Who remembers Need For Speed High Stakes?

[PlatinumWash]

I thought it was the best NFS game of all time. I still do.

 

[BobbyBRAKEaNek]

That's the one with the last gen Firebird? If so I agree.

 

[Tornado]

I honestly really wanted to like the game. I wanted to play it bad for years when I was a kid and I say the insert ad for it in the Hot Pursuit manual. But I always thought the way cars controlled made the entire thing really hard to have fun with despite how many upgrades the rest of the game got. None of the madcap raw thrills of the two Hot Pursuit games that bookended it (more or less, since Porsche Unleashed was essentially designed as a sim) despite the higher production values as track design was pared back to be much more uniform and perhaps even sterile; instead replaced with a pseudo simulation aspect that worked great in some respects (like the realistic car upgrade system and ripped-straight-from-GT game structure) but very poorly in others (sluggish car controls, track surface variations, odd focus on weight transfer simulation). PC version was much more enjoyable, probably because it was essentially the PC version of Hot Pursuit with shinier graphics and more content.


High Stakes was also the beginning of the the nerdy attention to detail the series had for its first 3 installments falling by the wayside to chase flashier (and admittedly higher) production values, which is a real shame.

 

[Ameer67]

Which yes do I pick?

 

[PlatinumWash]

Which yes do I pick?

Whichever one tickles your fancy.

 

[ThrasherDBS]

I had the game since I was six and I've never beaten it. I think it's the least accessible game in the classic NFS era. I liked how much effort was put into the car models, the fact that every track had police cars that corresponded to what country the track took place in, complete with an option for the cops to speak in the style/language native to the track. I liked the fact that you could in fact be the cop for once and stop speeders.

The tracks carried more of a "realistic" factor to them than the predecessors. II's tracks felt like amusement park rides. III's took place in more generic and realistic settings but still had the arcade flare without being too outrageous about it. High Stakes had the most realistic feeling tracks in terms of environment and atmosphere to that point in the series. (Though I can't really say much about the first game in the series since I've never played it.) I like them all, but Celtic Ruins and Dolphin Cove are my favorites.

However there was a few things that I didn't really care for:

• Stiff controls (though admittedly, you get used to them after a while)
• Minor thing: no announcer description for the tracks like in the past three games. PC version got this, but not on the PS1 version. (Seriously, I like the announcer from the first four games.)
  
• You were restricted to your career cars for single race mode instead of having access to the same cars you have access to in Test Drive mode or Hot Pursuit. You don't get any prize money or make any progress in single race mode, so why not have access to all the cars if you're just doing the mode for fun? Hot Pursuit mode lets you do this, though the Mercedes and Ferraris were absent from this mode like in the previous title. (Probably from manufacturer request.)
  
• In tournaments/special events, if you got any damage at all, be it a single scrape or major damage on your car, there was a mandatory repair fee that you had to pay after the race. (In later races as the cars got faster and more expensive, the more you had to pay.) Porsche Unleashed had a repair system as well, but I like how it was handled in that game. Repairing your car wasn't mandatory, but you can also pick and choose what you repaired. I didn't care about aesthetics, so if I wrecked the car, I would repair the mechanical damage, but leave the body damage be since there was no performance detriment (that I could tell) from a damaged body.
• Entrance fees for special events. Sure if you're good you can earn your fee back easily in the earlier events, but later on, you make little profit despite trying to win but still getting nicks on your car which eats away at your prize money.

I've never beaten the game, but over the last week I've taken a crack at it. Playing it on my PS3 however, I've been able to exploit the 2-player High Stakes mode to render money a non-issue. Having to replay tournaments just to scrounge up enough money to proceed never really seemed that fun to me, so I toned down the simulation aspect a bit. I've beaten all of the tournaments thus far, unlocked the McLaren F1, CLK-GTR, and Phantom, and all the tracks have been unlocked. On special events, I've beaten everything up through Corvette Pro Cup. So standing in my way is Porsche Pro Cup, Open Road Knockout, and the Endurance Racing Series if I remember correctly. So I'm getting pretty close.

While some may say I've ruined the game by exploiting High Stakes mode, I feel it's actually renewed my interest in this game. I can actually make progress instead of having to unreliably grind tournaments over and over to get enough money to progress. It's been nice actually. Finally being able to play the courses that I hadn't been able to play when I was much younger.

 

[drandiiski]

Loved it!

 

[JR98]

I never played those old old NFS's, oldest one I played was NFS 3 HP, loved it, never even seen a copy of High Stakes or Porsche Unleashed. they are the only ones (Along with the first 2) that I've played

 

[ThrasherDBS]

As of last night, I have now officially beaten the game.

 

[wvmgmidget]

Yeah I had for PC when I was a lot younger

 

[Robin]

I never played High Stakes, but played the 3 NFS games before it.

Rivals is the spiritual successor to High Stakes, even the box art is meant to be nostalgic....

 

[gt3kid89]

My favorite NFS. Recently installed it again with the Windows 7 patch. I feel like a 6 year old again

Little question: What car do you recommend to use on the Tournament in Champion difficulty. I tried using the CLK GTR but they moped the floor with me I have the downloadable XJR-15 and Lister Storm too. Thanks

 

[MclarenGT]

I have played both the version of High strakes while PS1 was having more realistic handling,PC version was having better graphics,better sense of speed and fps.I do even play it today when I get bored with new games.

My favorite NFS. Recently installed it again with the Windows 7 patch. I feel like a 6 year old again

Little question: What car do you recommend to use on the Tournament in Champion difficulty. I tried using the CLK GTR but they moped the floor with me I have the downloadable XJR-15 and Lister Storm too. Thanks

I think it is better to use F1 GTR it can accelerate from 0-60mph in 2.1s in that game and has best handling.