It’s been a while since the Need for Speed franchise peaked and fell in popularity. Back in the early 2000s, Need for Speed was nearing its peak as the series capitalized on the street racing car culture that had become mainstream. This was around the time previous Need for Speed games had eschewed the usual supercars in favor of more tuner cars and car customization in each game. Each game improved the arcade-like driving experience and quickly made it the most popular racing franchise in all of video games.
Now in 2020, one of the more popular Need for Speed games from the franchise’s modern era is getting a remaster. While 2010’s Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was generally well received at the time, the game is a far cry from the titles that made the Need for Speed series huge. Before “Autolog” and all of the modern amenities in recent Need for Speed games, the franchise was in its prime with entries like Need for Speed: Underground and Carbon. After Hot Pursuit Remastered, there’s several more Need for Speed games that deserve a remaster.
Frankly, this particular entry in 2011 gets more of a bad rap than it’s earned since its release. Need for Speed: The Run followed up the soon-to-be remastered Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit from 2010, but it was a significantly different game in comparison. The Run follows in the footsteps of traditional Need for Speed games, as it was the last game developed by EA Black Box before the studio was closed and integrated among other EA studios.
That difference is made immediately apparent, as Need for Speed: The Run is solely a singleplayer story-based entry. While it never quite reaches the highs of Underground or Most Wanted, the game’s story never becomes so absurd to the point where it’s unbearable. The time-trial based gameplay has players racing across a fictional United States for a huge prize, and the main character has an insurmountable debt that can only be paid by winning the race. It’s genuinely fun, if a bit too creatively free, but Need for Speed: The Run is still a fine game in the series that deserves more love.
Being billed as a successor to 2005’s Most Wanted, the story continued into Need for Speed: Carbon. This particular Need for Speed game was interesting because it became more Underground-like, whilst still retaining elements from the previous Most Wanted gameplay. Cop chases became less of a focus in favor of building up a crew of racers to battle rival crews for territory in the city.
Carbon also introduced a number of new gameplay features like building up the player’s crew, recruiting wingmen to race with the plaeyr, Tokyo Drift-style mountain pass racing, and expanded car customization. As a direct sequel to Most Wanted, the story was definitely serviceable, but the racing itself did seem solid balance and difficulty refinements compared to its predecessor. In general, this game would be perfect for a remaster to help fix some of the issues with the canyon boss battles, and potentially adding more focus to cop chases.
Eventually the franchise took a break with Need for Speed: ProStreet, which eschewed the street-racing car culture themes and aesthetic for a more realistic and legal street racing competition like Forza. Players hopped into the now-named protagonist Ryan Cooper, as an up-and-coming racer taking on the best “Kings” in the ProStreet competition. Various races built up points and cash to upgrade cars and race against various opponents, until they take on the Kings in showdown events for superiority.
As much as the story is different, the gameplay is also incredibly different in ProStreet compared to the previous Need for Speed games. While it’s not exactly a simulatory racing game, the handling and performance of cars is much more realistic compared to the arcade-like handling in previous games. This game in particular deserves a remaster, mostly because at the time, it wasn’t as appreciated because of its heel-turn into a more realistic driving experience. Need for Speed was never known for taking a realistic approach to driving, but that’s no reason to knock the franchise for trying and succeeding surprisingly well.
In a similar vein to how Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 were remastered, the two Underground entries could use the same treatment. These two racing titles came out at just the right time, capitalizing on the late 90s/early 2000s tuner culture and bringing Fast & Furious fans into the gaming sphere. Need for Speed: Underground and Underground 2 brought the thrill of arcade-like street racing to an open world setting back in 2004.
While the lack of cop chases might be disappointing to some, the game’s various race types and challenges more than made up for it. Compared to all of its contemporaries trying to cash in on the street racing fad, Need for Speed Underground 1+2 outshone them all both mechanically and visually. Car customization and turning resembled the trendy and absurd car designs that tuners went for, and the racing itself was perfectly fun and challenging for all players. The game certainly shows its age nowadays, which is exactly why a remaster is perfect for both of the Underground games.
While another game from 2012 bears the same name, it’s nothing like 2005’s Need For Speed: Most Wanted. This game is arguably the peak of the Need for Speed franchise, and still remains the highest selling game in the whole series to date. Need for Speed: Most Wanted had everything that made the franchise so special: satisfying arcade-like driving mechanics that didn’t feel to easy or absurd, well-balanced progression in difficulty from both the racers and cops, as well as some of the best police implementation in the series to date.
Everything about this particular Need for Speed trumps every entry before and after it in every way. While some of the driving mechanics nowadays could be considered dated, the handling is still incredibly sharp and satisfying despite its age. Alongside the absurdly on the nose car culture nods and the enticingly silly villains on “the Blacklist,” playing through Most Wanted is the most iconic experience in the Need for Speed series. Among all of these previously listed games in the whole catalogue, none are more deserving of a remaster than Need for Speed: Most Wanted from 2005. 2012’s reboot is a shadow of the game it’s named after.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered releases on November 6, 2020, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. A Nintendo Switch version releases on November 13, 2020.
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