Genre: Racing / Driving, Simulation
Perspective: 1st-person, Behind view
Gameplay: Arcade, Vehicle Simulator
Vehicular: Automobile, Street Racing
Published by: Electronic Arts
Developed by: EA Seattle, Electronic Arts Canada
Released: 1999
Platform: PlayStation (PSX, PS1)
The first question is Need for Speed 4 or what? Given that in due time under the emblem of NFS came out other games (in America, the game V-Rally was called NFS V-Rally), you could have suspected something. However, there are no swindles on the part of Electronic Arts. This is a full-fledged game of the series. Fourth in a row. It begins, by the way, somewhat unusual. Remember, always in the intro were the frames of the live video? Not now. There are computer models, no, you understand, realism, although very lively. We look further. Music is now not what you could have heard before, but fashionable tracks of advanced bands. Move to the game modes. Here, as expected, offer single and pair races, the famous Hot Pursuit and Tournament. It would seem that nothing has changed since the time of NFS3, but it is only outwardly. The main surprise lies just in the tournaments, but about this a little later. In the meantime, I decided to look at the cars. Beauty is what! No wonder the Canadian guys get their Canadian bucks, they honestly work it out. Models are better than here, I, who saw much, did not meet anywhere. Gran Turismo is resting. The glasses are transparent, the instrument panel is visible inside. Glare there under the full program. Inside, during the race, a square man sits, taxis. In short, as they write in the ads - "all the bells and whistles." The cars themselves are mostly known by NFS3, only prototypes have fallen out, for which no one will cry. But they added BMW, Pontiac, Porsche. Of the steep there are Mercedes CLK-GTR and McLaren F1, which even ordinary bourgeois millionaires can not afford.
After admiring all these games, I went to Tournament and found a brutal base there! For what? Why did they deprive us of free pleasures? Now, guys, I'll have to work hard. Now even the most primitive Lamborghini Diablo costs insane money. Which, incidentally, the meager authors poured the most miserable to enough for a modest, by local standards, a Mercedes or BMW coupe, for more is not enough. The freebie is over. Where the freebie ends, hard work begins. I win the first tournament of three races, I earn for it a little more money. They need to be immediately downgraded to a full upgrade of the existing car to win this tournament easily and without problems a couple more times. Upgrade is done in three positions and the machine as a result changes appearance. It's not that the "Moskvich" suddenly turned out from Mers, but the improvements are visible. Wings there, gold discs, landing lower, a sports band in the middle of the hood.
So, the prize money from the won two or three times the first tournament is added up, we sell Mers and we get the amount just enough to take a new, completely heaped machine for the next tournament (already from four races). This is necessary in order to easily win this tournament a couple of times and move on. Each tournament opens one track, which, according to estimates, is not less than ten. Cars, note, you can not sell and collect in a virtual garage and proudly show off to friends and acquaintances. In general, the whole system from Gran Turismo is borrowed, and it is good, therefore as it is correct. The habit of counting money should be developed from childhood. Yes, I almost forgot. Money, as expected, is easily spent. First of all for repairs. Someone, I see, already rubbing his hands, dreaming of flapping the "zero" Ferrari? Break it, friend! After the most incredible somersault, you can only scratch the body or break the headlight. It is externally. But after arriving at the finish line, greedy for other people's income mechanics will bill you, which, with a lot of luck, will even receive more prize money. So lovers of clinging fences are sent to the driver training courses. After winning all the tournaments you get a decent car fleet and start the favorite business of all the rich idlers, namely, rave with fat. Here, this fascinating process is called High Stakes. The meaning is simple and clear - the winner selects the machine of the loser. This is how you can find a different exclusivity, such as a dragster with huge rear wheels.
It seems that everything is clear from the tournaments. We work hard and buy sports cars. As for Hot Pursuit, by and large this regime has not undergone any significant changes. Unless the blocks are now more impressive, but the police recruited themselves Porsche, Diablo and BMW. Ay! Show me a country where the general well-being has reached such a level that the police cuts through Diablo? I do not know what else to add, except that I note the fact that one of the demos clearly shows a helicopter flying into the tunnel, a la Mission Impossible. Now, I think, it's time to get the key out of the ignition and look around, to appreciate the beauty of the racing tracks. There will be no shock. Nothing supernatural. Given that we have an engine from NFS 3, it should be so. All, of course, extremely neat, beautiful, mostly like Hometown. Trails now on the abstract, and almost real, then you have Italy, Canada, the United States, France and Germany. The graphic corresponds to the geographical position. In Germany, along the road are Swabian houses, in France you can admire the surrounding castles, and Canada is pleased with the harsh beauty of the autumn reserve. There, by the way along the road a steam locomotive with a handful of cars drives. Exotics ... That's all. It's time to round off and draw conclusions. The conclusion is that the game was a success. The game, however, does not suffer from originality, but in exact proportions it combines the most successful finds from previous series and other games. A few disappoints with the poor implementation of the damage, but steps in this area are still made, which can not but rejoice.