NFS High Stakes review (long)

I just got a chance to test NFS: High Stakes and I like it. It's no sim for sure, but good fun.. The driving model has improved substantially over Hot Pursuit, still very arcade, but "feels" much better. Another reason behind this is that there's now a "moving" 3D ***pit view, no longer a static bitmap***pit. Don't expect it to be as detailed as in Viper Racing, but the different***pits for each car are done well nonetheless. The selection of cars is like a "best of" the NFS series, featuring the Porsche 911 that has been missed in NFS3 and the "helluva beast" McClaren F1. You can drive all the tracks from NFS3 with High Stakes, that makes it easy to see the changes in the driving model. The new tracks are much more impressive, however. They feature nice track layouts, lot's of nice little audiovisual gags and not to forget breathtaking graphics. For example in Dolphin Cove, you come out of a tunnel, looking into a beatifully intense sunset. There are also three so-called "RaceTracks, with banked corners and chicanes. What really adds to the game is the career play: you compete in a series of racing events and earn money that you can use to repair and upgrade your car or purchase a new one. It has been done before, but it hasn't been done so well until NFS: HS. For the first time in the NFS series there is a damage model. It isn't exactly realistic, but the cumulative damage that can also be seen at the 3D models deforming adds a nice touch to the game and strikes a very good gameplay balance in career mode. Hot Pursuit mode is back with a vengeance and more fun than ever. The only problem with the game so far is the AI, it is driving far too agressive and dumb for my taste - constantly weaving and blocking. Some may call that fun, I think it's just wrecking my nerves. The performance is roughly the same as NFS3, just as in NFS3 the main performance hit comes from the smoke and dirt effects that (luckily can be turned off. Graphics can be fully tweaked to whatever resolution your D3D or GLIDE capable card supports. I tested it at 1024x768 with Voodoo2 SLI and things were running very smoothly on my system (specs below). The Sounds are great (just as in NFS3) and fully support the SB Live's EAX and and DS3D for other cards. The music is not for everyone's taste (certainly not for mine ;)) but you can use your own audio CD's (btw who needs music when racing? - I always turn it off) This is the best in the NFS series so far, and with minor complaints about AI behaviour a great game. It get's my recommendation - perhaps not for the real racing purists, but for everyone who can enjoy a good arcade racer and is looking for a game with a decent career mode and more variety than Viper Racing. Viper is overall the better choice for racing purists, NFS: HS has other strengths, but you already knew that ;-) For all those who see N.I.C.E 2 aka BreakNeck on the shelves in the US soon - leave it there - it isn't worth it. It's a childish arcade racer with a much too complicated user interface, uninteresting career play and really (I mean it), really bad sound. The cars aren't licensed and the driving model feels just slightly better than Pitstop for the C64. The game has been hyped last year here in Germany but sadly was a very big disappointment for me. It's only for those people who want weapons in a driving game, but then again they should stick to Interstate 76. best regards Alex System used: Soundblaster Live; Thrustmaster Super Sport wheel.

Ron Dennis forgive me, I know it's a McLaren not a McClaren ;-)

What, better than NFS1? I doubt it after testing the demo.

Need For Speed SE was the best, due to the linear tracks. I believe Test Drive 6 will have linear tracks.

Sadly, there are no long continuous roads as in NFS1. But I think NFS: HS is an advancement in every other department. What else was so great about NFS1 (or so bad about 2 and 3) IYO?

It is a fun game but I'd definitely disagree with it being the best career mode ever. The whole thing was sorta weak IMO. Gran Tourismo set the standard for road-car racing career modes and is still the best. I loved nipping to the garage in GT and pondering what was the best choice of improvement for the race ahead. I'm sorry, but NFSHS's generic "upgrade" seems a little weak to me. The only let down is that I've rarely seen corners you have to brake for in this game, most can be got around by releasing the throttle and sliding the back end. In a real race car I *might* accept it but I'd love to see a BMW Z3, standard showroom spec reach a hairpin at 100mph and just powerslide around it without braking. If anyone tried it they'd be picking glass, metal and bits of road out of themselves for weeks. While I'm on about it, maybe the reason they've done this is because the brakes are apparently much better than F1 brakes as these things stop on a sixpence. However, I shouldn't moan. It is a fun game and the career mode makes it more interesting than I thought it was going to be. If you want a good arcade racer then get this (or Bleem and Gran Tourismo :) ) M

Does anyone else remember Car and Driver? That had some nice long "tracks" to drive down and even a shopping mall car park to fullfill all those boy racer fantasies in. M

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>For all those who see N.I.C.E 2 aka BreakNeck on the shelves in the US >soon - leave it there - it isn't worth it. It's a childish arcade racer >with a much too complicated user interface, uninteresting career play >and really (I mean it), really bad sound. The cars aren't licensed and >the driving model feels just slightly better than Pitstop for the C64. >The game has been hyped last year here in Germany but sadly was a very >big disappointment for me. It's only for those people who want weapons >in a driving game, but then again they should stick to Interstate 76.

I agree, it's an awful demo. Control is just pathetic with a wheel, graphics Ok but not up to NFS quality, and the driving model is a joke. Even NFS2 and 3 (the worst in the series) were better than that. Joe McGinn ========================================== Staff Writer for the Sports *** Network [link lost in import: /***.com/] ==========================================

>What, better than NFS1? I doubt it after testing the demo. No, I wouldn't go that far. The physics/driving model still isn't nearly that good, and still no open-road tracks. But, it IS much improved over NFS3 (a terribly over-rated game IMO). Joe McGinn ========================================== Staff Writer for the Sports *** Network [link lost in import: /***.com/] ==========================================

>Sadly, there are no long continuous roads as in NFS1. But I think NFS: HS >is an advancement in every other department. What else was so great about >NFS1 (or so bad about 2 and 3) IYO? As well as the open roads it had a very realistic driving model and physics model (for collistions and accidents) for an arcade racer. NFS4, will a big improvement over last years version, is no where near as good as NFS1 in these two areas. Joe McGinn ========================================== Staff Writer for the Sports *** Network [link lost in import: /***.com/] ==========================================

Are the steering physics fixed? The steering in NFS III is horrible. It feels totally un-natural. -Larry

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> It is a fun game but I'd definitely disagree with it being the best career > mode ever. The whole thing was sorta weak IMO. Gran Tourismo set the > standard for road-car racing career modes and is still the best. I loved > nipping to the garage in GT and pondering what was the best choice of > improvement for the race ahead. I'm sorry, but NFSHS's generic "upgrade" > seems a little weak to me. > The only let down is that I've rarely seen corners you have to brake for in > this game, most can be got around by releasing the throttle and sliding the > back end. In a real race car I *might* accept it but I'd love to see a BMW > Z3, standard showroom spec reach a hairpin at 100mph and just powerslide > around it without braking. If anyone tried it they'd be picking glass, > metal and bits of road out of themselves for weeks. While I'm on about it, > maybe the reason they've done this is because the brakes are apparently > much better than F1 brakes as these things stop on a sixpence. > However, I shouldn't moan. It is a fun game and the career mode makes it > more interesting than I thought it was going to be. If you want a good > arcade racer then get this (or Bleem and Gran Tourismo :) ) > M

>Are the steering physics fixed? >The steering in NFS III is horrible. It feels totally un-natural. It's better than NFS3, not as good as NFS 1. Joe McGinn ========================================== Staff Writer for the Sports *** Network [link lost in import: /***.com/] ==========================================

True that it's arcade pure, but for me also true that it is a hell of fun... Maybe only children understand it ;>) ! I know, everybody is complaining about that career interface, but once you have started a championship, you just load it and go. All the options are accessible via frames at the sides of the screen, which only appear when you move your mouse in that direction, it's like bringing up the windows start menu, I can see nothing complicated about it. This way you are nearly always only 1 click away from where you want to go, when in NFS you have to move through loads of screens... But o.k.: I didn't bother about the disappearing options in SCGT too... Anyhow, there is a new arcade mode out, which is supposed to be included in the international version, there you are only 3 screens away from racing... <, uninteresting career play> uninteresting for whome? I agree, it could be better, but 'til now there were not too many games with career play... My ears hear it different, every "scenario" has it's distict environmental sounds, which, like the car sounds and the whole game should not be taken too serious! AFAIC, I love the sounds of the classic cars and the vipers (don't claim them to be realistic). BTW, there is some editing going on and where would SCGT be without all those kind people, like rrevved, Big Ben, Gunslinger and others, supplying us with better sounds and dashes etc. The cars aren't licensed For career mode there is a patch available, which adds original names and only since Tuesday the carskins are editable, so you can paint your own dream cars with your grafic tools. I never played Pitstop for the C64, but then NFS3, where the cars corner like boiled eggs, must be even worse then that (and I seem to be too dumb, to feel the improvements in High Stakes, judging from the demo). In fact, when I played NICE2 for a while and then returned to NFS3, I ran a few laps and then deleted it from my harddrive!!! Sure, the physics are very simplified, but IMO or better "in my feeling" there is at least a connection between what I do with the wheel and what happens with my car. I don't have that feeling in games like NFS3 or 4 or Test Drive 5 (again only judging it from the Demo). BTW, my favorite racing games are Viper Racing and SCGT, I only play NICE2 to relax from those very demanding games (for my abilities) and I got no prob changing from one to another, as I always had with NFS3. In fact, the game was rather buggy first and needed some patches to get in gear, but now there are only minor faults (like not having to pay for rented cars.. who cares...). The game runs absolutely smooth (with the exception of one, really only one short delay near the beginning of many races) even on slower CPUs, I had 2 crashes in 5 months, both after playing the game for more then 8 hours without restarting computer or game. As for the graphics, I think they're stunning, even after all that time (With a RivaTNT, remember to set "auto generating of mip map levels" to a very low degree). The style is absolutely non-realistic, like from children's books with fairy tales (childish!!! Oh Yeah!!!). The courses: far outback, where the wolf howls and you expect the roadrunner crossing your way and remember: It's not the turns which break your neck, but the jumps... That's the only thing, I don't like in this game: the shoot-out-stuff. I never use this part of the game. best regards Zolli -- My System: P2 300, 128 MB, Riva TNT Gentlemen! ;-] Start your engines!

Hi any word about on coming traffic ? is that an on-off option ? not only in pursuit mode but all mode as well. This was in the older NFS2 SE or something. I would love to add more traffic as a challenge | | >What, better than NFS1? I doubt it after testing the demo. | | No, I wouldn't go that far. The physics/driving model still isn't | nearly that good, and still no open-road tracks. But, it IS much

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| improved over NFS3 (a terribly over-rated game IMO). | | Joe McGinn | ========================================== | Staff Writer for the Sports *** Network | [link lost in import: /***.com/] | ========================================== |

NFS2 had horrible tracks, I haven't tried NFS3. But basically, NFS1 had 'that feeling' of driving fast cars in the middle of traffic. The sequels just feel like ordinary "race against four opponents on a twisty circuit with walls on both sides". Also the handling was quite well done, although it seems to be in NFS:HS as well.

Well, at least it's better :) NFS3 feels like the tie rods are made out of an assembly consisting of counter-opposed bungie cords. -Larry > It's better than NFS3, not as good as NFS 1. > Joe McGinn

> >For all those who see N.I.C.E 2 aka BreakNeck on the shelves in the US > >soon - leave it there - it isn't worth it. It's a childish arcade racer > True that it's arcade pure, but for me also true that it is a hell of fun... I wholeheartedly agree. I downloaded the German demo from happypuppy.com and was amazed at how precise the cars' handiling was. Now admittedly, not all cars drive like go-carts on rails, but I'm not complaining... The user interface was even more complicated for me because I don't speak German! :) -snip- I think the motor sounds in the NFS line sound like someone put the car in neutral and gunned the engine. At least with NICE2 you can tell what the revs are at. My feeling about NICE2 is that what I do with the wheel happens immediately. With the Hot Pursuit demo I turn the wheel and it happens a second later (maybe because I can only run it on my Banshee in d3d mode), then I'm usually overcorrecting too late. If the US version, BreakNeck, is even remotely like the demo I downloaded I'm going to get it. I've never had a driving game that conveyed the illusion of speed like this demo did. Sure, the scenery is just cut and paste bitmaps, and I'll ignore the gun stuff, but for a simple, non-code-bloated graphics engine that responds well to a wheel and petals, I'll take it. Provided they didn't change it for the worst since the demo I got...