Need for Speed: Rivals
Developer: Ghost Games
Publisher: EA
Release Date: 22/11/2013
Format: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox360, XboxOne
Need For Speed Rivals has a familiar complexion. Blisteringly chaotic races down verdant country roads, being relentlessly pursued by the boys in black & white, crashing in a spark-flaring symphony of crumpled bodywork, engaging in tech-driven vehicular warfare- this sounds like deliberate déjà vu. Yes, Need For Speed:Rivals is eerily similar to 2010s fantastic rural road-rashing rampage. It comes with great misfortune then, that whilst Rivals is great fun, fast and handles very well- it staggers across the finish line with nary an innovative idea and few event types, giving fans of the series no true reason to think of Rivals as a worthy entry in this established franchise.
Rivals attempts to wield context into its racing gameplay. A Zeitgeist alike exposition, Rivals includes sporadic cutscenes, explaining how racers are being oppressed, conveying how the police is supposed to restore order, but by tackling the delinquency of the racers, they are endangering the lives of others even more so, than solving the problems. The contextual nature of the career doesn’t add anything to the races, but it is an aside, that further elaborates on the distinction between cops and racers.
Your career in Rivals is dichotomised between cops and racers. As racers, you break the law by driving very fast, escape and evade cops, and beat out fellow racers in frantic free for all’s. As a cop, you will hunt down and bust racers, continuously use pursuit tech to your advantage, and shut down all the anarchy through the miles of rural terrain. Each side of the law bring different arsenals to the table, making both parts of your career progression feel distinctive. For example, a racer has access to a turbo boost, which helps disengage you from the onslaught of cops as you continue to arouse their attention, as well as giving you a furious sense of speed. Conversely, the cops have access to spike strips to slow racers down, which can be detached from choppers overhead, or sprung from the back of your enforcement rig, there’s nothing like hearing the screech of racer’s tyres and knowing their end is nigh. The tools available allow for thrilling and chaotic action, which is perfectly suited to Rival’s multiplayer focused open world.
Being constantly online in Rivals is a blessing and a curse. It’s great to see how new developer GHOST Games, have forged a massive open world racer, where times are compared and scores are levelled against your friends. Whilst it’s remarkable that Rivals boasts such impressive online capabilities, there are a few unforgivable blemishes to its world. For instance, you could be in the middle of a hectic race, suddenly your server cuts off, beckoning you to a daunting loading screen, as you wait intently to jump back in. There are a range of technical problems also, such as pop-in, frame-rate slowdowns, and some peculiar instances where AI racers can’t seem to jump a cliff, each falling gracefully in unison over and over and over again. Thankfully, the racing still takes precedent over all the hubbub, and thus is a fun experience.
Publisher: EA
Release Date: 22/11/2013
Format: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox360, XboxOne
Need For Speed Rivals has a familiar complexion. Blisteringly chaotic races down verdant country roads, being relentlessly pursued by the boys in black & white, crashing in a spark-flaring symphony of crumpled bodywork, engaging in tech-driven vehicular warfare- this sounds like deliberate déjà vu. Yes, Need For Speed:Rivals is eerily similar to 2010s fantastic rural road-rashing rampage. It comes with great misfortune then, that whilst Rivals is great fun, fast and handles very well- it staggers across the finish line with nary an innovative idea and few event types, giving fans of the series no true reason to think of Rivals as a worthy entry in this established franchise.
Rivals attempts to wield context into its racing gameplay. A Zeitgeist alike exposition, Rivals includes sporadic cutscenes, explaining how racers are being oppressed, conveying how the police is supposed to restore order, but by tackling the delinquency of the racers, they are endangering the lives of others even more so, than solving the problems. The contextual nature of the career doesn’t add anything to the races, but it is an aside, that further elaborates on the distinction between cops and racers.
Your career in Rivals is dichotomised between cops and racers. As racers, you break the law by driving very fast, escape and evade cops, and beat out fellow racers in frantic free for all’s. As a cop, you will hunt down and bust racers, continuously use pursuit tech to your advantage, and shut down all the anarchy through the miles of rural terrain. Each side of the law bring different arsenals to the table, making both parts of your career progression feel distinctive. For example, a racer has access to a turbo boost, which helps disengage you from the onslaught of cops as you continue to arouse their attention, as well as giving you a furious sense of speed. Conversely, the cops have access to spike strips to slow racers down, which can be detached from choppers overhead, or sprung from the back of your enforcement rig, there’s nothing like hearing the screech of racer’s tyres and knowing their end is nigh. The tools available allow for thrilling and chaotic action, which is perfectly suited to Rival’s multiplayer focused open world.
Being constantly online in Rivals is a blessing and a curse. It’s great to see how new developer GHOST Games, have forged a massive open world racer, where times are compared and scores are levelled against your friends. Whilst it’s remarkable that Rivals boasts such impressive online capabilities, there are a few unforgivable blemishes to its world. For instance, you could be in the middle of a hectic race, suddenly your server cuts off, beckoning you to a daunting loading screen, as you wait intently to jump back in. There are a range of technical problems also, such as pop-in, frame-rate slowdowns, and some peculiar instances where AI racers can’t seem to jump a cliff, each falling gracefully in unison over and over and over again. Thankfully, the racing still takes precedent over all the hubbub, and thus is a fun experience.
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The event types in Rivals allow you to garner both perspectives of the law. Hot Pursuit and Interceptor events in particular, present how Rivals differentiates the dynamics between the two disciplines. Racers are desperately clawing for every metre on the speed dial, and are hell-bent on losing cops. The fuzz on the other hand, are relentlessly pursuing racers, making for unsafe and hazardous chases across the vast countryside. Hot Pursuit was made for the multi-player adrenaline etched thrills, as you either hunt down or race through prescribed courses, being bombarded and battered by pursuit tech; this is doubly chaotic for racers, as they’ll have to shunt each other back and forth for the win, as well as keeping a sharp mind for the cops tailing them. Time trial events are a necessity in Rivals, as you try weaving through unpopulated traffic, and use pure speed to reach the gold medals at the end of the round. You can also challenge roving racers to a head-to-head, making for some serious road-rash infused duelling on the open road.
The simple enjoyment created by participating in high stakes race events is unquestionable, but Rivals doesn’t bring any new ideas to the tapestry laid out from Hot Pursuit. There are few variants of races to participate in throughout your career, all of which have been seen in Hot Pursuit, making Rivals feel old and derivative on new generation hardware. Even the menus look the same, as you ogle at each vehicle you own, only with the absence of commentary being the detractor of déjà vu. In fairness, Rivals is a pastiche of the past few instalments, echoing NFS: The Run’s verdant variety and Most Wanted’s idea of being inspired by another better racing game. Perhaps it’s too harsh to level such critique against a brilliantly playing core, and those who haven’t played other NFS games will appreciate it much more, but it could have provided more for seasoned petrolheads.
The controls flow naturally in Rivals. The sense of speed coheres with the mad rushing sensation permeating the game. Drifting is easy to pull off with the tap of a button, bringing back the arcade smoothness that Most Wanted lacked. Crashes aren’t very impressive, with underwhelming and unconvincing crumpled bodywork, failing to elicit the sense you’re playing an evolutionary racing game; though seeing cars careen out of control is a sight to behold, and wrecking your opponents is immensely satisfying. Tactically using you pursuit tech to weaken your opposition is a necessity, giving levity to the joyous pandemonium of highly competitive multiplayer racing. The new All-Drive feature encompasses the accessibility between playing alone and with friends. A treacle feature, though a necessary welcoming committee for those who like a faultless transition between individual and social racing.
The simple enjoyment created by participating in high stakes race events is unquestionable, but Rivals doesn’t bring any new ideas to the tapestry laid out from Hot Pursuit. There are few variants of races to participate in throughout your career, all of which have been seen in Hot Pursuit, making Rivals feel old and derivative on new generation hardware. Even the menus look the same, as you ogle at each vehicle you own, only with the absence of commentary being the detractor of déjà vu. In fairness, Rivals is a pastiche of the past few instalments, echoing NFS: The Run’s verdant variety and Most Wanted’s idea of being inspired by another better racing game. Perhaps it’s too harsh to level such critique against a brilliantly playing core, and those who haven’t played other NFS games will appreciate it much more, but it could have provided more for seasoned petrolheads.
The controls flow naturally in Rivals. The sense of speed coheres with the mad rushing sensation permeating the game. Drifting is easy to pull off with the tap of a button, bringing back the arcade smoothness that Most Wanted lacked. Crashes aren’t very impressive, with underwhelming and unconvincing crumpled bodywork, failing to elicit the sense you’re playing an evolutionary racing game; though seeing cars careen out of control is a sight to behold, and wrecking your opponents is immensely satisfying. Tactically using you pursuit tech to weaken your opposition is a necessity, giving levity to the joyous pandemonium of highly competitive multiplayer racing. The new All-Drive feature encompasses the accessibility between playing alone and with friends. A treacle feature, though a necessary welcoming committee for those who like a faultless transition between individual and social racing.
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Rivals is undeniably pretty. Redview County is a fantastic setting, in which to show off all the vibrant and charismatic visual elegance it has to offer. The weather system is particularly noticeable this time around, with immersion embedding itself through the slick trails of water as it sprays from the rear of your car. The lighting is also fantastic, giving convincing reflection on next-gen hardware. Though it’s not the prettiest game on the system, Rivals is certainly dressed to impress, and as it’s one of two racing games released for the XBOX One and the only on PS4, it’s a great showpiece to have alongside your now console.
The music in Rivals is forgettable, there’s no 3STM here, only dubstep and electronic beats, which don’t mesh well with such bombastic racing. The voice over the police radio is just as bad, spouting off the same few predictable lines of dialogue again and again. The sound effects are rather nice, the spark shows fluttering from the vehicles in just artistic in a destructive way.
Need For Speed: Rivals is a fully serviceable racing game. It’s fun, fast, beautiful, accessible and a decent first run for a next-gen racer. However, there is no foreshadowing the modicum semblance of ideas at play here. Avid racing game enthusiasts will gawk and besmirch the uninspired event types and ideas, wishing they had more diversity in their next-gen cereal. If it were to produce a splash more imagination and refine itself to be a true evolutionary step-forward for the franchise, we’d be looking at a glimpse into the future. While Rivals does share this glimpse in a few ways, it’ll take more than a rivalry to ignite the hearts of ardent Need For Speed fans.
James Davie 7/10
The music in Rivals is forgettable, there’s no 3STM here, only dubstep and electronic beats, which don’t mesh well with such bombastic racing. The voice over the police radio is just as bad, spouting off the same few predictable lines of dialogue again and again. The sound effects are rather nice, the spark shows fluttering from the vehicles in just artistic in a destructive way.
Need For Speed: Rivals is a fully serviceable racing game. It’s fun, fast, beautiful, accessible and a decent first run for a next-gen racer. However, there is no foreshadowing the modicum semblance of ideas at play here. Avid racing game enthusiasts will gawk and besmirch the uninspired event types and ideas, wishing they had more diversity in their next-gen cereal. If it were to produce a splash more imagination and refine itself to be a true evolutionary step-forward for the franchise, we’d be looking at a glimpse into the future. While Rivals does share this glimpse in a few ways, it’ll take more than a rivalry to ignite the hearts of ardent Need For Speed fans.
James Davie 7/10
