Need for Speed is back! After a year’s hiatus, EA’s annual racer is back, doing all it can to bring the series back to the flashy, street racing roots of one of its most successful and beloved series; Underground. With car customisation, night racing and cheesy Full Motion video, it should do just that right? Perhaps not. Here’s what critics think of the latest Need for Speed.
Gamespot – 8/10
The game is far from perfect, but it is, at points, truly exceptional. Its jaw-dropping visuals, adrenaline-pumping audio, and highly-customizable handling make screaming around the darkened streets of Ventura Bay an intense thrill. The sense of ownership that comes with tuning a single ride to perfection rather than simply grabbing the flashiest vehicle available proved tremendously rewarding. Even just the breathtaking speed of upgraded vehicles makes the driving in Need For Speed absolutely gripping. This foundation of gratifying gameplay anchors the experience, while the rest of Need For Speed’s specifics run the gamut from equally outstanding to smash-your-controller frustrating.
Videogamer – 5/10
So, in a roundabout (none of those in this game) way, Need For Speed is a success. It does exactly what it sets out to do. But what it sets out to do is boring, bland, unimaginative and thoroughly dull. It’s sometimes fun, very pretty, and enables you to plaster stickers of dogs all over your newly-pink Mustang, and it’s riddled with great ideas like the fine online challenges with friends and enemies alike, annoying connectivity issues aside. But it meanders, settling on a rhythm that can only be described as ‘safe’, not pushing the player to be anything other than adequate.
IGN – 6.3/10
Need for Speed looks the part, sounds the part, and is surprisingly reverent to real-world car culture. I like the direction Ghost has taken here, and I think it’s the right one, but beneath its flashy exterior it’s not quite firing on all cylinders.
USgamer – 4.5/5
Need for Speed returns to its urban car culture roots with a gorgeous-looking, very well designed game that offers five different racing styles to tackle – and a bevy of interesting cars to modify and make your own. Its story is a lot of fun, and it’s set in an impressively large environment that is very enjoyable to drive around. A great arcade racer that’s both challenging and addictive.
God is a geek – 6.5/10
It’s a perfectly serviceable racer with great looks (which is expected from racers nowadays), plenty of customisation options, and passable driving, but it’s a real shame that latest reboot of this franchise had the hallmarks of the greats in the series’ past and could have been truly special. While it’s not bad by any means, it’s just plain old “decent”, and that’s not really enough with the competition out there.
The biggest drawbacks appear to be its always online nonsense (when will EA learn?) and that it’s just playing it safe. If you love Need for Speed’s brand of arcade racing, you may get a kick out of it, but it’s nowhere near revolutionary. We’ll have our own review soon.
Last Updated: November 3, 2015
(Umar) Must be Cipher
November 3, 2015 at 10:46
Not looking for the next big racer. Just want a racing game with some awesome customization options. Looking forward to this…
Aries
November 3, 2015 at 11:10
Me the same, atleast that part of the game works I guess
Nikola
November 3, 2015 at 11:18
Me too dude, quite excited to customize my cars make them my own:)
HairyEwok
November 3, 2015 at 13:54
I’ve always loved grand Turismo. Literally I think Grand Turismo will be the best racing game ever if you have the gameplay of GT with the customizing of NFS.
WitWolfy
November 3, 2015 at 10:49
Eish… I knew the online DRM was gonna kill the score? I for one wasn’t planning on getting this anyways… DriveClub, Project Cars and Forza 4 is all I need…
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
November 3, 2015 at 11:07
Project Cars FTW!
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 10:52
Sean Carbutt
November 3, 2015 at 10:56
Damm,that’s gonna leave a scar
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 10:59
They said the bridge was okay
Sean Carbutt
November 3, 2015 at 10:56
Well it’s EA? MMhh. NFS lost the plot a long time ago, somewhere around the Most Wanted and Underground games. Will give this one a miss and wait for Gran Turismo. Will probably be on pension when GT comes out. LOL
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 3, 2015 at 10:57
Need for Average Speed.
Aries
November 3, 2015 at 11:09
Think I will give them a fine for going to slow
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 10:57
Always online because (and now I’m quoting Old Tweets):
“More variety and a more rewarding experience with friends”
“To deliver the best experience possible and make playing with friends more rewarding, an online connection will be required”
MORE REWARDING
MORE REWARDING
MORE REWARDING
Bloody idiots!
WitWolfy
November 3, 2015 at 11:03
Translated from a EA bullshit detector…
“MORE REWARDING
MORE REWARDING
MORE REWARDING”
….
Complete:
NO TRADE IN VALUE
SHORT TERM SUPPORT
CONSTANT DISCONNECTION FROM SERVERS DUE TO A INFERIOR INFRASTRUCTURE
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 11:06
I sincerely hope they learned their lesson from SimCity else there will be a shitstorm unleashed
WitWolfy
November 3, 2015 at 11:07
I dunno… I think they’re gonna keep doing this until every potential studio they bought has been closed down for not making a profit. RIP Ghost…
Rock789
November 3, 2015 at 11:51
They do this with Mass Effect… And there will be a literal sh#tstorm heading their way!
WitWolfy
November 3, 2015 at 12:00
They didnt do it with Dragon Age.. But you never know…
Rock789
November 3, 2015 at 12:03
Exactly… You never know… Hopefully Bioware have enough influence to keep them at bay.
VampyreSquirrel
November 3, 2015 at 11:08
Those reviews are all over the place and that saddens me. Was hoping this game would be great.
Ottokie
November 3, 2015 at 11:15
I was too 🙁
I don’t care about simulator racing, I like fun racing.
CypherGate
November 3, 2015 at 12:26
m sure the game is very good. I just honestly think they nitpicking on some unnecessary stuff like the whole ‘playing it safe’ comment. Some reviewers are just asses. Check the game out for yourself. Thats what im going to do.
CypherGate
November 3, 2015 at 12:26
Im sure the game is very good. I just honestly think they nitpicking on some unnecessary stuff like the whole ‘playing it safe’ comment. I mean first they try and re-invent NFS and people complained that its not the same etc etc for years. Now that they went back to the underground formula, most wanted and carbon now they complain they played it safe. This game will be good. Sure the always online thing is shit (they will never learn), but overall the game must be good for a reboot. The sequel will address some stuff and even add features NFS never had before. It will get better cause this is a good start either way.
VampyreSquirrel
November 3, 2015 at 12:53
Well said.
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
November 3, 2015 at 11:09
So USGamer and Gamespot got their cheques right? I fell asleep during the first 5 minutes of watching the first 20 minutes of NFS… Not to say it’s boring or anything, it was simply not exciting…
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 11:10
BUT IT CAN HAZ CUSTERMIZATION
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 3, 2015 at 11:11
…
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
November 3, 2015 at 11:13
HAHAHA!!! There is a large amount of death in that cats eyes!
Ottokie
November 3, 2015 at 11:19
O Christmas tree O Christmas tree, your ornaments are history!
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
November 3, 2015 at 11:19
HAHAHA!!!
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 11:20
XD
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
November 3, 2015 at 11:12
HAHAHA!!! I love how the customisation goes to the length of handling and stickers, but still no manual gearbox….
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 11:15
Or…… brace yourself…………..
No
cockpit
view.
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
November 3, 2015 at 11:18
NOOOOO!!!!!
At least there is a bumper view…So they tried…
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 11:20
Hopefully you can customize the back window with those family stickers. Mom, dad, five kids, eight dogs, three cats and grandma buried in the ground
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
November 3, 2015 at 11:22
HAHAHA!! Aah man, I can see it already, psycho dad with a spade, killer mom with a shopping cart full of guns and poor old granny, who went out with a bang…those stickers… I saw a lady with one sticker representing her and something like 6 or 7 animals all around…
Nikola
November 3, 2015 at 11:21
Honestly cockpit view is pointless in this game, you are going to customize the shit out of your car spend hours to get it looking right to have the in car camera???
Ottokie
November 3, 2015 at 11:23
I usually spent and hour making the perfect character in an MMO , only to put a helmet on his/her head 5 min later xD
Nikola
November 3, 2015 at 11:24
hahah to be honest I do the exact same thing lol
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
November 3, 2015 at 11:23
Yes! Of course, it’s not like you buy a supercar so that your friend could drive it?
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 11:23
That’s like saying manual transmission is pointless too. Because only casuals play racing games. Well maybe I want to see the rev counter run into the red on the dashboard as I do burnouts.
Nikola
November 3, 2015 at 11:25
Manual Transmission I understand why people complain about with a game that focuses so much on engine customization it should have been there 100%. Cockpit view just no…
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
November 3, 2015 at 11:27
I remember playing a game years ago, where the only different view setting you had was how far your seat is away from the steering wheel…Given that it was a bloody good racing sim, it didn’t cater for arcade style racing…not in the least bit…
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
November 3, 2015 at 11:17
It’s quite sad to see a game franchise that inspired hundreds of other games not making headway, of course NFS is an arcade racer, but it has been the benchmark of it, everyone has played it, at least once, but it just goes to show that Vinals and screeching tyres don’t always make a game all that good…Especially not with cheesy cutscenes…
Nikola
November 3, 2015 at 11:20
I am still excited for the game I think I will have a lot of fun with it, been craving a arcade racer with deep customazation! Only thing that bothers me personally is the always online because this type of game REALLY doesn’t have to be online unlike games like Destiny and Division for example who are built around online plan this should have been an offline game!
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 11:21
bye bye data.
Nikola
November 3, 2015 at 11:23
hahaha nah:) It should not use a lot of data, it’s not Destiny haha which is just ridiculous data hungry:) My bro played BF4 yesterday I think almost all day online wasted like 100MB
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 11:24
O_o Destiny uses more than that in an hour
Jonah Cash
November 3, 2015 at 11:27
I have an insane amount of data since I stopped playing Destiny. Even considering using my free year Unotelly sub win O_o
Ottokie
November 3, 2015 at 11:30
My unused Vox data keeps carrying over every month, It is now capped at 2 Terabyte. Maybe I shall give this destiny a shot xD
Jonah Cash
November 3, 2015 at 11:33
That is insane O_O
I don’t think Destiny alone will sort out that amount of data! You might have to start up a piracy business model or something…. hahahaha
Ottokie
November 3, 2015 at 11:34
And I download so much damn Anime every month. I was worried I was gonna run out when I switched from uncapped to capped due to throttling irritations.
CypherGate
November 3, 2015 at 12:27
m sure the game is very good. I just honestly think they nitpicking on some unnecessary stuff like the whole ‘playing it safe’ comment. I mean first they try and re-invent NFS and people complained that its not the same etc etc for years. Now that they went back to the underground formula, most wanted and carbon now they complain they played it safe. This game will be good. Sure the always online thing is shit (they will never learn), but overall the game must be good for a reboot. The sequel will address some stuff and even add features NFS never had before. It will get better cause this is a good start either way.
SmurFyZA
November 3, 2015 at 11:44
Sigh… These reviews mess with my head. I was really hoping the game would be good. Those that played the beta have given positive feedback and the luckers with EA access are enjoying it. Maybe IGN and Videogamer are just salty?
CypherGate
November 3, 2015 at 12:28
The game is very good. I just honestly think they nitpicking on some unnecessary stuff like the whole ‘playing it safe’ comment. I mean first they try and re-invent NFS and people complained that its not the same etc etc for years. Now that they went back to the underground formula, most wanted and carbon now they complain they played it safe. This game will be good. Sure the always online thing is shit (they will never learn), but overall the game must be good for a reboot. The sequel will address some stuff and even add features NFS never had before. It will get better cause this is a good start either way.
SmurFyZA
November 3, 2015 at 13:33
Thanks for this. Am I the only one that doesn’t get why reviewers complain about the always online decision? I mean almost everyone has internet these days and consoles/games require internet for updates etc.
CypherGate
November 3, 2015 at 13:37
Yeah true. I think they have an issue with the fact that should your ADSL go down you wont have any other way to play your game until your your ADSL gets reconnected. Which does kinda suck though.
SmurFyZA
November 3, 2015 at 13:45
Well in that case then I guess the reviewers do have South Africa in mind. This will literally never be an issue for USA or EU 🙂
CypherGate
November 3, 2015 at 13:50
Yeah exactly. Funny that they complaining about the always online. WE should be complaining lol
Rock789
November 3, 2015 at 11:44
Knew it… I flippin’ knew it!! Ruined… :'(
CypherGate
November 3, 2015 at 12:27
Im sure the game is very good. I just honestly think they nitpicking on some unnecessary stuff like the whole ‘playing it safe’ comment. I mean first they try and re-invent NFS and people complained that its not the same etc etc for years. Now that they went back to the underground formula, most wanted and carbon now they complain they played it safe. This game will be good. Sure the always online thing is shit (they will never learn), but overall the game must be good for a reboot. The sequel will address some stuff and even add features NFS never had before. It will get better cause this is a good start either way.
Rock789
November 3, 2015 at 12:43
Agreed. And the customisation looks, honestly, amazing! But from what I’m reading in the reviews available so far, it’s not that they played it safe that’s the issue… It’s that it’s online only (which all agree is completely unnecessary and actually hinders more than anything due to connectivity issues) and that if you peel away the pretty graphics, it’s pretty bland… Very vanilla gameplay.
Completely see where you’re coming from (and agree with the whole “complain for the sake of complaining” issue). And hey, I may give it a go one day, when I’m wanting a new racing game (at least one I haven’t tried yet) and it’s really cheap… But that day ain’t anytime soon. Would rather stick with Forza and Project Cars for the my racing buzz (and a little F1 2015).
CypherGate
November 3, 2015 at 12:58
Forza is lightyears ahead of NFS and Project Cars (Even though this is more simulation based than arcade like NFS) I agree the always online bit is totally unnecessary as well. Yeah the customisation is deep and looks very satisfying. The base gameplay might be bland, but then again NFS never really pushed boundaries in that department. I noticed lately how expensive the console games are. Its scary. I think games are great, but I dont see myself paying R900 a game. Thats just wrong. No matter how good a game is R900 is just crazy. To make things worse if the game is shit and they charge R900. I think NFS would cost around R799 which is simply crazy. These console games should be max R500, but yeah. Pricing is a whole other story. I got side tracked lol
Rock789
November 3, 2015 at 13:16
Lol… Same here – don’t get me started on pricing. 🙂
CypherGate
November 3, 2015 at 12:23
Honestly now. First they stray way off the path and people complain. Then they go ‘back to basics’ with what made NFS very popular and then they complain that they playing it safe? seriously? I think people complain WAY too much over the smallest of things. The formula works. They can improve on it for sure, but to basically list playing it safe as a negative thing is a bit silly in my books. What happened to the whole if it aint broke?
Lardus-For the Emperor!
November 3, 2015 at 12:38
Always online and no “real man” transmission? We need a GamingCins channel like we have CinemaSins…those two things alone would add enough sins that our Honourable Number 1 Leader would not be able to pronounce the figure!
Lardus-For the Emperor!
November 3, 2015 at 12:41
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2015 at 15:05
hehehee
Ray
November 3, 2015 at 12:50
My gripe with all the NFS titles after pro street was that the actual racing didn’t feel “solid” enough, almost like the cars didn’t have any actual weight to them. Felt more like Burnout game (for obvious reasons). If the actual driving feel is fine and there’s enough challenge then I might consider this