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GRAPHICS: B+ (9) Need For Speed... A name that dates back all the way to CD-gaming's roots, when the 3DO was the popular thing to own (for a while, at least) and Road Rash was a brand new, enticing game phenomenon everyone was willing to put their money on. The latest in the series, entitled "High Stakes", and the fifth installment (that's if you count Need For Speed: V-Rally, which held the "Need For Speed" label only as a marketing move to get gullable Americans to buy it... not that I have anything against that game or Americans) goes far beyond the 3DO original, which was a great game in its own. Need For Speed: High Stakes is a graphical marvel in its own way. First, this is perhaps the first racing game I've played that has absolutely no visible pop-up, a definite plus. While the cars don't come close to matching Gran Turismo's beauties, they are still better than you typical PlayStation racing game's machines. They borrowed that "Virtual Wax Coating" straight from Gran Turismo's code pretty much, but the cars' don't look nearly as solid. They tend to break up or are in some occasions slightly deformed. Nothing serious, but they don't have that "real" look from the much referred-to game, you know, you don't look at them in amazement the same way. There are however, much more exotic cars to use in this game, such as the Ferrari Maranello, Lamborghini Diablo, a couple of BMWs, a Mercedes Benz, and others that are much more interesting than Gran Turismo's Subarus, Mitsubishis, and Toyotas. The Backgrounds are more detailed than the competition also, but at the same time, suffer from a lower resolution. This results in tracks that are beautifully detailed and varied, but at the same time have bland textures and pixely edges. Something else rather disappointing I should also bring up is that the "behind the wheel" look (you know, where you could see the steering wheel and dash-board panel) had to be sacrificed in order to fit the new features and cars. This means that this view will most likely never return to the series, and was in my opinion, one of the more defining features about "The Need For Speed". Another complaint is that besides the now mandatory FMV intro (which isn't all that good), there aren't ANY more FMVs. If You played the first NFS, you'll really miss the awesome FMVs that explained all about the cars/manufacturers. Instead you now just see the car you selected spinning around and a guy talks about it. One more thing EA has to learn is how to make games that don't have excessive loading time. You'll find yourself having to go to another mode every once in a while, only to curse at the 3 minute loading screens.
SOUND/MUSIC: A- (9.25) Does anyone remember that obnoxious announcer from the first game, whose only words in the whole game were "Final Lap!!!!!!!"? Well, he was taken out in place for a new moron. The Need For Speed: High Stakes's announcer will say something like "You're ten seconds behind, and its the final lap!!", but in a stupid kind of... let's see, what's the best word... demanding tone of voice (?). Why can't EA just hire someone that isn't shy and gets intimidated by a recording machine? The music is anything but annoying however (well, maybe a few tracks). There are 18 tracks which you can select during the game to suit your liking, and most of them are very inspired techno that matches with the gameplay flawlessly. Of course, if you don't like electronica, you're out of luck because that's all this game has to offer. The sound is really good also, all engine sounds, tire screetches, police sirens, etc. were taken from their real life counterparts, so they sound authentic. Everything besides the annoying yet inexistent announcer is great. In "Hot Pursuit" mode, You can hear what the cops are talking about so you know what to expect, and fortunately, all this is done with great voice actors for the cops. It's really cool to be able to hear the police talk about YOU and the enemy (for example, if you're driving a blue Corvette, the cops will say "The suspect is driving a blue Chevrolet Corvette..." and if you avoid one of their traps, they might say "...He just missed the trap..."), and regardless of the situation, it all sounds like they really were after you. This really adds to the dramatic effect of "Hot Pursuit" mode. GAMEPLAY: A (9.5) Last year's Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit added the intuitive "Hot Pursuit" mode (hence the name, duh), which allowed you and a friend, or solo, to race against a computer controlled car while also (mainly) attempting to outrun/ram off the road/endure (depending on how good you are) the feisty law-applying cops in criminal mayhem. This year's Need For Speed title still has that, and adds the new "High Stakes" mode (hence the name once more) in which you and a friend battle it out, the "Stakes" part being the fact that you can completely lose your saved cars right off your memory cards. This mode however, isn't as appealing to me as "Hot Pursuit". I think that is the real meat of the game just as well as the "Tournament" mode. In its own way, Need For Speed: High Stakes is more fun than Gran Turismo, but for the most part, it's not. There's not much in Gran Turismo that beats the rush you get from out-witting the cops or seeing your best pal getting arrested, but this mode isn't the center of the game, so it isn't very in-depth. The tournament mode in Need For Speed: High Stakes could've used a lot more. It is the standard racing for the best position you've played to death in every other racing game out there, and can't come near the strategic/simulation aspect of Gran Turismo, it isn't even as stylish, so if this is what you're looking for, you're better off getting the king of all racers, and the much referred to Gran Turismo. Something that's pretty cool in NFS: HS is its replays. You can actually change the camera angles (there's 9 of 'em), change the speed of the action to 1/2, 1/4, 1x or 2x, but the best part of the replays is seeing the little driver inside the car! He even turns the steering wheel and sways back and forth as the car swerves and stuff!! How awesome is that?! During night-time driving you can use headlights/high beams, a pretty awesome feature. Also you have turn signals, hazard lights, horns and other such useless features... Why you have these things is beyond me, but it's not bad that they're in (unless this is what the awesome steering wheel and dashboard view was sacrificed for).
FUN AND REPLAY VALUE: A (9.75) If it wasn't for the incredibly fun "Hot Pursuit" mode, this game just wouldn't be the same. This mode allows for hours of fun on end, I actually stayed up 'til like 5 in the morning yesterday (4/8/99), why do you think I updated the site so late? The new Saturday Night Live? -I don't think so. This game is also fun for going head to head against a friend in two player mode, which you can compete in Hot Pursuit, normal race, and High Stakes. Tournament mode is pretty cool, I guess, but it's just as fun as the original 3DO game. WORTH BUYING: YES For the love of Hot Pursuit YES! What's more, for a limited time you'll find this game brand new at BRE Software for $39.98! It's as good and fun as any other racer, and it has more features and modes than the lot. Definitely a worthy racing addition, and you may like it even if you hate typical racing games.
OVERALL: A- (9.25) Ok, I admit I mostly talked about the "Hot Pursuit" mode, but what more could you want from a game than to be able to do what you always wanted to do... make a mockery of the civil defense system? To order Need For Speed: High Stakes, click on
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