NFS series, but thats about it.
However, that doesn't mean that the graphics aren't good. The tracks are very
beautifully designed, and the backgrounds look gorgeous. For example, the track
"Route Adonf" has beautifull looking area filled with pink and white Camellias,
and Canada's Kodiak Park has a fully detailed train running right alongside of you.
The cars show drivers in them and also EA does a nice job showing the damage the car
takes. Everything from, small scrapes to huge fender benders are shown very nicely
by altering the car textures.
Now to the bad part, FRAME RATES SUCK, especially in 2 player mode.
The game suffers in trying to keep a consistent frame rate. You're driving at
200mph, and all of the sudden the game slows down a bit and picks up again. It gets
annoying after a while. Also, the load times are very horrendous, in keeping with
the series. It takes forever for the race to load, as a matter of fact it takes
forever for just about everything to load. Also the resolution is a little poor, but
that's not that big of a deal. Bottom Line: The game's graphics just don't stand up
to GT's graphics overall.
Sound
The game really shines in sound. The sound tracks are an excellent mix of
Techno, and house music, and all the tracks can be delivered in Dolby surround Sound.
If you got a stereo system, hook it up folks, it sounds really good. The
sound effects are very accurate from scrapes to crunches to the engine revs of all the
cars. The cop car radio is also accurately done with the static and CB effects.
Gameplay Value
The physics in this game are very realistic, and even exceed that of GT very
closely. The game features different game modes such as Test Drive, Single race,
Tournament, Special events, Hot Pursuit, and High Stakes. The 1st 3 are self
explanatory, but let me explain the rest. NFS:HS allows you to upgrade your cars, (a
la GT) after you bought them (thats right you buy your cars now) so that you have a better
chance of winning a race. The Hot Pursuit mode from the previous NFS is back and is
better than ever. Basically, you and a friend can race against each other while
battling the law. Cops chase after you if you speed, and 3 fines you're busted.
However, if the "ram you to the wall and catch you" approach doesn't
work, they set up road blocks and spike belts to slow you down. Think you're doomed,
well think again. You have access to a police radio that notifies you of all the
activity that the cops are doing, and gives you enough time to escape a road block.
High Stakes mode is a highly risky 2 player battle. You and a friend race 2 cars
that you bought and upgraded against each other using 2 memory cards. The catch is
that the loser's car will be permanently erased from the memory card. How's that for
bragging rights?
The Hot Pursuit mode is the most fun mode in the game. You can
also choose to be the Cop Car this time, but it does have a serious disadvantage.
The cop car doesn't get any backup, and the only way to catch a speeder is to ram their
car into the wall or the side of the road, and there is also a time limit to do it
in.
The Tournament mode is very good. There are about 10 tracks to
race on, and about 6 tournaments to race in, each with different stakes, and different car
requirements. The most significant part of this mode is that you incur damage.
Thats right, not only that but they also take money off for damages. Learning
how to drive with as few bumps and scrathes as possible really helps you get that Diablo
or the Porsche.
Replay Value
The game features 10 tracks and a variety of cars that can be upgraded to go
against a friend or a foe. It will take up about a month of your time to really have
fun in this game. But after that, it kinda gets a little old. The only long
term challenge is the 2 player mode, where you must try to get the best car possible to
pit against an opponent in High Stakes
Bottom Line: An excellent racing game that will keep you at it for a couple of weeks,
despite some flaws.
Reviewed By KC.
MUST GO FASTER!
"Road Block? I don't see it.
MUST CATCH TRAIN!
Do You??"
Oh Damn! There goes another
$100 for repairs.
