Here's a repost of my article a few weeks back.......it feels good to
get it all out again anyway.......
First off, what's with these "one-off" non production cars?
Super Exoctics in production.....fine......but NFS I was so much
more involving since you could actually see those cars on the roads
everyday and relate to them. Not a US car fan but the new Corvette C5
and the latest Viper incarnation would be just as interesting as the
Isdera Commendatore 112i. OK, so we already know basically how a
Corvette handles and such. So does that mean NFS II is supposed to
introduce us on the handling characteristics of these super-rare "dream
cars"? Hardly the case. The Isdera is so rare, they couldn't even get
video clip footage for their "showcase" portion.
ASIDE from car choice politics,I would actually like to know which
fricking gear I'm in when turning off that overly arcade-ish HUD
display. Just a simple little number/letter indicator is all I ask. Only
some of the cars dashboard tach and speedo numbers are legible. That
would help too. Does shifting seem slower in this version as well? I've
heard alot about how fluid the engine is for the great sense of motion.
I loved it in NFS I, but on my "measly" (no joke today) Zephyr p133 24MB
Stealth 3D 4MB it looks like I'm standing still when the track graphics,
due to a certain frame rate/car speed, match up just right, and it seems
as if I'm at a standstill at 200 mph! I hate that. The only sense of
speed I get, is me rushing back to NFS I to recapture what carving
through slow traffic is really like. The "invisible" walls I swear are
made of carpet, and the cars of velcro. Sparks between cars are very
nice though. BIG GRIPE: I used to love to watch the cars do donuts and
such from the exterior view. Now, the view is fixed on axis either front
or back!!!!!!!! This also sucks big time for people who ocasionally race
from the outside of their car, and can't even tell when the car is
fish-tailing since the background follows the car! Not to mention, EA
did such an awesome job on exterior car graphics, but you can only view
side profiles when T-boning some one on the track[or replays] OK,
nitpicking, but we're still going backwards from NFS I. Who the hell
beta teseted this "sim" anyway? Steering.......do not try the twitchy
F50 in Greece for a good first impression of the game. At first I though
my FLCS joystick was just sending "full right, full left" input with
nothing inbetween! You can adjust the steering range, but it only lets
you go from bad to ludicrous. I may get used to it yet. BTW, the FLCS is
very precise, steering + throttle in NFS I. Sound: I'm an audio
engineer, and I give this "sim" pretty high marks on external sound
cues. I run it on a dolby surround/ subwoofer system, and have nice
results. I was doing circular burnouts next to that "axe man" near the
German amusment park, and was able to localize him right, left, and then
behind me. Unfortunately, as in NFS I, the Ferrari is the only car with
"decent" sound and rev range. Dammit, when I am mashing that throttle
down, I want to hear it scream up to high pitch and not just lumber
along like the old vette or viper where high rpm=low pitch. I'm
keeping the game in hopes of future uprgradable fixes, and am hoping
they are reading our posts, since we are the one's who determine what
stays on the hard drives.
NEW NOTES: try the vw bug, miata, or any diesl engine vehicle.....
they sound cool too. Steering is getting better, but still unintuitive.
Wish I could try the supported force-feedback controls......anybody
tried them yet?
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