I’ve always been fairly enthusiastic about the ‘Need for Speed’ series and I’ve eagerly awaited every one of its sequels. The game’s history has been of mixed accord, from the fantastic NFS Underground 1 and 2 to the shoddy, lazy game; NFS Carbon. When Carbon was released, I believe that it completely ruined the quality of the series. That’s why when Electronic Arts announced earlier this year that the NFS series was being taken in a fresh direction, I understandably got excited. So as its release date crept nearer by the day, I was cautiously hoping that Pro Street would return the NFS name into a series that I could love again. So has Need for Speed: Pro Street nailed a podium finish or has it have to retire due to technical failure? There isn’t really a simple answer to that question. That’s because it’s hard to determine what Pro Street is trying to be. For example, unlike previous games of the series, there is no open world, like Underground. Instead, EA have opted for a large scale race event in the desert where there are closed circuit races. This means all the races are legally organized and therefore the street racing element has disappeared. No high speed pursuits this time around. Sadly, one of my favorite parts of previous games, like Most Wanted, was just cruising around the cityscape intentionally getting into trouble for those adrenaline pumping escapes. EA have created a new damage system, boasting realistic damage models and destructible panels. The result is if you crash, which you will, you end up with a car which is about as good to drive as your mother’s Corsa. The fact it’s boasting to be realistic is a dangerous thing; as often you’ll find that hitting a telegraph poll at 200mph will grant only “minor damage,” highly unrepresentative of reality. The final qualm about the damage system is that post-race you’ll have to repair your car, as the game disallows you to drive a damaged vehicle. That means you will have to make sure that your bank balance is healthy enough.  What puzzles me the most is that the NFS games are known for being arcade racers. The idea of a NFS game trying to become more realistic is quite frankly a random choice. Gran Turismo and Forza are known for their realism and nothing will likely chance that. Whether it’s EA (dare I say it) jumping on the ‘next-gen’ realism bandwagon or just a misconceived design choice, it’s a shame. What’s more, to make a game more realistic doesn’t necessarily mean ‘harder AI.’ The AI drivers seem to take advantage of any mistake you make, no matter how little, and as a result the game can be extremely frustrating at times. Pro Street does have varying driving aids that can be all turned on or off; ABS and traction control for example. With them all on its far too easy and it allows you to keep the throttle fully down on any corner but having them off makes it almost too challenging. I can see why the developers have upped the realism levels but the result is far from satisfactory and it’s not going to tear the Forza or GT fans away from their respective games. With the flawed realism factor out of the way, I can talk about what actually makes up the game. The game has the usual events that you’re typically accustomed to from previous games. Races and drag events have been revamped with trendy new features. There are also some small mini-games that have been included to obviously break up the time between races and staring at the main screen. There are some small touches that I particularly like; like when you have to warm up the tires before a drag race. Drag races are probably the biggest (if only) improvement in Pro Street as they consist of a multi-stage format. Instead of racing just once, you partake in four drags and the game takes your best time. For the average gamer (like me) this is a welcome improvement as I often find myself making mistakes and having to hit the restart button. The multi-drag structure removes the need for that as you get another three tries. The main problem with this is that you can be winning the drag session until the AI decides that today is not your day and completely obliterates your time on the last drag. It’s not a random occurrence, and is another example of where increased difficulty on the AI is a lazy design choice.  Graphically the game is a mixed bag. I personally wouldn’t consider them ‘next generation’ because they don’t seem to be pushing the system, whether it is PC, X360 or PS3. The visuals have a distinct feel of ‘seen that, done that.’ They’re not overly pretty, and it seems that the high point are the limited bloom effects and smoke / particle effects. If you pause the game then obviously as a still the game looks decent, and the menu designs are quirky and nice, but when in motion the game really does lack a ‘wow’ factor. My final niggle I have is the fact that you can only have one car to do one style of race. For example, you can only have one car for drifting, one for racing. Obviously this promotes you to try different cars and not stick with one uber vehicle, but a middle point would have been appreciated. If I’m being fastidious, (which I am) this makes no sense. Why would you bring four different cars to a weekend meet? I mean who drives them there for you? There is no crew (like in carbon) and there is no tweaking during a weekend event. You really have to plan ahead before you enter a weekend because if you don’t, you won’t achieve enough points. You’ll end up leaving the even with zero points and even if you have realized you have brought the wrong cars with you, tough cookies. So I guess I’ve come around to my question; does Pro Street make NFS back into a series that I enjoy following. Simple answer: no it doesn’t. The main reason is its muddled design process. Realistically, (excuse my pun) the game isn’t going to draw the realism-craving Forza / GT fans away, but at the same time it’s alienating the fans of the series; the arcade racers. Any fans of NFS are better of sticking with Most Wanted, where kitting up cars and racing the dog’s bollocks off them is well executed. EA better have the next game (which they will) return to the glory days otherwise I feel that the NFS series will be nothing more than an inside joke for gamers for years to come. If you really need a Racing fix this year (before Christmas) then buy PGR 4. If you can hang on, wait till Burnout Paradise is released in January. (Our Hands On with the demo can be found here. Score: 6/10 (Xbox360 Version Reviewed)
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