Need For Speed ProStreet Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 15 November, 2007

Is nothing cul-de-sacred?

Version tested: Xbox 360

Driving games have done a lot of odd things over the years to get noticed. Mario Kart gave you shells to fire. MSR gave you points for losing traction. Ridge Racer let you drive sideways round corners. Need For Speed was, on and off, about running away from the law. This one isn't though - this one's about street racing kids going straight. Which is an apt description, since you basically can't steer.

Things start off badly as you sit on the grid holding down the accelerator while your car visibly fits in front of you, bouncing around like a washing machine while a negligibly attired stripper pouts you down to the start. As soon as you hit the first corner you lose it, because turning further than 10 degrees at anything faster than a crawl isn't going to happen, leaving you to pump the brake for ages and ease almost completely off the accelerator in order to get the nose round anywhere near far enough. It's not that difficult to master the cornering once you accept these rules (and there are three degrees of Driver Assist options to help you if you struggle), but being proficient at ProStreet is more like being good at scouring pans than being good at, say, dancing. Or racing cars for sport.

Strangely it's all best played out in the wider third-person view, which pulls back as you accelerate, because this accentuates what speed you have and couples well to a physics model that really drags at your tyres if you let a wheel slip off the track into the dirt, and won't let you get away with mowing down sign-posts or anything like that, either. As a result, going fast is a precarious feeling, and the game's best moments involve threading your delicate, hand-built racers at pace through networks of long but slight opposing corners. The other camera options aren't really worth exploring - there's a bonnet cam instead of a bumper cam, which makes things feel floaty and slow, and a closer third-person effort, and for some reason the driver's-eye view feels more like you're pinned to the windscreen somewhere above the dashboard, so it's a bit like playing as a tax disc.

'Need For Speed ProStreet' Screenshot 1

You can draw all over your car, which is fair enough. Can't key it though.

Visually the cars are generally pretty, and there is a tremendous amount of customisation to be done for those so inclined, which is of course where a lot of ProStreet's depth really lies. Not only can you buy and pin tons of upgrades to your various cars - altering driving characteristics in the process, and even doing clever things like testing downforce in a wind tunnel - but you can record your preferred set-up as a "blueprint", which you can then share with friends. Not a bad idea, that. Damage modelling, too, is done extremely well, with bumpers hanging off, bonnets getting mashed and as much crumpling as you've seen anywhere other than Burnout or your washing basket. That said, the systems governing repairs are a bit forgiving - there are all sorts of repair markers to use, or you can spend cash, but it doesn't really cripple you as it might, and it doesn't really incentivise you to drive any safer - you were already having to brake far more than usual anyway.

Equally un-groovy is the bizarre "wobble" effect that seems to have crept into Need For Speed recently as you drive around. I'm not sure whether EA's trying to compensate for the 30fps frame-rate (which is fine), or whether it's an artistic choice designed to emphasise what speed there is, but it's the sort of over-compensation that sees otherwise sensible men spend hundreds of pounds on having another exhaust pipe. You are still driving a Ford Escort.

'Need For Speed ProStreet' Screenshot 2

All the number plates say 'ProStreet', which probably makes kerb-crawling more difficult.

Not that there's anything inherently wrong with wanting to make your car look pretty, whatever Holy Moly presumably says, and ProStreet's presentation is certainly clued in to the world of boy racers and shouting at you when you walk home through car parks wearing the wrong trainers, but it's not really my taste. Indeed, there's a risk of doing my grouchy-old-man routine about all the shouting neon and hot-pant misogyny if I don't watch it. But actually, objectively this isn't so much tasteless as just trying too hard. The Ryo "Showdown King" character who 'disses' you in cut-scenes whenever you win is like a gurning adolescent bully with bum-fluff and a rich dad, and the announcers, who talk over almost every screen, are the sort of people who say things like "hip" and "rad" without a trace of irony, and keep referring to "my man Ryan Cooper" (that's your name - you can't change it) in a way that makes you clench your fists until the nails cut through the skin.

But then you can always turn some of it off and concentrate on customising your car and racing. It's not very exciting, but there's lots of it to do, with several events in each of the many Race Days and Showdowns you attend. There are standard multi-car races, which are what they are, and Time Trials, where you're racing around the same track as the others but spread out, a bit like Formula One qualifying sessions. There are also Drift races, where you throw the back of the car out for as long as possible to gather points. These aren't actually that bad (and I understand that last year's equivalents robbed you of all your points for going off the track, which ProStreet mercifully doesn't), but the lack of attendant speed and the fairly generic drift mechanism aren't going to gang up on PGR or OutRun with any particular success.

The worst events are probably the Drag Races, which aren't much more than a mini-game, but are put to way too much use. They're basically the 10-second-race thing from The Fast And The Furious (which most of the dev team can probably quote verbatim), and involve warming up your tyres by doing wheelspin with the right trigger (trying to hold a cursor in a green bit on a grip bar as much as possible), and then doing the actual race. This is a case of holding down the accelerator (without overheating) at the start line and then using the LB clutch and right-analogue gear-shifting to build up speed quickly. So in effect, it's pressing two buttons when prompted, then pressing two buttons when prompted, and then doing two more rounds of it. And then doing the entire thing again. It gets more difficult, and if you invest yourself enormously in tuning your car then it's possible to derive real satisfaction from reducing your best times by fractions of a second, which is of course the game's intention, but it's too much hard and repetitive work to get to that point, and my enthusiasm dwindled long beforehand.

'Need For Speed ProStreet' Screenshot 3

Drag racing is a good way to make the most of your tuning, but it's pretty tedious in general.

Sector races are more interesting. Each track is split into four sectors, and the person who goes through one the fastest "owns it" until someone beats the time for that sector. Anyone who takes over ownership of a sector banks some points, and anyone who goes through subsequently without beating the target time gets nothing. That said, can anyone spot the fundamental flaw? It's that the first person off the line (cars start one after another, ala Time Trials) gets to bank four sectors' worth of points on the first lap. If the second person beats all of those times, he or she gets four sectors' worth of points too. But if the third person beats the first set of times but not the second, there's no reward at all. You can't fight for a better starting position, so that's that really.

Elsewhere, NFS' relationship with the Internet is confined to PS3 and Xbox 360 (the version tested here), and the ability to define your own Race Days full of events and custom racer line-ups is nice enough. EA also uses your broadband connection to serve in-game advertising, and it may not be overly intrusive (it's not like EA doesn't already fill its own games with fairly blatant self-promotion), but squeezing you for shareholder value is taken to an alarming new level at times here. One of the load screens tells you to send EA an SMS to buy the ProStreet mobile games, and every time you buy a car in the shop you're asked whether you want to use in-game cash (i.e. what you've worked for) or Microsoft Points. You can already download premium bundles of cars from Live to save you the trouble of actually unlocking them, which seems a bit pointless to me, and also neatly breaks the difficulty curve of the game for anyone who does it anyway.

'Need For Speed ProStreet' Screenshot 4

Body kits and the like let you transform your crap cars into really garish ones. Or you could just buy a better car. It's not real life, after all.

In a brilliant racing game, you could forgive this sort of thing, and the occasional botched mode, and the annoying presentation, but ProStreet is far from a brilliant racing game. It's tolerable enough and will certainly last you a long time, but it seems a shame that what used to be one of EA's better, more reserved racing games has become quite so loud, desperate and mediocre in an attempt to distinguish itself, and that what it does get right in this year's iteration is almost completely divorced from the track where so many of its contemporaries excel.

5 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (75) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • JayeM #1 4 years ago

    Ouch to the pun and the review.

  • stoopidgreg #2 4 years ago

    damn, i didn't expect a 5

  • Eraser #3 4 years ago

    not surprised. Need For Speeds gone downhill ever since Hot Pursuit 2, and they keep churning out new ones at an incredible rate.

  • ElNino9 #4 4 years ago

    It may be shite, but i bet it's the best selling game this Christmas :/

  • Darren #5 4 years ago

    I'd love to say I'm surprised at the review and score but I'm not. I thought the demo was very iffy and just couldn't decide what it was that I didn't like about it. The graphics look amazing but the dull tracks, bland presentation and sheer lack of speed when you aren't using nitrous just put me off the game so I decided not to pre-order the game. I've since read other reviews but none have been overly enthusiastic... except one, the X-360 magazine review which gave it 9/10 and proclaimed it the "best driving game yet on the 360".

    This will be the first NFS I've not bought since NFS 2 on the PC but, to be honest, there are far too many good games out at the moment so it's nice that Kane and Lynch, NFS: ProStreet and so on aren't getting great reviews as it means I'm less tempted to buy 'em. LOL

  • lambtron #6 4 years ago

    Noooooo. Why couldn't they just have made a pretty similar sequel to MW. For once I wouldn't have minded EA churning out the same game!

  • FlamingCarrot #7 4 years ago

    EA Sports - Its in the bin

  • Darren #8 4 years ago

    P.S. How come NFS never has replays?!? I mean every other racing game has replays except NFS yet it is one game that would definitely benefit from having them as the graphics are generally excellent. Very odd really... are Black Box stupid or something to leave out such a standard feature... or is it a case of EA selling it as an extra feature later on...? :?

  • tobsen #9 4 years ago

    After checking out the demo, I am not surprised about the outcome of this review.

    IMO, Motorstorm still rules this generation of racing games completely.

  • Triggerhappytel #10 4 years ago

    Actually lower than expected. Isn't this one series which has gradually been getting better over the years?

    Regardless, this still sell about 1.5 million copies in the UK so what difference does it make?

  • Darren #11 4 years ago

    I thought NFS: Most Wanted was the best game in the series since NFS 3 on the PS/PC and the excellent NFS: Porsche Unleashed. The series went downhill with the two Underground titles and Carbon felt disappointing because it seemed more like Underground 3 than Most Wanted 2. Now this new game seems to have ditched the fun arcade elements altogether in favour of a more realistic racer with boring tracks and damage modelling, which actually makes the game less enjoyable to play (from the demo anyway). Shame really.

  • rob230 #12 4 years ago

    Anyone remember the first NFS game on the PC? that was great

  • JonFE #13 4 years ago

    The last NFS game I enjoyed was Most Wanted (outsmarting the cops was pure thrilling fun) and I was hoping this would return the series to form, after the mediocre Carbon. However the demo wasn't very good and, apparently, the full game is just as bad.

    Well, the x360 doesn't lack quality racers, so, no harm done...

  • gmmonkey #14 4 years ago

    I hate ea. That is all.

  • Steroyd #15 4 years ago

    If there is a God this will sell like shite.

    There is no God is there. :(

  • kangarootoo #16 4 years ago

    Played the demo, switched it off within a single digit number of minutes. No exaggeration.

    NFS:Most Wanted was an overlooked gem, but for me it was the last game of the series worth playing.

  • FenderMaster #17 4 years ago

    NFS hot pursuit 2 was great fun!!! i loved that game!!

    then it turned into boring urban street racing to appeal to horrible tracksuit wearing people who think the fast and the furious is a great film...

    ... and it became the number 1 selling game for 2 Christmas holidays...

    why cant they bring back the fast sport cars, ridiculous tracks and police barricades? it used to be so fun

  • jlaakso #18 4 years ago

    Sounds like they didn't really know what they were getting at with this game. I actually thought this might be pretty good, because the last one I played was Most Wanted, and that was fun, if no Project Gotham.

  • pjmaybe #19 4 years ago

    Should've got Kristan to review it (8/10)

    So it's actually worse than Carbon? Is that even humanly possible?

    Peej

  • Talha #20 4 years ago

    Hot Pursuit 2 was the best NFS game.
    Porsche Unleashed - second best.
    Most Wanted - third.

    I SO wanted to buy this - even a 7 would have done it.

    I also have trouble believing it is even worse than Carbon or Underground 2. What a wasted opportunity - for the first time in years NFS was gaining meaning as a racing game.

    Anyway, likes of Forza, GT, GTR, PGR and Burnout render it, and many other racers, pointless. I think EA can't decide which stools to fall between on this one.
    Edited by 1 at 15/11/07 @ 16:02

  • Furbs #21 4 years ago

    As a work in progress this could set up next years quite well. I thought the demo showed some potential...the Nevada race was much more in keeping with the original NFS and NFS 2. If they can use this as a platform to build on, like they did with FIFA 07, improve the handling and framerate then I'll certainly give next years some attention.

    And yeah, I agree with you Tahla, its going to be quite difficult for EA to decide what direction to take the series...at the moment its a bit of a mishmash.
    Edited by 1 at 15/11/07 @ 16:04

  • darc #22 4 years ago

    Too bad, the TV ads looked great. Thank god for intarweb reviews. :)

  • Daymare #23 4 years ago

    I wonna have a "this-gen" NFS with (beautiful) coastal/alpine/desert/etc tracks and no tuning:/

  • skillian #24 4 years ago

    ^Because it sells better than it used to.

  • Pulsar_t #25 4 years ago

    It seems Skate was the wrong harbinger to look at.. This is the REAL one!

    Can you blame EA too much for being the equivalent to Hollywood? Selling brainless crap to stupid masses.. Wouldn't you do the same if you could figure out how to be so abusive of people's shortcomings?

  • Darren #26 4 years ago

    I presume people listing NFS: Hot Pursuit 2 as their fave game in the series are referring to the excellent PS2 version and not the terrible Xbox one, which wasa different game done by a different developer altogether? I remember buying the Xbox version, realising my mistake and rushing out and swapping it for the PS2 version, which was just so much better.

  • darc #27 4 years ago

    "MSR gave you points for losing traction."

    LOL this sums up why I avoid arcade racers - even several critically acclaimed ones - like the plague. Being rewarded for driving poorly, essentially, and generally without any alternative.

    As for the faux-street styling, this doesn't sound any different from the NFS Underground series, which IIRC the press liked quite a lot. (I hated it, of course.)

    Now where did I leave that Forza disc...
    Edited by 1 at 15/11/07 @ 16:14

  • dsmx #28 4 years ago

    I do so wish they'd redo hot pursuit 2, some of those police chases were insane. Like that time where I jumped over the spike strip, or the times I spent dodging the dropped spike strips from the police chopper in the mclaren f1 at 200 mph. I try to forget about that stupid catchup that let the AI drivers go faster than the cars top speed because the police chases are the best I've ever driven against for intensity.

  • Furbs #29 4 years ago

    Theres a certain irony in the same comments appearing year after year about EA bringing out shit year after year.

    FIFA, Tiger Woods, Madden, the Battlefield Series, Fight Night, Skate, Crysis - thats a hell of alot more consistent output than most studios publish in a single year.

    Just because you dont like the genres doesnt make it shit, the same way as I dont like games involving Italian plumbers.

  • SBfistfun #30 4 years ago

    "Oh Dear Geoffrey" to quote George of Rainbow fame

  • Talha #31 4 years ago

    @Darren: I think anyone mentioning Hot Pursuit 2 DOES mean PS2 version. Originally it was to be a PS2 exclusive. But then EA decided that it wouldn't be EA if they didn't design versions for every device on the planet including refrigerator.

    Besides other things, the PS2 version also had the extra desert environment.

    Ah, the olden days.

  • sambo_nz #32 4 years ago

    Help us out here: [link url=http ://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6443455185
    ]http://ww w.facebook.com/group.php?gid=64...[/link]
    =)

    (wishlist for next title in series)
    Edited by 1 at 15/11/07 @ 16:36

  • Guv #33 4 years ago

    EA focusing on quality over quantity... huh.

  • El_MUERkO #34 4 years ago

    i enjoyed the demo for a minute ... or maybe 30 seconds

  • Garulon #35 4 years ago

    What's weird is that 1up (Garnett in particular) were splurging their pants at this title compared to PGR4, and playing the PGR4 and ProStreet demo side by side they are not even in the same league - PGR4 is vastly superior to this pile of clag. vastly superior.

  • Mr_Brown #36 4 years ago

    Kinda shocked...the demo was ok. The graphics and sense of speed were pretty good. But the tracks were just dull and too easy (coming from someone who hardly plays the games) I got through the whole two tracks without crashing or breaking...how dull. A geat pity, this could have been good.

  • jaxon58 #37 4 years ago

    Not as good as Juiced 2 then.

  • captain-future #38 4 years ago

    I applaud this low score!
    Edited by 1 at 15/11/07 @ 16:41

  • IAmBatman #39 4 years ago

    > every time you buy a car in the shop you're asked whether
    > you want to use in-game cash (i.e. what you've worked for)
    > or Microsoft Points

    Holy shit.

  • andromeda #40 4 years ago

    so can we seen an end to this franchise now?

    there is no NEED any more.

    and the smoke looks crap

  • UncleLou #41 4 years ago

    Not surprised, the PC demo was awful. Shame, Most Wanted's demo a few years ago sold me the game.

  • monkie_king #42 4 years ago

    Isn't Test Drive Unlimited closer to the original NFS than this one? The first NFS really was good, I still remember the little video clips for each of the cars. "Wheel hop off the line ..." etc. The unlockable jet-powered car poor though.

    I wonder how long it'll take for someone to configure iptables on their Linux router to serve up goatse instead of the EA adverts in game.

    /checks slashdot

  • Xerx3s #43 4 years ago

    They should have named it Need For Speed ProStreet Underground gangsta bling edition just to suit the target audience a bit more.

    5/10 eh? Guaranteed 1st on the top 10 sales lists.

    IMO, Motorstorm still rules this generation of racing games completely.

    lollers.

    Just because you dont like the genres doesnt make it shit, the same way as I dont like games involving Italian plumbers.

    The problem however is that we DO like racers but this - as pointed out in the review - is up to the usual extremely low identikit quality that EA has provided us year after year with. That and it will sell like crazy while better racers with quality have to bite the dust.
    Edited by 1 at 15/11/07 @ 17:04

  • Cannibal #44 4 years ago

    Where's the quote from that guy who said EA was focusing on quality from now on?

  • UncleLou #45 4 years ago

    as pointed out in the review - is up to the usual extremely low identikit quality that EA has provided us year after year with.

    As I pointed out to you specifically a few days ago, the NfS series has been a pretty varied series, with ups and downs, and maybe unfortunately more downs in recent editions, but also very good games like Most Wanted. Text modules you've learned by heart for other EA games series just don't fit here.

  • Arwin #46 4 years ago

    Hah, just as I expected on even cursory glances over the web ... sounds like the game deserves it.

  • monkie_king #47 4 years ago

    EG's review tagline should have been "Need For Speed: Least Wanted".

  • menage #48 4 years ago

    Every time you buy a car in the shop you're asked whether you want to use in-game cash (i.e. what you've worked for) or Microsoft Points.

    WTF! This is really getting ridiculous. It's like preying on the weak of mind.

  • Furbs #49 4 years ago

    Xerex's identikit EA comments are the exact irony I was talking about. He's as much an anti-EA fanboy as he is a Microsoft one.

    I love how people will trot out "same old shit from EA" with regards to this when its only similarities to the NFS:U series is a) its from EA b) its got cars in it c) you can put stickers on them. Fuck me, I'm really worried about Forza 3 now which no doubt Xerex will get wood over.

    So its not a great game (although this is the worst review I've seen from it so far), criticise it for that, not the same boring comments. Honestly, its the same comments thread for the past four years.

    /cue some numbnut saying its the same game for the past four years despite my points above.

  • Feanor #50 4 years ago

    "P.S. How come NFS never has replays?!? I mean every other racing game has replays except NFS yet it is one game that would definitely benefit from having them as the graphics are generally excellent."

    Maybe it has rerally bad cheating AI and they don't want you to see that?

    On NFS Hot Pursuit 2 on the PS2 on the last lap of a 10-lap, 30 minute race the computer car beat its best lap time by over 20 seconds just so it could be on my bumper in the last few seconds.

  • Mechorpheus #51 4 years ago

    So does that mean the PC version has no online modes??

    Oh well, its not like it matters either way. I'll stick with Most Wanted for another year then.....

  • old_skool #52 4 years ago

    And EA is wondering why they're making a loss...

  • L0cky #53 4 years ago

    @Furbs

    'b) its got cars in it'

    Not just cars; but the exact same 3d models; don't make me pull screenshots!

    The thread probably is the same as four years ago, but it suits the game. If you think those are the only 3 things this has in common with the last 25 NFS games since Hot Pursuit then I wouldn't place bets on you at a game of spot the difference.



  • FenderMaster #54 4 years ago

    EA isnt so bad... they did produce Skate...

  • Furbs #55 4 years ago

    To be honest L0cky, at least I've probably played them unlike most of the people who whine about it being the same game.

    They're probably the same models because they're the same cars? But the Carbon/MW models didnt have the damage modelling these have.

  • Monkey-Wizard-Ken #56 4 years ago

    The demo was so bad it upset me

  • mkreku #57 4 years ago

    I haven't liked a Need For Speed since Porsche Unleashed. But I had some hopes for this one. Poo.

  • markypants #58 4 years ago

    "this one's about street racing kids going straight. Which is an apt description, since you basically can't steer."

    Favourite line in a review in ages! Fantastic review... Terrible game. I guess as long as it keeps selling this is still a cash cow for EA.

  • yagisencho #59 4 years ago

    The last great NFS game was Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed. The same crew then went on to make the equally brilliant Test Drive Unlimited.

    But I guess this is the crap that sells.
    Edited by 1 at 15/11/07 @ 21:13

  • Nostromo13 #60 4 years ago

    more like this game cul-de-sucks

  • T-Bag #61 4 years ago

    Such a shame because NFS used to be a genuinely good game before it turned into need for sales.

    Hot Pursuit 2 was probably the most fun I have had multiplayer racing with mates, including any new stuff on the 360/pc.

  • NinjaWilliams #62 4 years ago

    NFSPS+No replays+No cops= NO FUN! Wait for Burnout Paradise now that's something better from EA thus beyond far! :)

  • SeesThroughAll #63 4 years ago

    How many people here are surprised?

    @f3rrari: You are aware that this shit is multiplatform, right?
    Edited by 1 at 16/11/07 @ 00:29

  • Xerx3s #64 4 years ago

    Furbs: Fine mate. If that is what you want to think, who am I to disagree. Yes, I dislike EA but that's not without reason. I criticise EA for their quality standards and their used tactics that have ruined so many great companies. I criticise their shit products. Bite me. Did you see me post one single negative comment in the Crysis thread (it is the first pc game that is making me consider upgrading my pc)?
    I suppose it's easier in life to brand people. The fact that I bought 3 EA products this year says how much I let my hate cloud my judgement eh? Oh, and I think Forza is overrated fyi.

    The double irony of your post however is not unnoticed.

  • Talha #65 4 years ago

    Ah yes, as pointed out above

    WHERE THE HELL ARE THE REPLAYS?

    Every racing game except NFS seems to have them.

  • DUFFMAN5 #66 4 years ago

    Bag of shite then. I think I will buy a used copy of Hot Pursuit 2, that was a great racer. After I have revisited Soul Reaver that is. Thank the Lord for Ebay!

  • Rodster #67 4 years ago

    The review is spot on. All cars drive and feel like truck or buses. The presentation is annoying at best. This is the worst Need for Speed game by EA.

    EA needs to get back to the basics with this series. Hint..hint EA, it's all about going fast and evading cops.

  • FlamingCarrot #68 4 years ago

    Fast cars, police pursuits and no more down with da kidz modding. Hot pursuit was superb. I loved the autumn leaves blasting past my Lamborghini whilst shaking off the cops. Tired old shite and really needs to be retired or totally revamped. Its the law of diminishing returns gameplay wise.

  • YourMessageHere #69 4 years ago

    While Carbon's canyon racing bullshit was utterly awful, its lack of taste as enormous as the NFSU games, and the opponents that levelled as you did meant that it stopped being fun before you finished it, it was still fun generally until the endgame, the handling was pleasingly comprehensible and it looked pretty damn good on my machine without dropping to a crawl. I fail to see how it could be called bad in comparison to this steaming deposit. So much for NFS ProLaps; I predict NFSU3 next.

  • db3 #70 4 years ago

    Based on the demo I have to agree with the score.
    Porsche Unleashed was the last really good NFS.

    Probably still sell shit loads though because it's sooo street.

  • redneon Verified Programmer, SUMO Digital #71 4 years ago

    I wonder when EA will just stop trying and release Need For Speed: Chav Magnet!

  • Krilekk #72 4 years ago

    I liked the demo, got the game today for 360 and have to agree with the review. This game is utter trash. And the framerate stutters. This game is even worse than NfS: Carbon.

  • jlaakso #73 4 years ago

    Been playing this for one night now and I don't know. It's not that bad. They're going for a much more realistic approach than they used to - too bad the driving model doesn't quite cope with that. Most of the atrocious dialogue can be turned off and the it's pretty enough. The handling does seem much too weak initially, but is quickly alleviated with tuning your car.

    I like the way it's trying to model being an actual motor sports driver, with the paying for damages and pre-selecting your rides for a race day and whatnot.

    I have the biggest gripe with the realistic and entirely too dull environments.

  • captain-future #74 4 years ago

    Judging from the XBL demo only... seems like an adequate score.

  • Madder-Max #75 4 years ago

    I think this is a brilliant arcade tournament rwcer thingy game and the drag racing is the highlight (I am a drag King now!) and the customisation, racing types...all quite addictive. Its not a sim, its not as boring and anal as say Forza, GT etc and lots to customise. very glad they changed from the ususal escape the cops boredom parade to this tournament thing and online racing is grwat fun. (Thats because I own drag racing).

    There are weird annoyances like camera angle options and.....thats about it.

    8.5/10