We Still Have The Need, The Need For Speed

Before Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and co. had us all going gaga over fast cars by the Fast and Furious series, the world was already hooked on to racing on the streets and burning rubber, everybody had the need, the Need for Speed.
The NFS franchise is just like a TV remote in an Indian household, you know its old, but you still expect it to work (AND it reminds you of the good ol’ days). And just like the remote, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Then you curse and go ‘Work dammit!’. That is the level of affection and passion we all have collectively for the the NFS series.
The NFS series has come a long way from the pixelated graphics of NFS 2, to the thrilling Porche Unleashed, to the ground-breaking Underground and finally earning its stripes through NFS: Most Wanted. EA lost the plot a little after that with lacklustre installments like ProStreet and Shift among others. All racers heaved a sigh of relief when Criterion Games (Burnout) came on board to make Hot Pursuit.
With no new offering for over a year, NFS returns with a reboot. The new game, titled only ‘Need for Speed’ (sans any subtitle!) ‘delivers on what Need for Speed stands for – rich customization, authentic urban car culture, a nocturnal open world, and an immersive narrative that drives your NFS game’ according to developer Ghost Games says on its website.
The website also states that ‘car culture community, Speedhunters has helped deliver a NFS experience that is grounded in authentic car culture by diving into the world of past, present and emergent trends of the urban car scene’.
With just a teaser trailer and some screenshots released so far, one is immediately reminded of the nocturnal, illegal street racing of the iconic NFS: Underground edition.
One thing is for sure, the options for awesome racing games is a diverse one (Burnout, Grid, Dirt), and if the development team at EA decided to ‘rest’ the series for 2014, in order to establish exactly what fans want from an NFS game, this better be a great game or the franchise faces the prospect of becoming a legendary has been. Come on EA, we are rooting for you.
Need for Speed is slated to hit the stores this Fall, 2015.
You can watch the teaser here and the video for its quick history for the Need for Speed over here.
This article was contributed by Mr. Amar Parulekar.