I've given up on the NFS games · 12:14am Dec 12th, 2017
I just played Need For Speed Payback, thew newest installation for the series - for about 30 seconds. Funny, the only thing fast about the game was how quick I was to judge it as pure garbage - much like the last 5 games. My brother let me try it since it's his game and he is only at the beginning, with a Buick Grand National - which can't keep up with anything. None of the cars he got - even brand new for a new event - couldn't keep up with the AI he was put against. It's sad to know I grew up with this game, loving each one, but NFS Shift is where I feel they shifted down into the quality they put into their games. I no longer like their games, I won't even play my childhood favorites, such as NFSU2 and NFS Hot Pursuit.
Forza is everything the NFS series wishes it was.
When I watched my brother play, I noticed his speedometer read 112 mph when I looked, however, the FOV did not change, to give the feeling you're going faster - it looked as if he were always going the same speed - the number was just going up. Not only that, the cars' unrealistic tendency to slip, slide and skid, made taking turns much slower. Find the line through the turn, brake before, accelerate at the apex. Those are the basics at least. I'd like to think not every single car just drifts naturally. Then again, NFS really never was great at making their gameplay realistic, much less very enjoyable.
Forza Horizon 3 (FH3), however, brings in every single factor. Resistance, weight, inertia, angel of the turn, if the height changes during the turn, where gravity then becomes a factor. Is the anti-roll bar stiffness just right to correctly transfer weight to prevent sliding out of control? Do the wider rear tires supply more stability? These are just a few of the factors which make Forza amazing. Cars don't just drift either. You need the right tires, engine, car, if you vehicle is FWD RWD or AWD? Are your front tires set to the correct camber angle? You can't just stuff 1,000+ hp into any car and beat anything on the track. That's too much power for an average car to handle.
The people of Turn 10 Studios really put their all into making the MOST realistic racing simulators ever for their Forza games - something EA can't do with the NFS series. They've got hundreds of cars, high earnings which allow you to easily afford countless cars before you even finish the game. I'm only 3% into finishing FH3 with over 8 MILLION credits in earnings. They give you alternate ways to earn money - which don't affect career status, unlike NFS, where each decision is critical, allowing exploration to try out any car you fancy - except for ones you need to buy with real money.
That factor isn't much realistic, however, I can understand why they allow this. It's a simulator. What's a simulator if you can't experience many aspects of the game fairly easily? Super cars have come and gone from my garage, from Porsche, Lamborghini, McLaren, Ferrari, to even Koenigsegg.
NFS just allow you such freedom and once you've finished the career...what left is there to do than drive aimlessly around the environment-lacking maps? Need For Speed Hot Pursuit (the newest one) has a more natural setting in the country sides, frozen mountains and open plains and deserts. Need For Speed Rivals was this way too, with little towns scattered and now Need For Speed Payback seems to follow this trend. Not only that, by the name, it seemed to follow the usual theme; having it all at the start but losing everything and needing to start over.
FH3 is this way, too, however, they've not repeated this as far as I know. The Horizon series are for you to explore, gain lots of cash and cars and have fun with it. No limitations, having to be a certain rank or whatever to unlock cars or parts. After just three days of playing I got my hands on a Lamborghini Aventador and I only played for about two hours each of those days. There's very little grinding needed to get what you want.
The PS2 Need For Speed Most Wanted was tight budgeted. You had a choose a car and be lucky it was one that could carry you through the game, or hope you could win a blacklist member's car for free to keep going. Transmission parts were nearly 100k in cost at the higher end of the scale - about as much as just getting a new car - a stock one. But, being an NFS game, you could just stuff 1,000+ hp into a little Mitsubishi and leave those Lambos in the dust.
FH3 also presents a map of immense. The first thing I did in FH3 was see how big the map was. I've been playing for two months, still haven't driven about a quarter of the roads to be driven on. It keeps track of that. Also, around the map are stunts; drift zones, speed zones, speed traps, large jumps, hidden barns with exotic cars to find within them and drivatars of actual players (the AI cars are randomly chosen cars which actual people use) which really surprised me. I raced a Ferrari earlier today, to see it was the Ferrari a clan member of mine drives, just the AI driving it. You can honk at them, group them up and they'll follow. This is called a convoy. You can race these AI for quick cash and exp.
You can't do that in NFS. You can't fine-tune your car, you can't make endless skill chains, where you rank up, get a wheel spin and win up to 100,000 credits, or even a car. You can't get skill points to use for perks to increase how much exp you gain or increase your fund award after a race. Forza Horizon is the flagship of all racing simulators.
Need For Speed is falling behind.
To be honest I find Payback quite interesting. Of course the controls are hard to understand if you have Underground 2 or Most Wanted in mind.
And they made the raced also harder. You get actually challenged by the game. Didn’t happen since Carbon I believe...
Give it at least another try.
P.S: I love the free roam mode. Collecting wrecks, flying through advertise boards and Outrun challenges