Need for Speed Unbound by Criterion Games has a higher user score than any other NFS game released in last 16 years

[Mati_Blaster]

Need for Speed Unbound was released today. You can rate the PS5 version of game on Metacritic. Currently it has higher user score than Carbon, HP2010, MW2012 and anything Ghost Games ever created. People on Reddit forum r/needforspeed are very satisfied with the game and literally say "Thank you Criterion"

 

[ICEYOU3]

I think it shows that Criterion is still a VERY solid developer and I'd argue EA's best developer as well!

“It’s about the quality of the product, not the quality of the marketing” -Steve Jobs

 

[C_Raccoon23]

It’s very difficult to take that image seriously when Hot Pursuit and 2015 have the same score.

 

[McLaren]

Bit early to making definitive statements. In the time since this thread has posted, it's already moved down to 7.8 & still has a tiny fraction of the reviews the rest of the other titles have.

Edit* The user reviews are also weirdly either 0/1 or 9/10 for a bunch of them.

 

[AeonGaiden]

Honestly, it can't be at least in the long run. I have the game, its bland, doesn't have its own identity, the map is a recycled HEAT map. Even the story is very similar as in a girl tricks you and then you go after her and her crew. Its the same engine except in 4K. Voiceover is the worst it has ever been. There is an OK game in there but to say this is better then HP2010...hell its not even better than NFS 2015. Those had more soul. Music and art style I won't comment because its individual experience.

 

[NLxAROSA]

Edit* The user reviews are also weirdly either 0/1 or 9/10 for a bunch of them.

A good rule of thumb I use is to discard the 0 and 10 reviews. It's never that binary.

There is an OK game in there but to say this is better then HP2010...hell its not even better than NFS 2015.

Opinions are just opinions. IMO HP2010 and NFS 2015 were crap. I liked Heat and I like Unbound. Had some really good fun with MW2012 (along with a bunch of GTP folks on here, just look back for the thread in here somewhere).

Doesn't mean anything or doesn't invalidate your (or anyone elses) opinion. And esp. Metacritic is a pretty low bar, esp. the user opinions. I wouldn't base anything off of those.

 

[MagpieRacer]

It is the best NFS since 2015 for sure. I loved 2015 (though I know many don't) and I love Hot Pursuit. Didn't care much for Payback, Heat or Rivals.

 

[ICEYOU3]

Bit early to making definitive statements. In the time since this thread has posted, it's already moved down to 7.8 & still has a tiny fraction of the reviews the rest of the other titles have.

Edit* The user reviews are also weirdly either 0/1 or 9/10 for a bunch of them.

Here's my favorite one.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

Edit* The user reviews are also weirdly either 0/1 or 9/10 for a bunch of them.

Because most of the ratings that make up the scores for these games are based on impulse and emotion rather than any sort of rational or objective thought.

 

[kjb]

Here's my favorite one.
View attachment 1213309

So were Underground and MW like -10? 🤣

 

[Moglet]

Honestly, it can't be at least in the long run. I have the game, its bland, doesn't have its own identity, the map is a recycled HEAT map. Even the story is very similar as in a girl tricks you and then you go after her and her crew. Its the same engine except in 4K. Voiceover is the worst it has ever been. There is an OK game in there but to say this is better then HP2010...hell its not even better than NFS 2015. Those had more soul. Music and art style I won't comment because its individual experience.

The map isn't the Heat map recycled, it's a completely new map. Heat was supposed to be similar to Miami IIRC, and Unbound isn't very Miami-like at all. The engine is the same, yes, but they're not going to suddenly re-write or switch game engines when the one they have does what they need it to. Engine switches and/or rewrites are absurdly expensive and time consuming.

I agree about the voiceovers, they're worse than usual in this game. I've started to ignore them as much as I can now.

 

[Famine]

The map isn't the Heat map recycled, it's a completely new map. Heat was supposed to be similar to Miami IIRC, and Unbound isn't very Miami-like at all.

In general layout terms, there's... similarities.

Probably the biggest single difference is that Heat has water as a geographical barrier on three sides, whereas it's just one side for Unbound. That, and the in-shore waterway in Palm City makes Heat's map feel more like Florida than Unbound (and the higher bits in Unbound's southwest in place of the port), but in terms of how it's laid out there's enough similarities to see where that criticism comes from.

Lakeshore City is in the same place on the map as Palm City, the motorway network feels very similar (albeit turned 90 degrees clockwise), there's hills in the northwest with some industry plopped on it - even leaving Rydell's Rydes feels just like leaving whatever the main place in Heat was (head left to join the freeway towards the city with the coast on your right).


I hope there's eventually a payoff for all the Vice City-like radio DJ chatter about how corrupt the mayor is.

 

[Joey D]

Lakeshore is supposed to be the NFS-universe's analog for Chicago, right?

As for the game, it feels pretty meh for me. Maybe it gets better since I'm only in the first little bit of it, but I have 10 hours of game time to decide if I want to buy it or not.

 

[Veinz]

I watched Jimmy Broadbent play and the writing and voice acting is just cringey. Someone’s donation summed it up best for me. Funded by boomers, written by millennials & made for zoomers.

Is this what getting older feels like?

 

[Joey D]

Is this what getting older feels like?

Yes. It's also accompanied by random aches and pains, as well as thinking certain music and/or movies only came out a few years ago, but in reality, they came out two decades ago.

 

[Mercia]

I'm not surprised, game is very enjoyable. Built on HEat's foundation and improved almost every area, loads to do will keep me busy through Christmas for sure.

Couple of niggles here and there, online races are underwhelming for example, but still a thumbs up over here.

 

[Wolfe]

Funded by boomers, written by millennials & made for zoomers.

I don't think things are made for zoomers. Zoomers are smarter than that. I think corporations have totally lost the plot and they're feeling around in the dark, trying to cater to a ghost of a lowest common denominator that doesn't exist because people don't share a culture anymore.

Getting older means not understanding TikTok. Cringe media is just dysfunctional because it's all dysfunctional.

 

[LuxerWap]

Why the hell is Most Wanted 2012 a 4.5? This is why I don't take User Scores seriously.

 

[FT-1]

Why the hell is Most Wanted 2012 a 4.5? This is why I don't take User Scores seriously.

That’s what happens when a user base is split into too many fragments; everyone expects something different and those who don’t get what they want will end up being very vocal about it.

Despite being a very enjoyable title, it was subject to hate, mostly due to these reasons:

1) Being too similar to Burnout in gameplay
2) People expecting a direct remake of the 2005 original (and perhaps a more detailed Blacklist story mode)
3) Following on from the previous point, a lack of visual car customisation

This is probably one of the cases where a different name (NFS: Fairhaven?) would have resulted in much better reception.