Your Top 5 Need For Speed Games

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My top 5:
1. Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (PS2) - A fun arcade racing game with a nice car selection and it's aged really well.

2. Need For Speed: Most Wanted '05 (Xbox 360) - The first NFS game with a proper free roam style featuring police officers and a decent story.

3. Need For Speed: Underground 2 (PS2) - Maybe the customisation is a bit overboard but the car list was much better than the first one and an open world was definitely a great addition to the series.

4. Need For Speed: ProStreet (Xbox 360/PS3) - This is a controversial choice but in my opinion this was a great game with tons of content. It was my first racing game for PS3 so that might be another reason why I like it so much.

5. Need For Speed II (PC) - I was only young when I played through this game so I wasn't very good at it but the car list was definitely unique and it holds a special place in my heart.


My worst 5:

1. Need For Speed: The Run (Xbox 360) - This game is an utter pile of 🤬! Awful story, awful physics and unnecessary QTE's. The worst thing about this game is the length of it, it took me 5 hours to complete over 2 days.

2. Need For Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed (PS3) - The input lag kills this game. The music isn't good either and the drifting physics are awful. Levelling up is too easy as I was lvl. 20 just after half way through the career mode.

3. Need For Speed: Undercover (PS2/PS3) - It's like NFS Most Wanted except it's crap! This game recycled most assets from MW and even the city similar to MW. The only difference is that you play as an "undercover police officer".

4. Need For Speed: Porcshe Unleashed (PS1) - Well I played this at the same time as GT2 so that might be why I don't like it. The physics were mediocre and the track list/car list was tiny compared to GT2.

5. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2010 (PS3) - I don't hate this game but it has more than a few flaws. The open world is boring with no police officers to be found. The special moves can be overdone sometimes and the physics are drift galore.
 
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My top:
1. NFS High Stakes. Very difficult choice between HS and HP2 (PS2). May be because of nostalgia, but i choose High Stakes. My first NFS.
2. NFS Hot Pursuit 2 (PS2)
3. NFS Hot Pursuit 2010
4. Shift 2 Unleashed
5. NFS Porsche Unleashed
 
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My list would be :
NFS 5 - Porsche Unleashed
NFS 2 SE
NFS Underground 2
NFS Shift2 (when it works and properly modded for precise physics/steering)

only additional games I played were NFS 4 - High Stakes and Shift1; played NFS 3 as Demo many years ago
 
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My top 5.
1. Shift: It brought back something missing since Porsche Unleashed, the in-car view, with a vengeance. Decent career structure and authentic+unique body kits for each car rather than the generic various-but-same-styles per car system in the Underground games.
2. Underground 2: Despite the extreme ricing present, credit has to be given to the developers over just how much in-depth a player can ruin a perfectly decent car. Very good driving feel only ruined by delayed/super-smoothed input filtering, and maybe a hair too much grip. Also, no other game in the NFS series can boast about how its cars' ECU and Turbo settings can be tweaked in very fine detail...
3. Porsche Unleashed: The only NFS game that made really effective use of the Porsche license. Too many cool cars. The option to add racing stripes of various types and trims was pretty sweet, even if very basic.
4. High Stakes: Yes, it was basically an expansion for the previous game, Hot Pursuit, but it was a lot of fun and the career mode wasn't terrible.
5. Pro Street: As long as you turn the ANNOYING VOICES OFF, you have a decent game with a pretty robust customization and tuning system. AutoSculpt was sweet, even if I didn't like 75% of the kits on offer for most of the cars.

Special Mention: Carbon. It offered a ton of customization, far more than Most Wanted 2005. The "Race Wars" 20 car races on the HD platforms were also cool.

My top 3 worst.
3. NFS II: Awesome music, awesome track design, let down by feeling too similar in driving yet less believable than the original. Also no cops.
2. Hot Pursuit 2010: Press-to-drift gameplay is one of my pet peeves in racing games. Guess what this features...
1. Shift 2: The biggest let-down in the franchise ever! This is how you ruin a perfectly functional physics engine with crap calibration. Even though you can Works-convert every non-race car in the game, have the best track list in the history of racing simulations EVER, have great cars from the 60's til the 2010's, night racing, and an improved head camera, this is all RUINED by TERRIBLE default setups and TERRIBLE input lag and TERRIBLE AI drivers that make Irisviel von Einzbern and M.Rossi look like Ayrton Senna. Hands-down it should be the worst NFS. For Shift 2's sake, I hope Slightly Mad fail in delivering a good game with Project CARS.
 
TJ13
I know but true die hard fans would have it as their top game out of all NFS titles.
Click to expand...

And it devolves into a "No True Scottsman" kind of argument.

Full disclosure, I didn't know what to think of Criterion getting the nod, but as I hated Shift, it couldn't be too bad. Both games get a resounding 'meh' from me, but since Carbon or ProStreet, I had been losing faith in BB because as a consumer, my mind goes to the, "What have you done for me lately?" ideal.
 
HP (2010)
HP:2 (ps2)
NFS:underground 2

my other 2 votes would just go to HP(2010), it really was that good. All it needed was a full single player setting/quick race.
 
1) Underground 2 - My favorite NFS because of it's story, open world and fantastic customization.
2) Original Most Wanted - Introduction of cops in an open world, along with a gripping story mode.
3) Underground - Great selection of cars, cinematics and customisation.
4) Carbon - I just loved the autosculpt customisation feature, at the time fantastic visuals and the canyon races.

Unfortunately I never played NFS before Underground, and most of the post Carbon NFS games didn't give me the same buzz that the above games did. I would love them to go back to street racing in modest but tuned street cars rather than drifting £300,000 hypercars around mountain hairpins and 90 degree street corners at 120+mph.
 
1. NFS3: Hot Pursuit
2. NFS Most Wanted (2005)
3. NFS High Stakes
4. NFS Underground 2
5. The Need For Speed

I would say in order it would be NFS3 Hot Pursuit, Most Wanted 2005 and High Stakes. The tracks in Hot Pursuit are excellent, the soundtrack is fantastic and the gameplay was very polished. High Stakes is very good however it suffers from framerate drop. The cars aren't quite as fun to drive either. Not a big fan of Underground 2. The Need For Speed had quite frustrating handling to contend with from the relatively limited amount of time I played it.

NFSMW 2005 has the best car chases out of any game I've played (with the possible exception of Driver).
 
I haven't really played anything except the PS versions of High Stakes and Porsche Unleashed, and the GC and PC version of Hot Pursuit 2. I have played Underground 2, but I don't really care for that game. I also played a bit of Shift; I like it, but I don't entirely "understand" it, and I feel that using a game controller for that game isn't worth it at all... not sure why I feel differently about, say, Gran Turismo.

I really don't like the PC versions of HS and PU, they feel very cheap. I wish I could take the PC version, strip out all the silliness from the Expansion Pack for HS (it's not so simple), then toss in some of the PS versions' styles. And PU is just such a beautiful package normally, incredible... the PC version makes me physically sick, honest. Style is a surprisingly large part of substance, and I've never had an issue with HS or PU's gameplay...

I like HP2 a lot, and I'd really like to try the weird PS2 version if I can find it. Fun fact: the GC version (which the PC and Xbox versions are based on) was actually first, kinda like how all the PS NFS games after the first were released before their PC counterparts.

I've never really sat down to play the first three NFS games, but the first seems really cool and has great music, while III has some nice styling like HS. II also seems like a nice upgrade from the first, but I don't like the styling as much as TNFS or III, the music isn't as fun, and I don't like everything being a supercar... at least the other games have things like Supras and roadsters and whatnot.

The first game is pretty funny with the Warrior and the R390; imagine the X series in an old PS game, basically. But I like the X series, so...
 
I didn't really play NFS games before Underground so as follows:

1. Underground/Underground 2
2. Most Wanted (original)
3. Most Wanted (2012)
4. Carbon
5. Shift
 
My top 5 will be in descending order and based on games I've actually played. Here goes:


5.) NFS: High Stakes
The variety of cars and the action are great in this title. You could race anything from a BMW Z3 to a McLaren F1. Lovely graphics and intense gameplay keep things interesting.

4.) NFS Shift
This is perhaps my favorite of the modern NFS titles. Maybe even the best Need for Speed since "NFS: Underground." I slightly enjoy this SHIFT title more than I do its sequel. The first SHIFT just has a little more to it that makes it better than its sequel, but both SHIFT titles are great titles.

3.) NFS Porsche Unleashed
This is still the best Electronic Arts has done with the Porsche license. The attention to detail and the action are incredible. The simulation-style racing is great. I am especially talking about the PC version of this game. If EA isn't so indulged in Hollywood theatrics and crash-happy racing, they'd refresh this game featuring some of today's Porsches.

2.) The Need for Speed
When I first started learning about cars back around 1998, I remember getting this game on my old 8 MBRAM, 75 MHz Packard Bell computer. I enjoyed the driving experience. Anyone who needs any reasoning as to why to play this game, here are some important elements behind my reasoning. For one thing, The Need for Speed maintains a very important factor when featuring real-world cars: a proper connect between featuring and profiling such cars. All the real-world cars are complimented with everything from stats to video. It also helped me to learn of and love Road and Track Magazine.

1.) NFS2 Special Edition
Even though "The Need for Speed" is a great title, I've had much more fun playing "Need for Speed 2: Special Edition." I still remember in my youth I wanted to buy this game. However, I didn't have the computer specs to play it. Felt like I wasted most of my life until I finally got this game as part of a five-game NFS package for my PC. This game even includes two of my all-time favorite cars- the McLaren F1 and the Ferrari F50. Great music and wild gameplay keep me entertained and glued to this game. One time, I called this the last great NFS. I still think this way as a racing game purist.


Honorable Mentions:
* NFS Pro Street - great ideas, great drag racing, street racing feel cheapens it. MUCH better than Carbon, in my opinion.

* NFS Underground - actually fun despite the illegal street racing.

* NFS3: Hot Pursuit - very fun. I love racing the Atlantica course.

* Shift 2 Unleashed - great game, but bugs dilute the experience.


And that's my list.
 
Only played NFS games since Pro Street (on the Wii). So not as experienced as other but my favourites are.

Shift 1
Hot Pursuit 2010
Most Wanted 2012
 
1. Need For Speed Most Wanted - The PS2 Version, I loved it, I played it for years since it came out, my favourite car is that badass M3. One time my dad got mad because I bought a DB9 and wasted 250K tuning it. Great Progression, great engine sounds, great handling.
2. Need For Speed Undercover - The PS3 Version, Brilliant, not as fun as MW but still great. Amazing Graphics for a 2008 game, great car selection, good story, nice cutscenes (Like in them all up to HP), Much better damage, fun pursuits - Favourite car - BMW M3 E46 with MW Two Tone.
3. Need For Speed Underground 2 - Great fun, gets a bit repetitive after a while, amazing tuning, good car selection. Favourite car - Skyline GT-R
4. Need For Speed Carbon - Amazing, sequel to MW, set at night, better car selection, has a GT3 911, has the Autosculpt from ProStreet. Favourite Car - Lamborghini Gallardo or Skyline GT-R
5. Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 - Great fun, can unlock police cars to chase racers, races are great fun, nicec car selection, fun handling - Favourite Car - Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R Police Car
 
1. Porsche Unleashed - The best NFS that ever was, or ever will be. How about a remake already ffs?
2. Underground
3. Underground 2
4. Shift
5. Pro Street


Jerome
 
1. Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed
2. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2
3. Need for Speed Most Wanted (2005)
4. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (2010)
5. Need for Speed: High Stakes/Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (tie)
 
Porsche Unleashed sounds like a good game since its a few peoples favourite, I've never played it so might search EBay for a copy
 
JASON_ROCKS1998
Porsche Unleashed sounds like a good game since its a few peoples favourite, I've never played it so might search EBay for a copy
Click to expand...

Just a warning; it doesn't run on any OS newer than Windows 2000; it crashes at the end of a race on XP and above.

EDIT: That is assuming you're considering the PC version.
 
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Might as well stick my list in, NFS was my first experience of racing on the Playstation


1. Hot Pursuit 2
2. Carbon
3. Need For Speed
4. Underground 2
5. Porsche Unleashed


HP2 provided me with hours and hours of fun, and the NFS on PS was the best two player cop game I ever played. As a matter of fact every now and then me and my cousin still play it, seeing how quickly we can catch Nemisis, Snake, Bandit, Smoke etc etc.
Durham Road!!!
 
My All-time favourites:

1. High Stakes (PS1)
2. Porsche 2000 (PS1)
3. Underground 2 (PS2)
4. Underground 1 (PS2)
5. Most Wanted (PS2)


They made some amazing games back in the day.
 
jacnob
Just a warning; it doesn't run on any OS newer than Windows 2000; it crashes at the end of a race on XP and above.

EDIT: That is assuming you're considering the PC version.
Click to expand...
If it isn't on PlayStation I am, I'll probably run it in compatibility mode on Win 2000
 
It would be cool if EA did a remake of Porsche Unleashed at get every single Porsche possible into it seeing as they have the licence.

What I really want is a remake of NFS1-SE. Insta Buy!
 
Robin.
It would be cool if EA did a remake of Porsche Unleashed at get every single Porsche possible into it seeing as they have the licence.

What I really want is a remake of NFS1-SE. Insta Buy!
Click to expand...
I never played Porsche Unleashed but it sounds like a good game since a few people have it at number 1. I would love EA to do something good with the Porsche licence as they wont let any other dev have a go at the licence (Apart from Turn 10 in Forza 4's Porsche Pack). Maybe have it like Rivals but take away all the weapons, have only Porsches, add every car Porsche has made, and maybe call it, Need For Speed Porsche Unleashed 85th Anniversary (As Porsche was founded in 1831, 2015-1831 is 84, so release it in 2016), and there you have it, NFS Porsche Unleashed 85th Anniversary. Or maybe come up with a better name than that.
 

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