The Evolution of Need for Speed
Navneet Prakash, Mar 22, 2008 1146 hrs IST
NFS is a legend. Here's a brief about every game in the series and how the series itself has changed over the years
NFS III: Hot Pursuit
Hot Pursuit was very much like the previous game, but added a new game mode called Pursuit Mode. You could try to escape the cop -- or be the cop and catch speedsters. The new mode was responsible for making the game really popular: I remember playing for hours using a car called El Nino.
NFS III had nice shiny cars and detailed tracks -- the latter were more open than before. The game introduced the idea of downloading new cars from the official website, creating a revolution in the online space. Gamers and communities started to create cars and tracks for the game.
In Pursuit Mode, the player would be chased by cop cars who would place spikes or create barricades to prevent him from running away. I remember the game's amazing smoke and weather effects; the cars looked brilliant, but all this made the game pretty system-heavy. The ability to download new cars and the superior graphics meant tremendous popularity for the game.
NFS: High Stakes was released after NFS III: it was basically the same game with the same tracks, but with a few new cars. Gamers the world over criticized the game for its similarity to NFS III, although the game did feature a few new game modes. You could earn cash in High Stakes and purchase vehicles, plus the modding community was really developed during High Stakes. HS also featured damage to cars. While playing the single-player campaign, the player could purchase repairs for his cars if the damage was too severe.
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Well, if you ask me my fav version of the NFS was the Most Wanted. It could run on just a 512 MB ram without even a graphics card and the songs added an extra zing to the racing feeling. In my opinion it is far too better than the Carbon or even the Pro Street. Most Wanted was the only game where NFS went all guns blazing. 3 cheers for NFS MW !!!
Triveni | Bhubaneswar | 23/04/08 08:48 AM | Report abuse Reply
bad
Anonymous | delhi | 20/04/08 01:46 PM | Report abuse Reply
I've NFSMW, NFS Carbon and NFS Prostreet but among the three MW is the coolest, fastest and more adrenaline pumping. Carbon and Prostreet are more hardware demanding and also run slow
Vikram Dube | Nasik | 16/04/08 09:52 PM | Report abuse Reply
dowonload fre
rushi | paltana | 05/04/08 11:46 AM | Report abuse Reply
Most Wanted rock even though there are many series from NFS will coooooool cop chasing...Still most wanted rockzzzzzzz
Arun | Madurai | 04/04/08 08:26 PM | Report abuse Reply
I am one of those few who loved the Porche Unleashed version of NFS. More so than any other installment... (I remember the inter college GOD Gaming tournament and they suddenly announced that the finals will be decided on the basis of the combined scores of NFS Porche Unleashed and Unreal Tournament. I won the tourney just because i was better than most of them in the NFS round. Cause i knew before hand that eventually it was not how fast u drive in NFS PU but it was how steady u drive and reach the destination) After that the other NFS game i loved was Most Wanted. Purely cause of the chase sequences one could indulge in while completing one task after the other simultaneously. One can say it has been a great journey filled with excitement and adrenaline rush!!!
Nikhil Naik | Bangalore | 02/04/08 03:26 PM | Report abuse Reply
Most Wanted rules....
altamash | mumbai | 02/04/08 02:09 AM | Report abuse Reply
nfs porsche unleashed rules
vijay | meerut | 22/03/08 05:24 PM | Report abuse Reply
NFS Mosted Wanted rulzzzzzzz
Gopal | mum | 28/03/08 05:33 PM | Report abuse
WoW that was one hell of a article... I also started with Need for Speed 2 to all the way up to Prostreet. NFS Carbon was k but Prostreet was unacceptable. Could not really digest that after such a long wait. stiil stuck at NFSMW and will love if they release new tracks and city in it...
bpr | Bangalore | 28/03/08 02:59 PM | Report abuse Reply
Good read! Some small corrections though. NFS-PU was a good game, the best in the series, but you've called it one of the best driving simulations of all time, now.. it may be the closest to simulation in the series, but it wasnt a simulation racer by any means. Live for Speed / GTR / rFactor are simulation games on PC. And am guessing besides GTR most havent even heard of the rest coz, they're that hardcore sim racers. And ProStreet's , tuning and saving of set-ups for others to download is not innovative. Forza 2 has it, but before it, all sim racers have had it.. Forza2 though would be the first in the "big guns" to have it on the console, though.. But nonetheless, a good write-up. The series needs to be revived. Get NFS-PU (2) out guys. This street racing thing isnt working anymore. GRID is the future in that genre, even though it's only a portion of the full game.
Anonymous | Mumbai | 28/03/08 10:52 AM | Report abuse Reply
Well in reply to ur aritcle on the Evolution of Need for speed, i just want to point out that the latest iteration called Prostreet wasn't all that bad... i mean give the developers a break will ya coz after making a purely arcadish sandbox type of gameplay with both Most Wanted and Carbon they were OBVIOUSLY expected to come up with something different... like Prostreet; and if they hadn't i bet u would've been criticizing them for bringing out the same kind of game. Now don't call me a fan-boy yet cos i'm not saying Prostreet is perfect but it definitely is trying out to bring something different to the table what with all its real time damage system and other stuff. I mean the drag, drift and speed races featured in this game do bring out a fresh appeal to NFS fans'. Sure the game lacks the X factor found in Porsche unleashed and Most Wanted but i would still rate it a 7/10 any given time.
Jagadish | Bangalore | 27/03/08 10:34 PM | Report abuse Reply
good game
atif | lahore | 26/03/08 11:15 PM | Report abuse Reply
Most wanted is always wanted by a gamer. It rocks. simply mind blowing game. HP2 was good too, carbon sucks, pro steet can go to hell it is f__king
Abhinav | Lucknow | 26/03/08 10:40 PM | Report abuse Reply
The Booster Pack (Energizer Lithium Pack) for Pro street adds some fun.. Bugatti veyron , SLR McLaren to race with is just awesome..
Siddharth Anand | New Delhi | 26/03/08 09:59 PM | Report abuse Reply
DOWNLOADS
AMIT | JHANSI | 26/03/08 08:43 PM | Report abuse Reply
nfs mw truly rocked......carbon was borin wid the crew and canyon races...i never tried pro street , hearing that it isnt good!...
rajesh | bangalore | 25/03/08 09:09 PM | Report abuse Reply
Quick Question: Why is the NFS-PU screenshot wrong?!? That is not a NFS-PU screenie. Please do justice to the game, and put the actual screenshot!
Andy! | Irvine | 23/03/08 01:58 PM | Report abuse Reply
I think it might be of the PlayStation port. AFAIK the game was released on multiple platforms including consoles. BTW, any one heard of Motor City Online? It was supposed to be Online only version of PU but for some reason didn't make it.
Dragor | Mumbai | 25/03/08 08:25 PM | Report abuse
How can i download the game...
Deepak | Mumbai | 25/03/08 01:44 PM | Report abuse Reply
still play the high stakes and MW..just love Mia in Most wanted.
prabhas | pune | 24/03/08 04:32 PM | Report abuse Reply
most wanted, most wanted, most wanted, most wanted, most wanted, most wanted, most wanted, most wanted, most wanted.......
Nikhil | Mumbai | 24/03/08 03:22 PM | Report abuse Reply
i have fond memories of NFS porche unleashed which i used to play in my P3-intel IGP and its looks very satisfying to me..nice article..my first car racing game was Testdrive which was also a very good racing game...Castrol Honda Superbike and Road Rash is my first bike racing game...those are the gamess....I am missing some real Road Race-bad ash kind of Bike racing title
satyanjoy | Ahmedabad | 22/03/08 02:25 PM | Report abuse Reply
most wanted is absolutely awesome
adi | hyd | 23/03/08 03:54 PM | Report abuse
yes porsche unleashed it is...i still play it...it's a gem and NFS2 in splitscreen...nothin like it...
Samrat | Mumbai | 24/03/08 01:33 PM | Report abuse
NFS Carbon is the only game that i've ever liked. have finished all others but they all sucked. Playing Carbon with a HIgh end steering wheel gave real life like experince (unlike any other) coz drifting was Just perfect and real. i dont understand why people like the acradish versions more - probably coz you all play on keyboards and low end steerings and joysticks or probably u might be in work or a quickie enviornment or not passionate about Car RAcing Experience but rather fast cars controlling (unrealistic that too) experience
Anonymous | jo | 23/03/08 09:55 PM | Report abuse Reply
nfs most wanted was the best.....noone compete it
sunny | pune | 23/03/08 07:44 PM | Report abuse Reply
A good review. I still play many of the old titles. heck! I have a Windows 98 partition just for playing NFS II SE and earlier versions (For some reason they do not play on XP SP 2.) I have loved playing all of the NFS titles but my most favorite has to be Most Wanted. No game (Not even PGR and similar franchisees) can hold a candle to the gameplay, story, graphics and thrill that MW was able to give me. Most Wanted is the game to beat! All hands down! :)
killer1314 | Hyderabad | 23/03/08 06:52 PM | Report abuse Reply
i agree with your review of the series. NFs gave every kid with a pc, the 'sound' and the 'feel' of what really automation was all about.. having played every iteration of the series, it made us slick racers and god like tuners, so much so that, most of us learnt about maintainence of our own cars from the game. we understood what each part actually did. it also gave us our own escapist world where we could evade cops and wreack havoc in a small city. without doing any 'real damage'. of course, there are some people who argue, that we all became more unruly on the road and stuff like that. but NFS stood out like a sore thumb through all this, in rebellion, by being politically incorrect and being pure entertainment.. (my mother still doesnt understand, what a 25 year old doc gets from evading cops on his computer, a gallardo 180 into oncoming cops is my favourite) In summary i'd like to add Nfs prostreet was an even bigger disappointment than we can rant and rave about in words. till the next cop inclusive game
Dr.Aditya | bangalore | 23/03/08 04:39 PM | Report abuse Reply
ive played all the need for speeds, the best was most wanted and the worst is pro street. carbon did a half hearted job of continuing with most wanted's story. hopefully the next one will be truly amazing. also check out grid.
Karim Fatehi | Dallas | 23/03/08 12:08 PM | Report abuse Reply
NFS HP2 always rocks...
Marun | Chennai | 23/03/08 11:08 AM | Report abuse Reply
nostalgia
pdogg | mumbai | 23/03/08 10:48 AM | Report abuse Reply
I know comparatively "Stunts" sucks. But if you know when it was released, it was way ahead of it's times.
Laxminarayan G | Mangalore | 23/03/08 10:40 AM | Report abuse Reply
Most wanted is the best car game a person can ever play. Excellent collections of cars and graphics is really awesome. ProStreet is really a disappointing one. Dint expect such a product from NFS. Hope the next will be best of NFS.
Pranav | Chennai | 23/03/08 09:49 AM | Report abuse Reply
Thanks for taking down memory lane.NFS porsche was my first game to the title .It was a decent one but Hot pursuit 2 was better and Most wanted best.Prostreet is the worst title i have ever played
Vikas | Delhi | 23/03/08 09:02 AM | Report abuse Reply
most wanted excellelent good
eshwar naik | wgl | 23/03/08 04:13 AM | Report abuse Reply
i ll enjoy this gaming
eshwar naik | wgl | 23/03/08 04:09 AM | Report abuse Reply
hey Navneet....Ah thanks for reminding me my good old days...I really enjoyed the playin nf2, HP2, porche and UG series....anyways I would still blame nfs for my poor marks during college days ;)
Raghu | Mumbai | 23/03/08 02:55 AM | Report abuse Reply
Most wanted was excellent . It's my favourite game.. The police chases were simply awesome in it. I hope the EA guys comeback with a cop mode again.
Bhargav | Hyd | 22/03/08 10:12 PM | Report abuse Reply
one can still see nfs2 being played on old grandpa pc's[;)] and it was good i loved nfs4-high stakes...used to play till dawn on my 4MB! SIS AGP graphics card! the best being U2 and MW... they rock alltime! the worst for me is pro street, didn't even tried the full game after playing demo
anirudha | yavatmal | 22/03/08 10:07 PM | Report abuse Reply
good game
happy goel | delhi | 21/03/08 09:20 PM | Report abuse Reply
i think NFS Underground brought some revolutionary changes in the game...dont remember playing porshe though....in a confusion whether i played NFS III or porshe....hehehe
andy85 | Pune | 22/03/08 09:46 PM | Report abuse
Porsche Unleashed was the best. Followed by UG2
Abhijeet | Aurangabad | 22/03/08 07:01 PM | Report abuse Reply
NFS Porche is my fav.. just perfect for a ride!! awesome graphix.. way 2 cool driving.. real-time experience...
Dheeraj Mehta | Mumbai | 22/03/08 02:51 PM | Report abuse Reply