rec.autos.simulators

-much much improved physics model over the other NFS titles. its the way you
wish the porsches handed in spgt.

-lots of options, lots of game modes.

-online racing option and a large online following

-quite a few car setup options

-cool in-depth look at porsche and test drive options

-nice career mode with lots of car customization

-did I mention the incredible looking cars...no more ultra plastic look

THE BAD

- high end system requirements to max all the details (but low end looks
very nice too). lens flare.

- its not gpl

- start with 3 road and 1 circuit track and not all cars. others must be
unlocked.

- ai is poor. beginner and advanced are easy to beat leaving only expert as
a challenge. ai drivers will often drive head on into oncoming traffic

- oncoming traffic will swerve into your path sometimes when your not coming
close to them

- very wide roads (at least in opening 4 tracks) are simple to get around so
you rely on traffic and ai for the challenge.

- the large easy winding roads don't give this game a well rooted sense of
speed and the older cars come of like dogs.(it's needing for speed)

- a lot of options and game modes are arcadish missions

- Safe Disk protection (this goes for all titles that use it) takes forever
to verify and load the game.

NOT COMPELLING ENOUGH TO CATEGORIZE

-mediocre sound

-dash is very nice but rest of in car view is cartoonish

-choose from 6 silly characters to represent you in the car (only seen when
in replay)

-its all porsches (which I like better than all vipers : )

FINAL WORD?
Well, it is hard to say this early. I would classify this as a sim-lite. The
eyecandy alone is almost worth the price of admission but if your looking
for a single player challenge you may need to look elsewhere. If its online
fisti***you seek then this title should probably be on your list. With
the improved physics, good latency model and the large online NFS community
the GPL all-stars may even find a challenger out there who can beat them.
Granted, this is not GPL and much easier to drive...as I figure a 911 would
be compared to a '67 F1, but is load of fun online. If you are not too
judgemental this title is probably worth the $30.

<snip the good stuff>

It looks fantastic, and with max details in 800 resolution super fluid
on my PII 450. Lots of programmers can learn from this!

Sir David G. Fisher won't like this comment :)

That's not a bad point, it's rewarding earning new cars and tracks by
winning races.

On expert level I had some really good races!

True. Irritating.

You should drive faster :)

agreed

nfs is an arcade game with very decent physics, especially for an
arcade game. That the game structure itself is arcade-oriented is
logical.

Music is bad (except for some '70s style tracks) but don't you like
the engine sounds? They could have been better ofcourse, but I think
they're above average

the dash-view takes away the sense of speed, so I use bumper view.
Also the dash blocks the view way too much.

The guy with the shades is cool!

Should this point haven't been among the GOOD points? :)

Excellent review.

Andre

That was an early view after only a shot stint at the gameplay. I have
played some more and must say the physics never stop astounding me...wow,
its hard to actually believe its need for speed.

Also after setting a few details down I am able to run smoothly - and
actually like wide screen now (must be a GPL thing). And the replays are
incredible - right up there with GPL and RC.

I got into the evolution mode and must say it is amazing. The ai seems to be
slightly more talented than the quick race ai or maybe they just don't deal
well with traffic? I think that may have also been slowing me down some
too..heavy traffic and a full field and maxed details...ya think?

And being able to buy used cars...seeing your cars increase in value and the
multitude of autoparts available for purchase (hmmm...good thing they tell
you what some of them do or I guess they would have to include the Chiltons
with this game) - very cool. Not to shabby a paint shop either..its no N3
(not that that pencil didn't suck) but it does ad a nice way to customize
your car more so than just a base color. I still wish you could take out any
car and track you wanted right from the start though.

Oh, and one thing I forgot - Who the hell at EA owns stock in a water truck
company? With heavy traffic just about every 3/4th car is a watertruck...or
a bus.  Come on...lets see some more cars...or how about just a smaller
deliver truck (or something more common). I can't say Ive seen more than a
handfull of those water trucks in my entire life..

Anyway....I will have to dig out my old NFS account name so I can do some
online racing. See you there : )

Nice review (and followup).  Two questions (with editorials, of course):

1) Does it support split-axis pedals?  I have CH Pro pedals.  Alas, they only
support single axis with plane rudder movement (used to be primarily a flight
simmer, but now almost racing sims only).  So I really can't play single-axis
racing sims except with joystick for throttle/brake.  Which I can't manage.  
I'm tempted just to find some regular CH pedals.

2) Does it have any *real* tracks/courses?  I've never been big on these fake
countryside games.  But if everything else is as good as folks say, I might
pick it up anyway (depending on Q1).

Off topic: might just get to see how accurate it is by renting a 996 in
Germany next week... (too bad the 'ring is, I think, still closed for the
season)

As far as I know. No.
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I like the way they drive - very realistic. Sometime, when a person
sees a car screaming towards them at 180mph, they would get scared and
do something silly.

Belongs in the plus column. I HATED the narrow roads in the previous
sims. They depemded on wall-bouncing-damage and blocking AI to
compete, very annoying and non-fun.

Another plus.

If you have any interet whatsoever in non-hardcode sims (i.e.,
anything but GPL) this one is a must-buy.

Joe McGinn
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Radical Entertainment