Watching a gameplay video based on the alpha version of NFS Most Wanted and posted by EA, after watching it, most of the loyal fans are tempted to start yelling, “The bridge is no longer a cake and generally shit!»
I’ve been thinking for a long time about what EA has been doing with the NFS series lately. Finally the moment came when their abundance prompted me to write my first, modest topic.
Before writing, I sat for a long time and tried to collect my thoughts in a heap, so that you could follow the logical chain of my thoughts and thus everything I wrote was not a simple set of sentences.
I decided to start with those parts of the series in which, in my opinion, the quality level began to slide.
Well let’s start =)
We’ve all seen the latest parts of NFS. Since the time of ProStreet, speculations have begun to circulate on the Internet that the series has long since died out and there is nothing to catch here anymore. Carbon, which in a sense was a clone of Most Wanted, but with slightly changed gameplay and significantly changed game style. If before Most Wanted the game still adhered to one style, then after Carbon (including it) complete bedlam began. Unfortunately, I can’t name its exact reason, but it starts from a completely reasonable and understandable desire of the developers to try something new, to revive the already considerable interest in the series. Since then, the series has split into two branches: arcades and purebred simulators.
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
Carbon became a good imitator of Most Wanted, but unlike its gangster brother, it became a kind of dude in the series. Glitter everywhere possible, chrome, eternal night, strange crosses in the O_o menu, the worst (in my music lover’s opinion) playlist in the series, the predominance of purple colors… The system of dividing the city into districts, taken from its predecessor, added an interesting gang system, which was a distinctive feature of this part.
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
Pro Street, which was later succeeded by Shift and Shift 2, was a rather bold step, because the basis of the game was completely changed – illegal racing. The management model has been radically changed. It was something new and revolutionary. Unfortunately, not all fans were for this turn of events and Pro Street gained fame as a boring and uninteresting episode in the fate of the NFS series. Although, in my opinion, it’s in vain. I personally liked the game despite the very tense plot (which doesn’t seem to exist).
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
Undercover… misunderstanding… was also planned as a clone of MW, but it didn’t work out. This is where the series ends for me. It was in this part that the killer arcade physics model first appeared. There was also no tuning as such here. The plot was not bad, but unfortunately the gameplay spoiled everything. There were some good game modes, but they were not implemented (for example, catch-up on the highway).
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
After the wildest faila, Shift appeared in the series. This part was the ideological successor to Pro Street and, oddly enough, was a great success, although no one believed in it. Good gameplay, excellent implementation of the car’s behavior on the road, original menu, it was a fresh breath of air for the dying series. Shift performed well on the market and cunning EA took note. Now, if something happened, they always had a plan B… it would be better not to have it – they would work better.
I don’t think it’s even worth talking about NFS World =/
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
2010’s Hot Pursuit was a very intriguing product. I remember when I saw the announcement, a spark of hope appeared in my soul. But strangely enough I was in for a bummer.Personally, I didn’t like it due to the lack of plot and urban driving conditions, and the physics there were completely arcade-like. He was the ideological successor of the first HP (which, alas, I also didn’t like), he coped with his task. It sold well, primarily because of the “young guard” who had already arrived by that time and did not yet know about MW and especially His Majesty Underground 2.It was also loved by people who didn’t play much, since it didn’t require much skill in the game.
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
Shift 2 Unleashed – https://rhinocasino.uk/ the same Shift (suddenly) but only better and good. A very successful continuation of the series.
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
The Run was promoted more than any other part. A newfangled battle engine screwed to it with a file, an exciting plot, as we were promised, good physics, a variety of tracks and (!) the opportunity, albeit in quick times, to control the main characters! Well, who could not buy this?. That’s right – oldfags have long stopped believing in the riotous colors of teasers and advertising aimed at the younger generation. I played it very little, but I managed to notice that the part has all the same chronic problems of the previous parts – simplicity of physics and lack of atmosphere.
Most Wanted. For some reason it reminds me of The Run. In the video we see the same easy drift, one of the most important elements of car control. Previously, we had to fight with the car on turns, come up with trajectories for entering the turn and the moment of descent/pressing the throttle, but now..
I liked the design of the moment the race ends, namely the very original tilt of the camera to the side, in my opinion a well-implemented feature. I consider icons all over the screen to be somewhat unnecessary, since they kill the atmosphere of the game and prevent you from feeling like you’re driving, the file on almost every cop next to you is highlighted, pictures of guard cameras, in my opinion, are out of place. Just as it seems to me a bad idea to implement multi-meter auto jumps (I immediately feel the Criterionists with their Burnaut Paradise)
The result is sad: EA members don’t have anything on Frostbite – everything works out, but for some reason they don’t bring anything fresh. Criterionists are fixated on Burnaut, which itself is quite good, but its gameplay features are only good in it, but not in NFS. In my opinion, this is one of those cases when you don’t need to lose your head in the pursuit of innovation, you need to respect the classics and take into account the positive experience of parts of this wonderful series.
The topic is based solely on materials from the gameplay video of EAshnikov. This is the first impression that the game makes and I am more than sure that it can change both for the better (I would be glad) and for the worse. Unfortunately, it does not seem possible to create a more complete analysis due to the small amount of material on the game.
(There was a Flash player, but since 2020 Flash is not supported by browsers)
The topic was finished at 4:54 am Irkutsk time, it was already dawn and I really wanted to sleep, at the end it turned out a little crumpled, I no longer had the strength to somehow translate my thoughts into the correct form)) sorry)) I also apologize for possible typos =(
good luck and happiness to everyone!
Best comments
more since ProStreet people began to think that the series had died down long ago and there was nothing left to catch here. Then Carbon came out,
Carbon came out earlier, not?
Am I the only one here who thinks Carbon is the best NFS in general?? In general, each NFSK (since at least the first Underground, I haven’t played before) had its advantages and some kind of charm. Let’s go point by point:
Underground 1 — the first developed theme of illegal racing, tuning engine, good graphics for those times.
Underground 2 – an open city (well developed, by the way), something like a plot, in my opinion – the best tuning system in the series.
Wonted Bridge — an interesting idea with the beginning of the plot (when we’re still driving a BMW), a looooong world, a cool system of escaping from the police
Carbon – the same thing, but in a night atmosphere (IMHO more in keeping with the spirit of the series as such), an interesting feature with the seizure of territories, a very good soundtrack (in my opinion, it’s generally the best in the series)
About Street — I can’t highlight anything in particular, except for the Russian localization that finally didn’t let us down
Undercover – plot. In general, that’s all.
Shift and Shift 2 — found a balance between simulator and arcade — the physics is quite normal, but not nerdy
Hot Pursuit 2010 – Autologue (if you have friends – an irreplaceable thing), well, VERY cool escapes from the police
The Run — non-repetitive quick-time events during the course of the route
Most Wanted 2012 — it’s difficult to judge from the teaser, but apparently it’s the same Hot Pursuit, only with an open world.
It sold well, primarily because of the “young guard” who had already arrived by that time and did not yet know about MW and especially His Majesty Underground 2.
Dangerous words, considering that the NFS series doesn’t start with Underground. Wait for the angry oldfags of the series.
It’s not boring, it’s specific, an attempt to transfer the ideas of previous parts into a “legal” direction
He’s not here. Bosses at competition stages are not a plot point
What nonsense. There was tuning, even “revolutionary” autosculpt with fine-tuning of body kits and spoilers
I remember when I saw the announcement, a spark of hope appeared in my soul. But strangely enough I was in for a bummer. Arcade, no city, no meaningful plot, with stupid races
I don’t know how you watched the announcement and subsequent material about the game, but no one was going to add a city and a plot there. The game was positioned as a remake of the old Hot Pursuit and nothing more. Yes, this is an arcade racer, it was like that before. It is in the simplicity of control that the success of the first parts lies. Which races do you consider smart and what should “racing smarts” consist of?? For example, I started the race several times in a police Aston Martin One-77 and completed it only when I remembered every turn, every gas-braking-slide combination. Isn’t this a stupid race??
It sold well, primarily because of the “young guard” who had already arrived by that time and did not yet know about MW and especially His Majesty Underground 2.
It sold well because the young guard just got tired of MW and U2, because the old guard wanted nostalgia for the old parts. Criterion gave the series a new breath of air
In my opinion, this is one of the few cases when it is better to take the old and simply improve it, take a bridge and stretch it onto a frostbyte, with the addition of some new elements, but so as not to destroy that atmosphere of illegality and arcade, but still more or less realistic physics.
And in my opinion the new Most Wanted will be exactly like this. However, it’s too early to judge
Well, it’s good if it’s just a guess.
It’s just that a whole lot of people, seeing the shelters in Dead Space 3, started whining about how the game had become console crap. It’s the same bullshit with many games, they are leaked or considered masterpieces long before release. This is unpleasant for me =\
We have already correctly noted above – redo one thing in the sentence, t.To. Carbon really came out before Pro Street 🙂
The Run a beautiful game (we don’t take human models into account), but it’s very simple. The plot premise is interesting, but not implemented at all: only on letters in the text, but not in the gameplay. I don’t like games based on the system Press "X" or Press "X" twice to Win.
But about Hot Pursuit 2010 I don’t agree. There was no plot, but this is not so critical. It was interesting to drive – what’s important! I never completed the “story” campaign, but I didn’t get out of the multiplayer at all. Not every game will offer you such a lot of fun when playing with friends. Especially when two racers and one cop team up to kill another asshole… 🙂 The game was definitely a success, t.To. and now I don’t mind getting into it again, after all, it’s very interesting, again, I repeat, just driving a car in a race, or trying to get rid of rivals on the road using all available methods and devices.
New M.W from Criterion I’m looking forward to it. It’s too early to say anything about her. But I can only note that it definitely needs to be improved Autologue — screw up the chat. Shift 2 I was passed over due to the lack of a gamepad for the game, and The Run I successfully changed my mind about buying and played on a pirated version, before these two games this new social network was not available anywhere. So I don’t know if they turned on the chat or not.
I’ve said everything for now 🙂
I remember in NFS:U2 there was a tunnel to a hilly (rocky bitch) area… It went in a zigzag in two turns, but I could NEVER get through it cleanly… Yes… Games are not released at such a good level… Previously there was attention to detail… But now… “Oh! LET’S PUT CAR GAMES INTO THE GAME, THE PLOT… Hmm… Well, let’s leave the plot be. ». NFS is a good series, but… What can I write here?! For me
everything Pazyn wrote.
Dear, you don’t understand NSF at all:
1. HP2010 – a continuation of the same NSF, where there was no tuning, plot, glamor and excessive pathos that has haunted the series since the days of the basically good underground. But there were cool sports cars, gorgeous landscapes and pure speed..
2. In the undercover, the tuning was similar to that of MV + autosculpt and carbon vinyl system… Which, however, does not prevent the game from being the wildest shit.
3. Shift’s answer was made by another studio, so claims about the arcade parts of the series should not be presented to these people.
4. It’s too early to say anything about the new MV – too little has been shown. We only know that there will be tuning, there will be cops, there will be 5 classes of cars, there will be an open city, there will be frostbeat 2 and there will be no plot.