The Need for Speed franchise has been around for ages, and it has always been about underground street racing and customising your cars. NFS Most Wanted and NFS Carbon were loyal to this formula and worked for exactly that reason.
Meanwhile, the racing-simulator market has become increasingly competitive with the entrance of Forza Motorsport II on the Xbox 360 and the continuing success of the Gran Turismo franchise. This is why it boggles my mind why the producers at Electronic Arts decided it was time to break the mould and do a moral clean-up of the storyline in Need for Speed: ProStreet.
No longer are you a rogue street racer competing for pink slips or dodging cops and oncoming traffic at speeds in excess of 200km/h. You are now Ryan Cooper, an underground street racer recently gone legal and legitimate, and you compete in formalised racing events with, wait for it, enough in-game advertising to warrant its winning the Gamespot Best of 2007 Dubious Honours category for “most despicable use of in-game advertising”.
It would not surprise me if there was a connection between the new, sanitised storyline and the commercial direction the game has taken.
On the positive side, the game has fantastic graphics and the gameplay finds a fine balance between arcade and simulation racing. The familiar race modes, which now take place on tracks rather than through the back streets of a city, are back with a few tweaks. There is a standard circuit race, a sprint, drag and drift race modes as well as a new sector race mode that requires getting the best time through each sector of a racing circuit.
The vehicle damage and models are superb and the opponent artificial intelligence makes the game very exciting to play, and visually rich.
The verdict
Die-hard Need for Speed fans might have the same issues I had with the storyline but, putting that aside, it is a good racing game that will keep you busy for ages. Comparing it with Forza Motorsport II on the Xbox 360, it’s more fun and offers a more exciting selection of race modes that don’t leave you falling asleep at the wheel.
RATINGS AND DETAILS
Graphics: Excellent
Sound: Mediocre
Gameplay: Good
Value: Good
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Age rating: 3+
Recommended retail price: R499
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, DS, Wii, PC