27 Years of Need for Speed

[Humza]

Be the first to cross the finish line. Second is the first to lose, as the great Ayrton Senna would say. Over the years car fanatics have been living and driving the dream, all made possible by games like the iconic Need for Speed.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/article/2255-need-for-speed/

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 was one of the best games I had on Xbox. Oddly enough, it looked better on Xbox, but it seemed to feel faster on PS2.

That game featured the Murcielago but it was actually the McLaren F1 that was the best car in the game.

Great Soundtrack!

 

[Puiu]

This might actually be the last NFS game if it fails. There are only so many failures you can make before development gets shut down completely and fans stop caring.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Porsche Unleashed (2000) was an amazing game that I would still play today. It’s chronological too, so it’s a fantastic way to learn about most Porsche vehicles starting from the 356, to the everyman 914 and 944, the racing kings 718 Spyder and 959, and beyond. You can upgrade them, pay for damage repair, and even buy and resell collector cars for a profit. Even the music is great lol, but the fact that you’re racing in Europe through Normandy, the Pyrenees, the Swiss Alps and more makes it an amazing racing experience. I highly recommend it if you have the chance to get it. I could talk about it for a long time but I’ll stop

 

[Adi6293]

I think Underground to Carbon was NFS " golden era" : - P

 

[VitalyT]

I still own my fafourite - NFS Underground from 2003.

 

[Nobina]

I think they messed up trying to recreate NFSU2 and NFSMW too many times, these games are the best in the series but they won't work today. Plus, modern era games are bound to have online only, DLCs, mtx and all those things that can absolutely ruin a game. This can also make it hard to make a proper Underground 2 and Most Wanted successor.

 

[Geralt]

Underground 2 is my favorite. And Heat? I am still wondering what the heck they tried to do with this iteration.

 

[dragosmp]

Porsche Unleashed (2000) was an amazing game that I would still play today. It’s chronological too, so it’s a fantastic way to learn about most Porsche vehicles starting from the 356, to the everyman 914 and 944, the racing kings 718 Spyder and 959, and beyond. You can upgrade them, pay for damage repair, and even buy and resell collector cars for a profit. Even the music is great lol, but the fact that you’re racing in Europe through Normandy, the Pyrenees, the Swiss Alps and more makes it an amazing racing experience. I highly recommend it if you have the chance to get it. I could talk about it for a long time but I’ll stop

+1 all time favourite here too. I'll look ity up on GOG, wonder if there's a Win10 compatible executable

After UG2, and with the arrival of DIRT and GRID, NFS didn't make that much sense to me. Just like The Fast and Furious franchise, after a few installements it became repetitive

 

[RudyBob]

For me: NFS, NFSU, NFSMW other than those......pfffftttt

 

[yeeeeman]

Can we just get a remaster of need for speed underground? We only want better textures

 

[Bl00dyMinded]

Underground 1 & 2 were the best for me and my friends!

 

[rodriguezmichael]

NFS Most wanted is an all-time favorite. Not many graphics, not that many great cars, but still those cars and races feel awesome. The song playlist was really great. Listening to those songs anywhere gives nostalgia for the game.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

+1 all time favourite here too. I'll look ity up on GOG, wonder if there's a Win10 compatible executable

After UG2, and with the arrival of DIRT and GRID, NFS didn't make that much sense to me. Just like The Fast and Furious franchise, after a few installements it became repetitive

I think it was still Windows compatible. I couldn't find it on GoG or Origin, but I might've missed it. Looks like it's accessible here (but it's in a BIN/CUE format, so you might need to convert it with PowerISO first--checking): https://www.myabandonware.com/game/need-for-speed-porsche-unleashed-bg9

It was a few years back I last tried it with an ISO from my original disk. I might've needed to put it on a virtual machine, but I don't think so... It would've been Windows 7 or 8 days.

 

[dad0ts]

My favourites are NFS 1/2 PC DOS classics (played 'em around 1995-1997) and 2000 Porsche Unleashed. After NFSPU was not impressed by any of the newer nfs games - too much of 'em, repetitive, nothing special...

 

[VariableSpike]

This might actually be the last NFS game if it fails. There are only so many failures you can make before development gets shut down completely and fans stop caring.

I would have said the same, but they changed the dev team back to Criterion again, so knowing life, even if this game fails, I bet they will blame it on the studio change - hopefully Criterion don't try and just make it a Burnout clone again (*stares at Most Wanted 2012*), as I would much rather they make another proper game in the Burnout series than some weird mix of one and the other

 

[Art5performance]

Underground up to Pro street was the golden era , afterwards they got slacky ....

 

[sreams]

Porsche Unleashed (2000) was an amazing game that I would still play today. It’s chronological too, so it’s a fantastic way to learn about most Porsche vehicles starting from the 356, to the everyman 914 and 944, the racing kings 718 Spyder and 959, and beyond. You can upgrade them, pay for damage repair, and even buy and resell collector cars for a profit. Even the music is great lol, but the fact that you’re racing in Europe through Normandy, the Pyrenees, the Swiss Alps and more makes it an amazing racing experience. I highly recommend it if you have the chance to get it. I could talk about it for a long time but I’ll stop

Yep. I was never a big NFS guy... but Porsche Unleashed was world changing for me. One of my top 5 most memorable game experiences (spanning from my Commodore 64 days up until the present day).

 

[Skyhopper83]

I downloaded NFS Unlimited on my iPad Air right after I bought it, and it has made the iPad so much fun to have!! With the helpful hints on YouTube, it’s the 1st NFS x 1000!! The tricks and fun of NFS ARE TRULY UNLIMITED!!!

 

[redhat]

Need for Speed: Underground 2 Customization was on different level.

 

[Gars]

MW is my fav
along with High Stakes
I never get it why tf is needed to be bound with brand and never like it
underground was a total mess from the start - simply no story line (maybe I become too old atm)

thank you for the great article
PS: at the time (1996) I was happy with Net Q-Rac Rally - excellent game on DOS GW4

 

[Leuten]

I love how a piece lile this can take me down memory lane.
Each entry signifying its own part of my life at the given time.

The highlights for me, that also formed my taste in games or made up 90% of what ai played at the time would be.

NFSII - the first 3D racing game I got to play extensively (on the first computer at home taht was NOT a Mac). A big part of my gaming in my formative years. Might only be surpassed by the significance of Sonic The Hedgehog amd the Mega Drive.

Hot Pursuit 2 - High-school gaming and first REAL LAN-fun with racing.

Underground - more or less cementing the love for pimped-out cars. The first time I saw the "blooming" graphics effect at high speeds I was STUNNED.

Most Wanted - just pure fun and the first NFS game that gave a true sense of completion once you've jumped that bridge. Also signaling my beginning at university.

I played most other titles before and after these, but none of them stands quite as clearly.

However this series will forever be linked to my childhood, groving up and help fostering a love for gaming in general.

 

[VilioSK]

For me: 1. NFS Underground, 2. NFS Hot Pursuit 2, 3. NFS 2 SE 3Dfx
But I didnt play NFS Underground 2 and Most Wanted (2005)

 

[TK310]

My favorite NFSMW, NFSworld and NFS heat.

 

[MrGRiMv25]

You forgot NFS World, the mixing of Carbon's and MW's cities for one giant open mmo-style world with other racers was pretty cool, even if EA/Blackbox did milk us fanatics at every opportunity. I spent about £800 (lol) on cars from the time of the beta until it was closed in 2015, luckily I grabbed my profile and an offline copy before it was all gone.