Need For Speed: Heat by developer Ghost Games is exactly what this brand needed in order to revitalize itself in the Racing Genre. Its fast-paced, visually appealing and a solid addition to any racing fan’s collection. The game itself has its own ups and downs: some victories and some defeats, but overall it is a good platform for the franchise to build off of.
Gameplay & Mechanics
Need For Speed: Heat is NOT Forza by any means nor should they be used to judge one-another. While they both live in the Racing Genre, Forza is a Driving Simulator while Need For Speed is an Arcade Racer. Where Forza creates the most realistic conditions to simulate the feel of real cars on real road conditions, Need For Speed focuses on delivering that escape from real life: Building upon the ordinary and allowing you to experience a fast-paced power fantasy that’ll have you in your own car ready to hit the gas.
But that’s pretty much it. You jump in your car, you hit the gas and you go. In the daytime, you compete in more structured street races, if that even is a thing, to earn cash, which you use to buy parts, cars & cosmetics for the whip. At night, you take part in grittier, riskier races to earn respect, which is used to level up and open newer, better upgrades for your ride. It’s a racing game. It’s not much it does differently from other racing games.
Except one thing.
In Need For Speed Heat, at any point in time, day or night, while you are out on these streets, you are a criminal. If the police happen by you while your doing 50mph or 5mph, the chase is on, and they go HARD! The police chases are definitely the hook that sets this game apart from its competitors and gives you that extra push to get better, faster, more aggressive cars. When the chase begins, the police have one goal: capture you or destroy you: whichever comes first. It’s always a looming sense of dread in every race, especially the night races, that at any point, a police chase can break out and you STILL have to finish your race. One of the most challenging and most accomplishing parts of the cop chases is using it to your advantage. The police chase ALL of the racers, so if you’re jockeying for position with one of the other races, use the cops to your advantage. Even IF you manage to finish the race, however, the cops WILL NOT stop chasing you until you are out of their sight for an extended period of time. There have been times where I’ve won a race, but then lost everything after getting busted by the same cops that helped me win.
In this game, losing to the cops can be punishing. You can make as much money as you want racing in the daytime, but the only way to unlock better parts and better cars is to increase your Rep Score, and the only way to do that is to race at night. Every race you win, awards you Rep, but where it hooks you is the opportunity to earn more faster. Just like the character you play, Need For Speed Heat gives you an opportunity to get what you want fast, and that’s in the form of Heat. Like in Grand Theft Auto’s notoriety system, Need For Speed Heat levels give you multipliers to both the cash carried over from your daytime races to the Rep you earn during the night time. The higher the risk you’re willing to take battling with the police, the higher the reward you reap when you turn back to your garage to end the night. But if you’re busted, everything you’ve worked for is slashed. That $30,000 you made racing during the day. You’ll be lucky if you get half of that to take back home. And your Rep? Forget it.
Need For Speed Heat nailed that Risk/Reward mechanic with the Heat Mechanic. It makes you want to get better and trick out your vehicle so you can take to the streets and not only beat other racers, but snatch huge earnings at the end of the night.
Aesthetics & Sound
When it comes to graphics, Need For Speed does… well enough. The game is about fast cars, and that’s where they put the majority of their attention into. The cars look good. They also have such variety to them that you can probably find the one that you own in real life. I know I did. I tricked my little whip to be the baddest set of wheels on the road with lights, colored tire smoke, some sick rims and you know I had to throw a spoiler on the thing. On top of that, the game gives little challenges that allow you to find and unlock more cosmetics to really put your personality on your car. That, however, is where things start to go downhill.
The game gives you an amazing sense of speed and power when you start breaking 100+mph, but the overall graphics of the game feel… good enough. From the character models to the environmental assets used to create [City Name], Need For Speed Heat gave me a Grand Theft Auto feel, which isn’t a bad thing by any means. It’s just this is a AAA 2019 game that looks like a AAA 2012 game. Also, when you’re driving in this fantasy city, it seems like the only time other cars appear is when they annoyingly stop in the middle of an intersection for no apparent reason other than to get in the way.
Where the game really shines is its audio. The cars sound great but the musical selection was just on point. The playlist this game chose is definitely Shazam worthy. I always say that a good soundtrack immerses you so well you don’t even hear it. A great soundtrack is one that makes you go into the options menu to turn everything else down just so you can hear more of it.
Even with such high praise, I had a few nitpicks with the limited control over when and what you could listen to. I wish the game gave more control to enjoy one of its strongest features.
Summary
Need For Speed Heat is a solid racing game that checks all the boxes. It’s got just enough of a story to motivate the madness. It’s graphics are standard and get the job done. The only real nitpick I have in that category is the sparsity of life. The world feels empty for the most part, and the only time you ever really notice other people aside from the racers is when they’re not getting the F***! Out the way! Still, the game really makes up for these small nitpicks with a banging soundtrack and the awesome Heat mechanic. Honestly, if it wasn’t for this, I don’t think I would have kept playing.
After everything is said and done, I feel like this game was a good and simple entry for the franchise. It did everything a racing game is supposed to do and found a few small things to stand out. I think there’s something to enjoy here and hope to see some improvement in the form of another installment. I’m giving Need For Speed Heat a 7/10
Check Out the Need for Speed Heat Trailer:
Need for Speed Heat is available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. The game offers players the ability to customize and upgrade a roster of over 120 cars, including the video game debut of the hybrid-electric performance car, Polestar 1. To check out the NFS Studio app today, visit the App Store and Google Play.
PlayStation 4 Review
As the (self-proclaimed) King of Casuals, I'm always seeking out new titles to play and experience across all platforms. Eventually, I have ambitions to take the many different styles of this medium to create titles that will wow the masses in fresh, innovative ways.
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