AeonGaidenRaiden
Member
In a recent topic, NFS came up and it was apparent that everyone has their own opinion what is considered the best title in the series. There is actually a lot of titles that people either really love or despise. So they do mess up sometimes and people compare it to Call of Duty because of its annual releases untill a few years ago, but you cant deny the fact that its a series that never felt stale because almost always they tried something new. Even if they had a successful title, besides Underground, they never made a part 2 but instead tried something different again. Anyway, I was lucky to be there almost from day one so here are my short opinions on each title I played and Id like to know yours as well because Im sure not all of us will agree 
Here we go:
NFS 1:
Never played it on release, didnt even know about it at the time but I got around to it much later just to say I tried it. Eh... nothing to write home about.
NFS 2:
Now this is when I first got introduced to the franchise. Think it looked great, awesome music, very floaty physics but overall a good time.
NFS 3 Hot Pursuit:
Now this is what I think put the franchise on the map and as a huge competition to anyone that tried to go head to head. To this day I still feel its the best sequel, their opus. Of course they got other amazing titles but at the time this was such a huge step forward and including the cops was the best idea ever. It also had one of the most bad ass intros. Autumn leaves would fly up when you rush through, you could break through some objects, very detailed 2d cockpit for each car.
NFS 4 High Stakes:
I had it both on my PS1 and PC and that is the one title where I remember "wow, ps1 graphics are really bad'. Its because if Im not mistaken the first NFS that used Open GL graphics and supported the Voodoo 2 graphics card so it was insanely good looking if you had the cash (i didnt). It didn't feel like much of a step up from 3, the soundtrack was great but the tracks did not sit well with me. Oh and ita the first NFS that introduced damage. It was lame, i mean ur going 200mph and u crash once and all of a sudden your steering is fucked, or you just slow down so bad its best to restart the race.
NFS Porche Unleashed:
This is one of those titles that you either loved or hated because its only Porche cars. I adored it, not because I was some huge fan of the one brand but because A, the music was so chill and zen, B, with that music you had beautiful looking landscapes, kinda sunset vibes. I dont know how to explain it but it was winter break and the game fit my environment so well. I hated that one night mission where you couldn't touch anything but had to go as fast as possible to the finish line and it was like a 7-8 minute full on race. Countless restarts.
NFS Hot Pursuit 2:
Had this on my PS2 first, literally a perfect sequel to HP1. Exotic cars, cops, exotic locations with laps again. The PS2 had one amazing feature that PC didn't and that was the fast forward action. In the middle of the race you would press....L1 i think and the camera would switch to this gran turismo replay style but go in front of you and show how the road ahead looks and then swoop backwards into your car. Really wowed me at the time. Another great soundtrack (Rush).
NFS Underground 1:
Main points here, from this game onwards, there would be no more race replays in any other NFS title. Also, here comes open world. The game was fantastic though. It was obviously cashing in on the Fast & Furious hype but it worked. Night races only, great soundtrack again, super fast with the nitros and that blur effect. Another title where everyone got stuck at that one race....lets say number 64 where you were racing 1 on 1 and you couldn't make even one mistake or the opponent passes you forever. And it was like 7 laps of that. Weeks were spent trying to pass that one.
NFS Underground 2:
They went all out with the customization which was great. The new map was good too. Kinda very similar to UG1 but still a solid upgrade. Oh and thats when drifts got introduced. The soundtrack however was not my cup of tea. Too many hip hop tracks for my taste unlike UG1.
NFS Most Wanted:
Probably the most liked amongst everyone. Cheesy cutacenes but it kind of gave you a propper story for the first time, ur not just randomly racing to be some king of the hill. But like many games from that era, game was covered in piss filter. However Id say it has the most iconic car out of the whole franchise and many people modded their own BMW to get the same look.
NFS Carbon:
Back to night racing, better graphics but so so racer. It introduced this teammate thing, i cant even remember if it was that important. I know you could block other racers that way from advancing. Overall: its ok.
NFS Pro Street:
This is when I slowly felt the burnout from the franchise but even if I wasn't burned out this game to me was complete utter SHIT. I hated everything about it. It looked so bland so boring, graphics were terrible, trying to be some deser circuit racer. Every single race looked the same. Complete garbage. Yet theres people that loved it. Me? 2/10!
NFS Undercover:
So this had some type of story again but it was so forgettable, actually the whole game was forgettable. They phoned it in, seemed like a lazy cash grab. Soundtrack was ace though.
NFS Shift:
Tried to be a sim racer. Its not what I wanted in my NFS so I never bothered playing it. Though I heard it wasnt that bad at all.
NFS Hot Pursuit (2010):
Amazing! Fast cars, crazy cops, the most beautiful open world NFS. Graphics top notch. Faith restored in the franchise!
NFS Unleashed 2:
Same response as Unleashed 1.
NFS The Run:
I hated the downhill concept, honestly the only title I never gave a chance. Who knows maybe I would of liked it but to go from HP to this, i was dissapointed and played maybe 1 hour of it.
NFS Most Wanted (2012):
Hated it. Not because it was a bad game but because it was a softporn version of Burnout but with a NFS name next to it. The map was wacky, you could do 360 loops, jumping off buildings and I never liked the concept of how you aquire cars. I did buy it for the Vita years later and actually really enjoyed it. Either i changed my mind or i just accepted such a game on a handheld but not on a console.
NFS Rivals:
Another one that people loved or hated. Me I really enjoyed it. It was grittier than before,cops were very aggressive. Great graphics and if im not mistaken they could impound your car for good if you had too many hits. Overall very good IMO.
NFS Reboot:
Ohhh Lord, shit me sideways. I was so hyped for this, we waited 2 years. Ken Block and the crew...i actually welcomed the cheesy curscenes again. It looked to become a spiritual successor to Underground titles. I bought the game at 1pm. Sold it online by 8pm. I hated the handling, the rubber banding was terrible and when you hit a wall you dont bounce off of it but instead it slows you down to a complete crawl and of course everybody catches up to you in seconds. I found the map points confusing, didnt know whats a new objective and what I already raced. Maybe i was stupid but either way big dissapointmen.
NFS Payback:
Because of previous one, i waited for reviews. Most said it wasnt good so I bailed. But now since theres no good arcade racers, i thought I might give it a chance because its way cheaper (on sale PSN actually) and it seems its one od those again you either love or hate.
Here we go:NFS 1:
Never played it on release, didnt even know about it at the time but I got around to it much later just to say I tried it. Eh... nothing to write home about.
NFS 2:
Now this is when I first got introduced to the franchise. Think it looked great, awesome music, very floaty physics but overall a good time.
NFS 3 Hot Pursuit:
Now this is what I think put the franchise on the map and as a huge competition to anyone that tried to go head to head. To this day I still feel its the best sequel, their opus. Of course they got other amazing titles but at the time this was such a huge step forward and including the cops was the best idea ever. It also had one of the most bad ass intros. Autumn leaves would fly up when you rush through, you could break through some objects, very detailed 2d cockpit for each car.
NFS 4 High Stakes:
I had it both on my PS1 and PC and that is the one title where I remember "wow, ps1 graphics are really bad'. Its because if Im not mistaken the first NFS that used Open GL graphics and supported the Voodoo 2 graphics card so it was insanely good looking if you had the cash (i didnt). It didn't feel like much of a step up from 3, the soundtrack was great but the tracks did not sit well with me. Oh and ita the first NFS that introduced damage. It was lame, i mean ur going 200mph and u crash once and all of a sudden your steering is fucked, or you just slow down so bad its best to restart the race.
NFS Porche Unleashed:
This is one of those titles that you either loved or hated because its only Porche cars. I adored it, not because I was some huge fan of the one brand but because A, the music was so chill and zen, B, with that music you had beautiful looking landscapes, kinda sunset vibes. I dont know how to explain it but it was winter break and the game fit my environment so well. I hated that one night mission where you couldn't touch anything but had to go as fast as possible to the finish line and it was like a 7-8 minute full on race. Countless restarts.
NFS Hot Pursuit 2:
Had this on my PS2 first, literally a perfect sequel to HP1. Exotic cars, cops, exotic locations with laps again. The PS2 had one amazing feature that PC didn't and that was the fast forward action. In the middle of the race you would press....L1 i think and the camera would switch to this gran turismo replay style but go in front of you and show how the road ahead looks and then swoop backwards into your car. Really wowed me at the time. Another great soundtrack (Rush).
NFS Underground 1:
Main points here, from this game onwards, there would be no more race replays in any other NFS title. Also, here comes open world. The game was fantastic though. It was obviously cashing in on the Fast & Furious hype but it worked. Night races only, great soundtrack again, super fast with the nitros and that blur effect. Another title where everyone got stuck at that one race....lets say number 64 where you were racing 1 on 1 and you couldn't make even one mistake or the opponent passes you forever. And it was like 7 laps of that. Weeks were spent trying to pass that one.
NFS Underground 2:
They went all out with the customization which was great. The new map was good too. Kinda very similar to UG1 but still a solid upgrade. Oh and thats when drifts got introduced. The soundtrack however was not my cup of tea. Too many hip hop tracks for my taste unlike UG1.
NFS Most Wanted:
Probably the most liked amongst everyone. Cheesy cutacenes but it kind of gave you a propper story for the first time, ur not just randomly racing to be some king of the hill. But like many games from that era, game was covered in piss filter. However Id say it has the most iconic car out of the whole franchise and many people modded their own BMW to get the same look.
NFS Carbon:
Back to night racing, better graphics but so so racer. It introduced this teammate thing, i cant even remember if it was that important. I know you could block other racers that way from advancing. Overall: its ok.
NFS Pro Street:
This is when I slowly felt the burnout from the franchise but even if I wasn't burned out this game to me was complete utter SHIT. I hated everything about it. It looked so bland so boring, graphics were terrible, trying to be some deser circuit racer. Every single race looked the same. Complete garbage. Yet theres people that loved it. Me? 2/10!
NFS Undercover:
So this had some type of story again but it was so forgettable, actually the whole game was forgettable. They phoned it in, seemed like a lazy cash grab. Soundtrack was ace though.
NFS Shift:
Tried to be a sim racer. Its not what I wanted in my NFS so I never bothered playing it. Though I heard it wasnt that bad at all.
NFS Hot Pursuit (2010):
Amazing! Fast cars, crazy cops, the most beautiful open world NFS. Graphics top notch. Faith restored in the franchise!
NFS Unleashed 2:
Same response as Unleashed 1.
NFS The Run:
I hated the downhill concept, honestly the only title I never gave a chance. Who knows maybe I would of liked it but to go from HP to this, i was dissapointed and played maybe 1 hour of it.
NFS Most Wanted (2012):
Hated it. Not because it was a bad game but because it was a softporn version of Burnout but with a NFS name next to it. The map was wacky, you could do 360 loops, jumping off buildings and I never liked the concept of how you aquire cars. I did buy it for the Vita years later and actually really enjoyed it. Either i changed my mind or i just accepted such a game on a handheld but not on a console.
NFS Rivals:
Another one that people loved or hated. Me I really enjoyed it. It was grittier than before,cops were very aggressive. Great graphics and if im not mistaken they could impound your car for good if you had too many hits. Overall very good IMO.
NFS Reboot:
Ohhh Lord, shit me sideways. I was so hyped for this, we waited 2 years. Ken Block and the crew...i actually welcomed the cheesy curscenes again. It looked to become a spiritual successor to Underground titles. I bought the game at 1pm. Sold it online by 8pm. I hated the handling, the rubber banding was terrible and when you hit a wall you dont bounce off of it but instead it slows you down to a complete crawl and of course everybody catches up to you in seconds. I found the map points confusing, didnt know whats a new objective and what I already raced. Maybe i was stupid but either way big dissapointmen.
NFS Payback:
Because of previous one, i waited for reviews. Most said it wasnt good so I bailed. But now since theres no good arcade racers, i thought I might give it a chance because its way cheaper (on sale PSN actually) and it seems its one od those again you either love or hate.
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