rec.autos.simulators

by **Todd Walk** » Mon, 10 Nov 1997 04:00:00

>Need For Speed II SE Review
>The Final Score:
>============
>Graphics/Visuals: A-
>Tracks: D
>Driving Model: B
>Gameplay: C-
>Replays: F

>Overall rating for Need For Speed II SE: C

>The Bottom Line:
>=============

>Not as bad as the abysmal original NFS2 release, but EA has still
>failed to recapture the fantastic gameplay of NFS1. It's a great
>showcase game to show off your 3dfx, and if you're really into "eye
>candy" it may be a worthwhile purchase for you. I think NFS2SE will
>likely have a pretty short run on my hard drive - just a placeholder
>really until LongBow2 comes out.

>Joe

Joe,

Good review. I agree with you totally for the most part. Overall, I
would give it a B simply because the graphics are stunning and the
game is SO fast (3dfx version, that is.) The two things that bother me
most and are almost unexcusable are:

1. The replay. This has been harped on since NFS2 first came out, but
what was EA thinking? The replay system on NFS was perfect -- you
could view a crash right after it happened and then continue the race,
and you could rewind and fast forward. The replay in NFS2 is a joke.

2. No***pit mode for 3dfx. I don't understand this at all. This
alone almost kept me from buying the game. I much prefer the***pit
mode. I have gotten used to racing with the tailcam but I really miss
the***pit. I don't understand why it isn't there.

The only thing that makes this game worth the money is the 3dfx
support because the graphics are so incredible. If I didn't have a
3dfx card and I had bought this game when I already had NFS2, I would
have been sorely disappointed. That is a warning to those of you who
don't have 3dfx and already own NFS2 -- there is NO reason to buy SE.
DON'T DO IT!

As usual, my $.02

Todd Walker

by **'John' Joao Sil** » Mon, 10 Nov 1997 04:00:00

Great indepth review of NFS2SE snipped....

Thanks for the review Joe.

Too bad that EA can't take a hint or listen to any user feedback we sent
on NFS2 and try to remedy the situation with this SE version.

Get a clue EA, we want the COPs back, staged courses and a***pit view.
I would have bought more track and car addons for NFS and a 3dfx patch
would have been just a bonus to a great game.

EA don't waste any more programmers on eye candy and crappy oval tracks sheesh!
There's already a dozen other crappy arcade racers with nothing more than
eyecandy to recommend them, we want more of what made NFS such a great fun
racer, namely the above named features missing in NFS2 and NFS2SE *plus* 3dfx
support.

Disappointed with such a waste of a good engine.

Oh well I will not be buying NFS2SE, hoping for a good TD4 or maybe better NFS3.

Cheers.

--John (who still drives NFS original)
--
--==Note: my real e-mail address is below. Delete the asterisks.==--

Seattle, Washington USA. | http://www.***tex.com/~jsilva

by **Redr** » Mon, 10 Nov 1997 04:00:00

>Need For Speed II SE Review
>=====================

>Graphics/Visuals and Sound: A-

>The graphics and sound in this game are spectacular (assuming you have
>a 3dfx, which IMO is required to play this game). They only lose marks
>for the lack of a***pit mode when using 3dfx, but to be honest I
>don't miss it all that much. The "bumper cam" is positioned such that
>it gives you fairly good situational awareness of where your car is.
>Some of the scenes - especially on the "natural" tracks like Pacific
>Spirit - are spectacular. The sensation of speeds on some tracks is
>superb.

Well, I have to say that this is the most visually spectacular PC
racing game I've ever played (on 3DFX). Only negative aspect is the
lack of the dashboard. I personally want to give A+ for the graphics.

I totally agree. NFS tracks were so much better than NFS2SE tracks.
They felt more "real."

This isn't really a bug. You see, when your machine can't handle the
high speed redrawing, the texture gets updated at slower rate than it
should be. This was also apparent in NFS1, or in any other racing
games with detailed road textures. I set my 3DFX NFS2SE to have no
mirror and only medium drawing distance to minimize this redraw
effect.

by Jo » Mon, 10 Nov 1997 04:00:00

Yup, it's sad, EA has some strengths (specifically great graphics
programming). But their biggest weakness - their achilles heal,
perhaps - is a complete unwillingness to listen to customers and give
them what they ask for. The features people want in NFS2 have been
made very clear, and were even in an older version of the game - wake
up EA!

Joe

by Jo » Mon, 10 Nov 1997 04:00:00

That's another thing I forgot to mention in my review, and would have
taken points off for if I had - accidents were MUCH more realistic and
impressive in NFS1 than in NFS2. Tried racing with traffic on NFS2?
Your car is basically a very fast, nearly unstoppable tank. None of
the metal-crunching, head-spinning head-on collisions of NFS1.

On a related note, I wonder if the bigger problem with NFS2 is pure EA
greed. NFS1 was "sponsered" by Road & Track, who presumably shared
profits made by the game. NFS2 lost the R&T licens, and eradicated
EVERY trace of the original game (cars, tracks, features). It makes me
wonder if the design goal of NFS2 wasn't simply to get away from the
R&T license (which required them to abandon the old cars, tracks, and
features) so that EA could own 100% of the income from NFS2.

Joe

by **Marc Collin** » Mon, 10 Nov 1997 04:00:00

I could not have said it better (see below)!

Another annoying question I have been forced to ask myself after
experiencing the truly awful TD4 Demo:

Why hasn't any game company been able to top NFS(1) and GPII in their
respective fun/sim. categories? 3dfx aside, I haven't seen any graphics
that top NFS for attractiveness and GPII for functionality. And...despite
upgrading to a fancy-schmancy video card and installing a bazillion MB of
drivers and files for DirectX 3 and 5, why can't I achieve the frame rates
on a modern newly-programmed game (that doesn't look any better) that I can
with a couple of old DOS beasts (NFS and GPII)? How is any of this called
progress?!?!

by **W. Benjamin Fletch** » Mon, 10 Nov 1997 04:00:00

>Disappointed with such a waste of a good engine.

>Oh well I will not be buying NFS2SE, hoping for a good TD4 or maybe better NFS3.

Don't hold your breath for TD4... Download the demo and see for
yourself..
Control is not even NEAR what NFS was, or even NFS2 for that matter.
The only thing that makes it stand out is the 3dfx support, and even
then it's not used to its fullest.. NFS2SE demo looked and played much
better than TD4, IMO.. But check it out for yourself..

Ben

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by **'John' Joao Sil** » Mon, 10 Nov 1997 04:00:00

>>Disappointed with such a waste of a good engine.

>>Oh well I will not be buying NFS2SE, hoping for a good TD4 or maybe better
>>NFS3.

>Don't hold your breath for TD4... Download the demo and see for
>yourself..
>Control is not even NEAR what NFS was, or even NFS2 for that matter.
>The only thing that makes it stand out is the 3dfx support, and even
>then it's not used to its fullest.. NFS2SE demo looked and played much
>better than TD4, IMO.. But check it out for yourself..

Thanks for the info, I will download the demo tonight, I guess I better
get ready for another disappointment.

I really wonder how these game companies can***up game after game.

NFS was great, all EA would have to do is to upgrade the graphics to 3dfx,
fix it so the computer car also gets ticketed by the cop, and give us a
couple more staged courses and updated car set, if they are really feeling
wild they might even give us the chance to turn on damage...

These few changes and EA would have another $50 from me, instead they keep
turning out rehashes of the same old arcade racers with little gameplay and
boring oval circuits that get old after the 3rd lap you run on them, and
fantasy cars that all feel the same. Last of all they make the stupid
mistake of removing the***pit view?!?

Maybe one of these days we will get pleasantly surprised, I sure hope so.
I'm badly in need another game of the caliber of Test Drive 2 and the original
NFS both games with just enough graphics to look good, but gameplay that
keeps me coming back for more, year after year, lousy racing game after lousy
racing game. (TD2 on the Amiga is solely responsible for starting my ***ion
to racing sims and still hold up well all these years later)

Cheers.

--John (fan of NFS, GP2, ICR2, N2+TPTCC, Stunts, TD2 etc.)
--
--==Note: my real e-mail address is below. Delete the asterisks.==--

Seattle, Washington USA. | http://www.***tex.com/~jsilva

by Jo » Tue, 11 Nov 1997 04:00:00

>This isn't really a bug. You see, when your machine can't handle the
>high speed redrawing, the texture gets updated at slower rate than it
>should be. This was also apparent in NFS1, or in any other racing
>games with detailed road textures.

I don't agree. I think it is caused by the nature of the road texture
itself. It is an accidental "optical illusion" caused by redrawing the
tecture at certain speeds, I agree. But while I've seen somehwat
similar effects in other games, I've seen nothing as bad as the road
out-right stopping/reversing as it does in NFS2. I've also seen some
racers that have better/smoother road textures (Moto Racer) and this
effect doesn't happen at all.

Unfortunately it makes the Australia and Hollywood tracks all but
undrivable for me. And since I wanted a speed road racing game (i.e.,
roads are made out of ashphalt), not a rally game, that leaves only
Canada as a usable track for me. All the other tracks have too many
"wierd" textures like a psuedo-rally game (even the Mexico track has
some of that in that annoying tunnel) so while graphically impressive
I find them unplayable. On the Canada track, with traffic on, I can
occasionally get that "Need for Speed 1 car chase" feeling back, which
is great (although the feeling is broken when you plow through other
cars head-on at 80MPH like the world's strongest tank). But with
essentially one drivable track in the game it's getting old very fast.

Joe

by **CTab** » Wed, 12 Nov 1997 04:00:00

I can't resist adding my sour grapes, I guess that's what they are, but EXCUSE
me if I feel a little pissed off when a game company updates a game like this
within 6 mos of release, and has the nerve to ask me for another $30 for
something I paid full price for once already. The people behind this totally
shameless marketing ploy are complete ***S, plain and simple. A handling
charge is all they should ask for. And of course I should have seen it coming
after they did the same with NFS1.... but it doesn't make it any righter to
do it again. I can't believe no one else seems to think the same way. BTW,
NFS1-SE is now available for like $15 or $20 at CompUSA.

All that said, I kinda like NFS2. But I will never ever buy any stinking
SPECIAL EDITION. Scuse my outburst you all, this is not like me.

Colin Taber

by **Jim Schelt** » Thu, 13 Nov 1997 04:00:00

> >All that said, I kinda like NFS2. But I will never ever buy any stinking
> > SPECIAL EDITION. Scuse my outburst you all, this is not like me.

> No, it's a fair complaint. If they'd really done some serious changes
> to the game, re-selling it may be justified. But NFS2 SE should have
> been a free patch. It's the almost exact same game with 3dfx support.

> Joe

I'm with you. I have yet to get 3dfx, but even if i did i
would skip this release (i have all the others), because
i feel they should have release a patch instead of a new
game (like most others have done.)

I also was no happy w/ nfs2 due to the loss of the open
road tracks. This is what made the game for me, as with
everyone else it seems.
It seems they want money, but they're only losing customers!!!
js
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_/_ (_/ / / /_ (___)(__/ /_(/_(/_(__/_)_
// Ph# 302.831.3779 IT/Network & Systems Services
(/ Fax# 302.831.3701 192 South Chapel Street, Rm 108

by **Robert Sno** » Thu, 13 Nov 1997 04:00:00

> >All that said, I kinda like NFS2. But I will never ever buy any stinking
> > SPECIAL EDITION. Scuse my outburst you all, this is not like me.

> No, it's a fair complaint. If they'd really done some serious changes
> to the game, re-selling it may be justified. But NFS2 SE should have
> been a free patch. It's the almost exact same game with 3dfx support.

> Joe

Don't forget the extra car & track (woweeee).

I was considering NFS2 but bought a Monster 3D card so stopped
buying non 3Dfx games (as my P100 does not do very well with
high frame rate sims). I bought the 3Dfx version & my PC
looks like an arcade machine, the graphics & speed of the game
are wicked. I was considering upping the processor with the dosh
but 140UKP on a processor would not have made the difference
the 3D card has, best buy I have ever made.

P.S It is running witha crappy 1meg Dram diamond card, which
makes the performace even more impressive.

If ya like ya games at 30 frames+ get a 3Dfx card

Rob

by **Tim Dougla** » Fri, 14 Nov 1997 04:00:00

> > >All that said, I kinda like NFS2. But I will never ever buy any
> stinking
> > > SPECIAL EDITION. Scuse my outburst you all, this is not like me.

> > No, it's a fair complaint. If they'd really done some serious
> changes
> > to the game, re-selling it may be justified. But NFS2 SE should have

> > been a free patch. It's the almost exact same game with 3dfx
> support.

> > Joe

> I'm with you. I have yet to get 3dfx, but even if i did i
> would skip this release (i have all the others), because
> i feel they should have release a patch instead of a new
> game (like most others have done.)

> I also was no happy w/ nfs2 due to the loss of the open
> road tracks. This is what made the game for me, as with
> everyone else it seems.
> It seems they want money, but they're only losing customers!!!
> js
> --
> ___ __, _
> ( / o ( / //_/_
> / , _ _ _ `. _, /_ _ // / (
> _/_ (_/ / / /_ (___)(__/ /_(/_(/_(__/_)_
> // Ph# 302.831.3779 IT/Network & Systems Services
> (/ Fax# 302.831.3701 192 South Chapel Street, Rm 108

This is by no means an "I told you so" because I too completly agree
that what they did to repackage NFS2 as a SE edition with very few
changes is really crappy. However, one thing you can do is send a
message to companies like this is to not buy their game if they don't
support the kind of hardware you have. This is what I did, I simply
told myself to wait and see if they were going to make a patch or not
and didn't blow my money on their poor looking unexcellerated version
and then when the SE version came out I happily picked it up. So, I'm
not bummed cause I got a good "game" with great graphics. I think this
is the only way that we as consumers can get companies to stop ripping
us off this way.
Just say "no" to software only versions especially if they arn't even
done that well.

Tim

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by **Doug Bur** » Sun, 16 Nov 1997 04:00:00

> I can't resist adding my sour grapes, I guess that's what they are, but EXCUSE
> me if I feel a little pissed off when a game company updates a game like this
> within 6 mos of release, and has the nerve to ask me for another $30 for
> something I paid full price for once already. The people behind this totally
> shameless marketing ploy are complete ***S, plain and simple. A handling
> charge is all they should ask for. And of course I should have seen it coming
> after they did the same with NFS1.... but it doesn't make it any righter to
> do it again. I can't believe no one else seems to think the same way. BTW,
> NFS1-SE is now available for like $15 or $20 at CompUSA.

> All that said, I kinda like NFS2. But I will never ever buy any stinking
> SPECIAL EDITION. Scuse my outburst you all, this is not like me.

> Colin Taber

You are very justified in your complaints ... You can reach EA's NFS
marketing person, Pete Royea at this email address:

Be gentle w/him - he's a nice guy...

Doug