Need For Speed: World - Review

With the release of their newest title, Need for speed: World, Electronic Arts aims to penetrate the massively multiplayer online (MMO) world of games to provide racing game fans a whole new level of interactivity by creating an online community of racers. Despite these noble intentions, Need for speed: World falls flat in many areas. The game is meant to rake in fans of the series and give them the opportunity to take their skills online and test their mettle against fellow drivers anywhere in the world.

With no story mode whatsoever, the game mainly relies on singe and multiplayer events around the world. However, the inclusion of only two distinct race types circuit and sprint hurts the game in terms of variety as well as innovation. As there are only two types of races to choose from, things get dull pretty quickly; and the repetitive tracks and lng waits in queues don't help matters.

The only otherf option for players to test their racing skills is to go for the Pursuit mode. Ramming into a police cehicle initiates a pursuit, whereby police cars will dogged chase you out. The pursuit mode is pretty much the same as it was in previous games and is nothing to write home about, and while it does provide a pleasurable change of pace, the novelty wears off pretty quickly.

Progression in game involves winning races and successfully evading pursuits, which earn you cash rewards that can be spent on upgrades, paint jobs and new cars, and reputation to advance to the next level. On the plus side, vehicle customisation is actullay quite good and rewarding in terms of fecals and vinyls applications. A few elements do stand out in World, however; one is the inclusion of reward cards, which provide an incentive for completing races and pursuits even if you are losing them. The other is the power up system, which, while not anything along the lines of kart racing fames, manages to make things appealing by providing special abilities such as nitro boosts and stronger collisions while driving.

But still, it's a generally likeable game that newbies as well as gearheads may want to experiment with and with a free to play model in place, it should provide some satisfaction to Need for speed fans who are willing to overlook its bugs and issues.