Verdict: Need for Speed goes legit and adds a damage model.
The long-running Need for Speed series underwent a revolution four years ago, when it moved into the murky world of illegal street racing. However, after some lacklustre games, the developer has taken this latest edition - Need for Speed: Pro Street - back to legal track racing. However, given that the earlier games' appeal was tearing around downtown city streets, dodging traffic and avoiding the cops, we're not convinced that this is a step in the right direction.
As always, there are a number of different game types - time trials, multicar races, drag sprints and drifting - with each set of challenges becoming progressively more difficult. As you complete each area, you go up against the Showdown King. Beat him and you acquire his car, along with a host of new cars that are unlocked as you progress though the game.
Visually, the game is vastly improved from its predecessor and has more licensed cars than you can shake a gear stick at. However, while the cars look the business, the background environments aren't quite up to the same standard. What's more, the entire game is littered with advertising. This wouldn't be so bad if it was for car parts or motor oil; instead, however, it promotes Energizer batteries and fruit drinks, which doesn't do the game any favours.
Another Need for Speed tradition is the soundtrack; the listing is fairly impressive - there are 27 tracks, including tunes by the Klaxons, Junkie XL and a whole load more (you can listen to them all on the EA website). The music's pretty good, although the developer hasn't managed to recreate the seminal audio of Need for Speed: Underground.
There are also a huge number of engine and body upgrades (many of which can be customised to the nth degree) that have a direct bearing on a car's performance. Better spoilers mean better road handling and so forth, and for the first time, damage is modelled, so you can no longer drive as though you're riding a titanium panzer (albeit a fast one). However, the damage model is pretty simplistic; a collision will incur a drop to your overall vehicle stats, rather than a specific area, so you can crumple your rear end and yet suffer a penalty to your ability to accelerate.
This isn't to say that Need for Speed: Pro Street isn't a good game - it's still fun and you'll find yourself instinctively leaning into turns, and experimenting for hours trying to perfect the ultimate ride. The trouble is, this isn't just some generic racer, it is (or at least, it was) Need for Speed. The whole point of the game - and one that differentiated it from the other games of the genre - was the thrill of illegal driving. Losing that means that it's just another racing game. It's worth a spin, but true petrolheads might find the octane count a little too low.
