It is common news in the mobile industry that Sprint Nextel has been fighting an uphill battle to regain some profit. Over the past few years it have gained a great number of subscribers and has ascended the ranks here in the US as a carrier. Coming from behind to actually having some of the best customer satisfaction is certainly respectable and its support of truly "unlimited" internet and position for internet openness has let it gain a little more support from the community of nerds I identify with.
Unless you've been under a 1900Mhz blocking rock for the past year, you should be aware that AT&T wants to make T-Mobile its own for ever and ever. Naturally, Sprint doesn't like this so much. The mess that the takeover would cause does look bad, but can Sprint, once thought to be the one to take over T-Mobile, make it look like this takeover is bad for everyone? Well they certainly tried. Look at these links tweeted by Sprint today. Looks technical.
But as E3 approaches I'll read just about anything that comes out. These specs look good. I hope they are true. Also, The randomness of the RAM sizes seems very Nintendo indeed.
Need for Speed is a long-standing name in arcade racers. Going back to consoles as old as the PS1, Need for Speed has a reputation, a reputation that has been growing steadily worse since the release of NFS Underground. It’s true that the games to come between then and now weren’t terrible, but they also weren’t really worth remembering. This is the first game to pull need for speed out of its slump in my opinion. Read on to see why.
Gameplay This isn’t a racing sim. Some may be lead to believe this way because the earlier released Need for Speed: Shift was. This is an arcade racer that feels more like a Burnout game than one of the previous NFS games. The controls for the most part are extremely solid. You have five major concerns with the controls, gas, brakes, steering, nitrous, and power-ups. It’s a simple yet robust way to control a car. Drifting is a huge part of this game and it’s easier here than in almost any game.
To drift, simply let off the gas the slam it back on. After doing this, your car’s tail will whip out in the opposite direction to whichever way you’re turning. Use the NO2 on straight shots to hit top speed. Your power ups are mapped to your D-pad. They include, for racers, spike strip, EMP, jammer, and boost. For cops they include spike strip, EMP, road block, and helicopter. Each power has different levels that can be attained by leveling up. Weather and time of day also play a role here. A wet road can lead to hydroplaning the night may lead to many blind corners.
Progression
In this game you level up as a cop and as a racer separately. Completing these levels and unlocking levels can help you upgrade your tools and unlock new cars. The levels are based on points and you get more for performing better in races. There is no real story mode, which is a relief because that kind of ruined past games.
Features As is typical with the soulless assholes at EA, they give you one VIP code with your purchase. This means if you buy it used or borrow it from a friend you get the shaft. If game companies like to charge you 15 bucks to use a game you paid 60 for on more than one Gamertag, then I will openly say they’re an asshole company. Come on EA, everyone hates you unless you are publishing a Valve game. If you get past the horrible atrocity that is the VIP code system, there is an online mode, a store to buy a few megs of cars and vehicle license rights, as well as a single player mode and show-off wall. You can also take a photo of your car mid-race which can lead to some spectacular looking pictures.
Visuals Visually, this game is what I would call stunning. Getting a Bugatti Veyron up to 250mph feels like you are going that speed. The graphics are smooth and are in an excellent high resolution. Some games may look a bit better on the surface such as the Project Gotham Racing series, however when you consider the scale of the game and other things like high poly traffic and changing weather, this game really is quite beautiful.
The cars are definitely beautiful with great lighting and reflections. The destruction on the cars also looks magnificent. One of my favorite things to do was take pictures in a crash. The various depth filters added with speed really give the game a nice look. The whole time though it manages to not look weird like Need for Speed Shift did with the blurriness or too contrasted like the underground series.
Audio What I’ve noticed recently with EA’s big titles is a great focus on Audio. As with a lot of Dice’s games, Criterion manages to make this game sound amazing. There is a nice balance between the music and sound effects. The soundtrack is also quite good. I found myself at some points actually listening to the music, which is more than I can say for the past few racing games, I’ve played.
If you have 5.1 and a nice deep sub, you’ll love the sound this game puts out. Rumbling engines and screeching tires are music to my ears in this one. I’d also like to note that driving in tunnels in this one sounds great too.
Wrap-Up I do follow the CGR formula here so no number scores will be found here. I played this game to death and still want to keep playing. The races don’t ever really feel stale and the only time I don’t like the game is in the Cop races where you can’t hit anything. That is not very Lando. I do feel like this game is worth about $50 if I bought it new. While it’s great and leaves me very satisfied in the genre, there really isn’t much here you can’t get elsewhere. If you love this genre get on board, especially if you are a fan of the older NFS games.
