Need for Speed: ProStreet review (PlayStation 2)

For some reason EA doesn't want to share any PS2 screenshots.

There are several publishers and developers that are notorious for churning out the same old stuff year after year. Each time, the “new” game will have a slightly new title, new front cover and some sort of new feature. EA is guilty of this, although lately things seem to have improved.

Yes, it has a new FIFA, Tiger Woods and several other sports titles out each year. But the last few years have seen EA release an improved version of the previous game. It can also be said that each time a Need for Speed is released, EA tends to try to do something different with it. This sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t. But, the good thing is it is willing to take a risk and release something that it thinks will be a hit. Unfortunately, EA doesn’t always get it right, and Need for Speed: ProStreet is one of these times.

For anyone that hasn’t played a Need for Speed game, firstly where have you been, but secondly, the basics of the game are illegal street racing and trying to avoid being busted by the police … two main features missing from ProStreet.

Straight off the streets

You play as Ryan Cooper throughout the game, coming straight from the streets into legally organised street racing. This immediately takes out one of the best aspects of a NFS game – the cops. Because this is a legal bit of street racing, there is no need for them, and I have to say, it kind of takes some of the fun out of the title.

It’s evident that EA has tried to make a genuine arcade racing game in ProStreet. This might be a bit of a disappointment for fans of the series, after all, it’s the illegal side of racing and cop chases that sets it apart from all the other racing games out there. But now, EA has released NFS as an actual racing game. It has tracks, an actual route and no shortcuts.

Again, something that was a nice part of the NFS series was the ability to take a shortcut. Yes, there was a start and finish line. But how you got there was entirely up to you. Now, you are forced to go around tracks that, to be honest, aren’t particularly challenging and are quite repetitive in each area.

Dominating the field

Well, I say that they’re not challenging, but getting around corners tends to be. For some reason, this arcade racer doesn’t feel like an arcade racer. It is incredibly difficult for you to take a corner at speed. Even with the racing line indicator on, which will suggest the best line and speed to take by changing colour; it just doesn’t seem to help. Racing sims such as Forza and GT just don’t have this issue.

But even with the poor steering, you’ll have no problem winning the races. The object of the game is to start from the very beginning, and work your way through the organised race areas. You may occasionally have to restart a race, but not too often. To move on to the next one, winning races isn’t the only real objective. It’s to dominate them. The number of points you earn in each race depends on how well you did, and how dominant you were in it. Once a certain amount of requirements are met, the next stage is unlocked.

This carries on, with the races getting slightly harder at each event, until you reach the very last event. Like any game, this is the boss. The number one street racer around. Beat him, and you become the best. Whether you actually make it that far is another matter. I don’t say that because it’s difficult to get to the final events, it’s not really. It’s whether you have the patience and a high boredom threshold.

Life’s a drag

There are 4 different race types in the game, with Grip mode, Drift mode and Drag mode the main 3. Grip mode is your standard race, one that you will be doing more than any other.

I have to say I do quite like the drag mode. It’s a short race, but before any racing takes place you have to warm your tyres up. It’s tricky to get it spot on, with a target area for you to hit the revs. I haven’t yet hit 100%, but it’s possible to consistently hit the 75% warmth level.

Eat my dust

Once that little bit of fun is over, it’s time for the serious stuff. The actual drag race is using manual controls. Shifting gears at the right time means more speed. More speed equals a better chance of winning! Using the clutch apparently gives you an added advantage, but as of yet, I haven’t seen what that would be. You also have to be careful at the start of the race. It’s vital to get the car into first at the right time, but do it too early and that’s a false start and a DNF for that round. With 3 rounds, you can’t afford to do that too much!

But after a while they all get a bit boring. They are so repetitive. The tracks aren’t particularly challenging, and quite often a large winning margin can be established, especially if you have a high powered car tuned to perfection.

Looks are everything!

The repetitive nature of the races isn’t the major problem, well, not with the PS2 version of the game anyway. This has to be one of the worst looking games on the PS2 I have ever seen! The frame rate is shocking, making the game very jumpy. It visually looks horrible and wouldn’t look out of place on the PS One! A very poor effort from EA on this front!

But as well as poor visuals, we have to put up with one of the most annoying characters ever created for a video game. The announcer at the street races is horrible. Loud, annoying and again, repetitive. You will more than likely hear the same sentences over and over again; it’s enough to put your controller through the telly. He’s there to give a bit of atmosphere, but again, it’s something that EA fails with.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Fair play to EA for trying something different, and not doing the same thing over and over again with a game franchise. But when you take the main aspect of the game out, you’re always going to have a problem. It’s the equivalent of EA taking the top teams out of next year's FIFA, while also taking out manager mode and replacing it with the academy leagues.

It was always going to be a struggle, but EA didn’t help itself with poor controls, a visually horrendous game and the need for a more varied and challenging racing game. Don’t be too shocked if next years Need for Speed returns to a more traditional route, and if you’ve bought this for someone for Christmas, don’t be offended if it stays in the box more than not!