For The Die Hard Fans

[Gavh2]

It's very interesting to read everyone’s opinions on the new game. Some of us love it and others feel its a total waste of time. I feel that EA has widened their audience too much (sounds strange doesn't it). It's gotten to the point where they have a rather wide set of fans to please:

1. Those who were into the first half of the series. Not sure where the divide lies but, let just say Pre-Underground. The era where the focus was on the Supercars on the world. IMO these games were more "simulation" with regard to, well, everything. Cars in the game were as they are rolled off the production line. Physics (for their time) were pretty good; yes you had to brake before a corner. The environment/world was based on real world environments, though this is pretty much they way its been done throughout the series. Pictures, videos and stats of the actual cars in action, something I really miss, and replays too! The early part of the series made me feel more connected to the cars. What made the series great for me was the fact that it gave me a chance to "drive" cars I might never get to see, let alone drive. If I could moralise this part of the series it would be Jeremy Clarkson. Someone all about OE and the pedigree of the worlds sports cars. The kind of person you are not going to find in a Riced up Civic...
I have many friends that are petrol heads and gamers, most of whom have moved away from the series saying, "it's become too arcade". I also find it very interesting that this era was the last we saw of Ferrari, I wonder why...

2. The next set would be those into the "tuner" world. Let's face it, the street racing world has exploded onto the scene in the past couple of years. When a Corsa lines up against a 911 GT2 and beats it, that's when people take notice! I'm a big fan of this industry. I frequent racing of all sorts as much as I can and bringing this genre into the NFS series appealed to me very much when it was introduced.
Before ProStreet launched I ran a boxart competition here in the forums. Basically, you had to design a cover for the next instalment of the NFS series. Interesting to see that many people who entered went for the "Underground" theme game. The main reason I did the competition was to try and see what NFS fans would like from the series if given carte blanche on which direction they would like to see the game heading. So clearly "Underground 3" was where EA should have headed. So have they headed in the right direction? Seems like opinions are all over the place...

It is interesting to me to see videos as the one linked below popping up. In many ways I'm not surprised. As much at I love the series the video demonstrates that EA cannot cater for the fan base they created over the years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHFM-YU-5HA

I'm not saying that the introduction of street racing to the series is a bad one but, the views expressed by those who have played ProSreet suggest that EA is now alienating its Street racing audience as it did the generation of fans Pre-Underground.

One could look at the NFS series as being "of the time" i.e. what embodied the term "Need for Speed" for that particular year in 1995, 1999 or in 2003. If that was EA's approach then they did a good job of bringing "what’s hot and happening" to my PC. On the other hand one could view this as a marketing approach that, although brought in the coin, left the die hard fans feeling a bit forgotten.

I’ve been playing the series from the first NFS. I own them all and have clocked them all. I pretty much grew up on the series from age 10. To be honest I am more of a fan of the earlier versions but, when you are loyal to a series for so long, you don’t just abandon it 6 or so titles down the line. In end I understand we can't all have what we want from the series. I'd just like to see a bit more consistency from EA. I mean, how many games can rival 13 years of a series of games that pretty much set the benchmark each year!? Yet, from what I read in the forums you'd swear the series was still finding it feet...

I started this thread not to say "what should the next NFS be" but, rather to gain insight into what other fans of the series think of its general progression through the years...

[Andre_online]

If you're a true NFS fan, I don't think it'd matter what type of NFS game will release next, 'cuz it's for sure that you'll buy the game regardless. That's my personal opinion. I know I will..

I never get tired of any NFS games. I buy all NFS series since High Stakes and skipped PU, and so far, no regrets on any one of 'em. Just waiting to get a new PC for ProStreet.

[Gavh2]

If you're an NFS fan, I don't think it'd matter what type of NFS game will release, 'cuz it's for sure that you'll buy the game. That's my personal opinion. I know I will..

I never get tired of any NFS games. I buy all NFS series since High Stakes and skipped PU, and so far, no regrets on any one of 'em. Just waiting to get a new PC for ProStreet.

Yeah, I bought ProStreet without even playing the demo or trying it out in the shops. The place I bought it from had the first box they received right in front of me behind the counter, haha was not even on the shelves yet There is no stopping now What I said ealier is something I've observed over the past 2 years or so. Everytime I read about a rant over a new realease it gets me thinking about certain things with the series.

[fasttasf]

If you're an NFS fan, I don't think it'd matter what type of NFS game will release, 'cuz it's for sure that you'll buy the game. That's my personal opinion. I know I will..

I never get tired of any NFS games. I buy all NFS series since High Stakes and skipped PU, and so far, no regrets on any one of 'em. Just waiting to get a new PC for ProStreet.

Yeah, I bought ProStreet without even playing the demo or trying it out in the shops. The place I bought it from had the first box they received right in front of me behind the counter, haha was not even on the shelves yet There is no stopping now What I said ealier is something I've observed over the past 2 years or so. Everytime I read about a rant over a new realease it gets me thinking about certain things with the series.

I'm pretty sure I was one of the first who got the game after it's officially released in the UK, I bought the game on the 0 hour in a 24 hour ASDA supermarket, and you know what, when I got there 15 mins before midnight, there are already others asking to get the game!

[xturbo]

I'm so sure that the guys who voted for the option B (the current titles) are so new to the NFS series, that they think playing from NFS Underground they know everything about NFs...

I still prefer OLD nfs's....firetruck the new ones

Xturbo.

[2furio]

Definitely the "old" NFS games...I didn't even have to think about this question. Hell, I still have NFS High Stakes on my laptop and I still play it. The gameplay is unmatched compared to the newer NFS games which you can bored after a few days.

[fasttasf]

I don't know why they removed the split screen option in the later series. I remember playing on a tiny 15 inch screen with mates, and the physics felt better too, not to say they were more realistic, but definitely fun, power sliding in the desert was hugely fun. But all said, I think the game has progressed, I don't think things will ever go back to how they were, but prostreet isn't bad at all. Don't know about the next title though, I remember seeing somewhere that EA said each game takes 2 years to develop, and there are 2 teams developing games, so the next title will be developed by those who gave us the Carbon crap, it's not that promising.

[Gavh2]

I'm so sure that the guys who voted for the option B (the current titles) are so new to the NFS series, that they think playing from NFS Underground they know everything about NFs...

I still prefer OLD nfs's....firetruck the new ones

Xturbo.

This is a good point to bring up. Seems like a lot of the current fans are not really familiar with the older titles. So now we probably have a generation growing up on Underground, therefore, their needs ned to be catered for and rightfully so! I think the direction of PS could be one that is an attempt to real in the older fans. A buddy of mine stopped playing the NFS series at Hot Pursuit 2 and is only now considering buying another NFS game (ProStreet) I hope a lot more people vote because I think the results will be quite interesting....

Don't know about the next title though, I remember seeing somewhere that EA said each game takes 2 years to develop, and there are 2 teams developing games, so the next title will be developed by those who gave us the Carbon crap, it's not that promising.

I am a little worried about the next title. It seems many people compained about the past 2 games Carbon and PS. There seem to be many people wanting old features back, free roaming, day or night racing etc. For PS it seems EA went all out to make it more Sim but, from the comments I read they did not get it quite right which I kind of agree. The physics aren't too bad though, it could be that EA are targeting the less "experienced" gamer. When I think Sim I think of Gran Turismo and ToCA Race Driver series. These games, in the wrong hands, can be frustrating as hell for someone wanting to just pick up a gamepad and play...

[Glopaticki]

I wouldn't mind seeing EA go Test Drive Unlimited style but with more exotic and rare cars like in the good old days.

[fasttasf]

I wouldn't mind seeing EA go Test Drive Unlimited style but with more exotic and rare cars like in the good old days.

Good idea, with atari in huge financial trouble now and selling almost everything they have, I would like to see EA acquire the TDU title and get the car modelling and engine sound right and add proper online competition features, then you have the perfect (semi-arcade) racing game of all time.

[SnowblindRhino]

I'm also from the old school. I remember spending literally days playing HP and watching the replay videos. I went out and bought a FFB Sidewinder 2, JUST so I could play PU. And I still play that. It was IMO the most polished of the entire series, even with how limited it was.

Then came HP2. The first multi platform, ported to PC pile of crap. No damage (I dont consider that damage at all, as it has no impact on the car), lousy physics, and helicopters that dropped bombs. Then came UG, UG2, MW, where they got pretty, and by the time MW came around, where kinda fun. Carbon sucked, as it was almost directly a MW copy that wasnt as good. And then there was all the IG adverts. I dont want to pay $50 for a game thats a Burger King ad.

So on to Pro Street. I feel its headed back in the right direction, but they need to take some lessons from better games, be they EA products or not. Porsche Unleashed, Forza 2, and/or Gran Turimso 3/4/5. Better, more CONSISTENT physics, better menus, better user config (why cant I turn off force feedback?), and generally better quality control (12 unfinished cars in the install, missing textures, and mezza-mezza suspension controls).
You want to hit us with all that brand naming? Fine, but why dont you let me put a Holly 4brl Carb and a Jeggs transmission in my Hemi Cuda? Why not really give me fine toothed controls with my upgrades.

[fasttasf]

I'm also from the old school. I remember spending literally days playing HP and watching the replay videos. I went out and bought a FFB Sidewinder 2, JUST so I could play PU. And I still play that. It was IMO the most polished of the entire series, even with how limited it was.

...

Agree that Porsche Unleashed is the best of them all, but remember who did the physics for that title? EDEN, the company that did TDU, they produce the best physics, however, the engine note in TDU is absolute rubbish, hence my suggestion of combining NFS sound, car list and online play with TDU physics and open world, possibly graphics too.

[SliM_880]

Well I am an oldies fan too. I still have NFS2 and High Stakes on my computer lol. But at the same time, I think the introduction of the "street" series was not a bad idea. It worked well at first but then got annoying so they tried to change it into MW (which was amazing). Carbon sucked, but now I think Pro Street is a big improvement. In Pro Street they got some of the old features, like making it a bit more simulation; but at the same time added some arcade to it. And honestly, I love the result - not too realistic and not too arcade, something fun but at the same time kinda serious. But as mentioned before I am worried about the next game in the series; I really hope they don't go back to the Underground stuff - that was good at its time but now its just plain annoying.