The Need for Speed

This article is about the first Need for Speed video game. For the rest of the series, see Need for Speed. For the 2015 video game, see Need for Speed (2015 video game). For other uses, see Need for Speed (disambiguation).
The Need for Speed
Developer(s) Pioneer Productions
EA Canada
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Producer(s) Hanno Lemke
Programmer(s) Brad Gour
Artist(s) Markus Tessmann
Series Need for Speed
Platform(s) 3DO, MS-DOS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn
Release date(s)

3DO

  • NA: August 31, 1994
  • JP: December 9, 1994

MS-DOS

  • NA: August 31, 1995

PlayStation

  • EU: March 20, 1996
  • JP: April 19, 1996
  • NA: 1996

Sega Saturn

  • NA: 1996
  • EU: 1996
  • JP: December 20, 1996
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed, later released in Japan as Over Drivin', is a 1994 racing video game first released on the 3DO and then ported to MS-DOS, PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It is the first installment released in the Need for Speed series. The premise of the game involves racing in sport cars, including several exotic models and Japanese imports.

The game was noted for its realism and audio and video commentaries. Electronic Arts teamed up with automotive magazine Road & Track to match vehicle behavior, including the mimicking of the sounds made by the vehicles' gear control levers. The game also contained precise vehicle data with spoken commentary, several "magazine style" images of each car interior and exterior and even short video clips highlighting the vehicles set to music.

Gameplay

The game featured both closed circuits and three point-to-point tracks, each divided into three stages. For the latter, traffic vehicles appear in races. Police pursuits are also a key gameplay mechanic, in which the player could be ticketed or arrested after a police car succeeded in catching up with the player. Players are arrested if he/she received a third police ticket, while the Sega Saturn version only required two tickets for the player to be arrested. Completing the tournaments (or entering a cheat) unlocks the "rally" mode, where car dynamics are changed to make for a faster 'arcade' experience, as well as the "Warrior PTO E/2", a fictional jet-powered sports car.

Except for the aforementioned Warrior, each car in the game came with detailed specifications, history, audio commentaries and real-life videos, which would also be featured in subsequent games in the series, though this was omitted in later games. A replay feature allowed the player to view a saved race. Multiple camera views, playback speed and video navigation were offered.

Multiplayer consisted of a two-player head-to-head racing mode, which required computers connected via modem.[notes 1]

Tracks

There are a total of six courses in the game: City, Coastal, Alpine, Rusty Springs, Autumn Valley and Vertigo. Each is a distinctive environment. City, Coastal and Alpine have three sections each, while the others are circuit races.

There is an extra track in the game, named Lost Vegas, which can be unlocked by winning all of the tracks above in tournament mode. A flag in the bottom right corner of the track's image indicates a victory in the menu to help the player keep track of the progress.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(SAT) 95.00%[1]
(PC) 83.00%[2]
(PS) 68.50%[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM(3DO) 8.0/10[4]
(PS1) 8.75/10[5]
GameSpot(PC) 8.3/10[6]
Maximum (PS1)[7]
PC Power95%[8]

The Need For Speed was met with positive reviews. The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly scored the 3DO version an 8.0 average, with two of them giving the game a 9.0 or higher. They praised the game's realistic graphics and sounds, addictive gameplay, and exceptionally clever use of full motion video.[4] GamePro gave it a rave review as well, commenting that the selection of cars "will leave car buffs drooling" and the realistic graphics and handling of each vehicle "infuse the game with taut realism and fascinating variety." They expressed disappointment over the lack of two-player mode, but felt that the exceptionally challenging enemy AI largely makes up for it.[9]

Aggregating review website GameRankings gave the Saturn version 95.00%,[1] the PC version 83.00%[2] and the PlayStation version 68.50%.[3] British magazine PC Power gave the DOS version a score of 95%, praising car handling, graphics and overall presentation, but criticizing hardware requirements and sound.[8] Jim Varner of GameSpot gave the game a "Great" rating of 8.3/10 citing "With its marvelous attention to detail, exotic course design, and straightforward gameplay, this game is a true winner. Simply put, The Need for Speed is the next best thing to owning a $200,000 sports car!".[6] The two sports reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly applauded the PlayStation version for its fast racing and excellent controls.[5] Air Hendrix argued in GamePro that "With all these improvements, [the PlayStation version] is practically a sequel to the 3DO game, and it plays like one." He made particular mention of the additional courses, the handbrake, the improved displays, and the faster speed of the game.[10] Other magazines were more critical, with PSM criticising the "obtrusive graphics", and saying that it "isn't an immediately enjoyable game - the idiosyncracies only serve to annoy."[11] Maximum complained that the driving lacks intensity and that cars are too resistant to crashes, though they acknowledged that the graphics are moderately impressive.[7]

The game reached number 5 in the UK sales chart.[12]

The Need for Speed: Special Edition

In 1996, an edition of The Need for Speed, The Need for Speed: Special Edition, was released only on PC CD-ROM, containing MS-DOS and Windows 95 versions. The Windows 95 version supports DirectX 2 and IPX networking, and includes two new tracks ("Transtropolis" and "Burnt Sienna") and various enhancements in the game engine. Special Edition is the last game in the Need for Speed series to support MS-DOS, as subsequent releases for the PC only run on Microsoft Windows 95 or above. It can still be run under 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP and later Windows OSes using DOSBox for the MS-DOS version of the game.

Notes

  1. ↑ The multiplayer mode can be played in DOSBox over a regular TCP/IP connection.

References

  1. 1 2 "Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed (Saturn) reviews at". GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  2. 1 2 "The Need for Speed (PC) reviews at". GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  3. 1 2 "Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed (PlayStation) reviews at". GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  4. 1 2 "The Need for Speed Review". Electronic Gaming Monthly (69). EGM Media, LLC. April 1995. p. 38.
  5. 1 2 "Box Score: Need for Speed". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis (82): 118. May 1996.
  6. 1 2 Varner, Jim. The Need for Speed review. GameSpot. May 26, 1996.
  7. 1 2 "Maximum Reviews: Need for Speed". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine. Emap International Limited (5): 156. April 1996.
  8. 1 2 Butt, Damian (October 1995), "The Need for Speed", PC Power (22), pp. 38–41
  9. ↑ "ProReview: Road & Track Presents the Need for Speed". GamePro. IDG (68): 94. March 1995.
  10. ↑ "ProReview: The Need for Speed". GamePro. IDG (92): 58. May 1996.
  11. ↑ Need for Speed review, Official UK PlayStation Magazine, April 1996, issue 5, page 66
  12. ↑ Gallup UK PlayStation sales chart, August 1996, published in Official UK PlayStation Magazine issue 9
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