Need for Speed Retrospective #11
A series needs to reinvent itself sometimes. After four games in the Underground style, they picked the perfect time for another fresh start. I also think that the shift towards professional racing on closed tracks, being visually and thematically very distinct, was a clever and topical choice. Lastly, a more simulation-heavy gameplay approach should facilitate this setting and style very well.
All of it sounds great on paper. Sadly, the final product turned out to be remarkably dull.
The driving itself doesn't feel too bad, but I can totally see why it gets shunned by both arcade and simulation fans. Being not fast-paced enough for one group and not deep enough for the other, the gameplay basically comes down to following a dotted line on the floor, interrupted by the occasional pointless minigame.
As for the overall look and feel, they were clearly going for a more realistic style. And while they succeeded in some areas (like the sound effects), in others the game ended up far behind the quality of proper racing sims of the time. What we're served here is the complete lack of visual flair, tinged with typical PS3 era "realism" that makes all tracks feel the same. Add to that an insufferable announcer voice constantly blaring non-information and you end up with a game that has almost as little identity as its faceless main character.
With a little more creative direction and a couple of more months of development time, ProStreet easily could have been great, but we were clearly not there yet.
A series needs to reinvent itself sometimes. After four games in the Underground style, they picked the perfect time for another fresh start. I also think that the shift towards professional racing on closed tracks, being visually and thematically very distinct, was a clever and topical choice. Lastly, a more simulation-heavy gameplay approach should facilitate this setting and style very well.
All of it sounds great on paper. Sadly, the final product turned out to be remarkably dull.
The driving itself doesn't feel too bad, but I can totally see why it gets shunned by both arcade and simulation fans. Being not fast-paced enough for one group and not deep enough for the other, the gameplay basically comes down to following a dotted line on the floor, interrupted by the occasional pointless minigame.
As for the overall look and feel, they were clearly going for a more realistic style. And while they succeeded in some areas (like the sound effects), in others the game ended up far behind the quality of proper racing sims of the time. What we're served here is the complete lack of visual flair, tinged with typical PS3 era "realism" that makes all tracks feel the same. Add to that an insufferable announcer voice constantly blaring non-information and you end up with a game that has almost as little identity as its faceless main character.
With a little more creative direction and a couple of more months of development time, ProStreet easily could have been great, but we were clearly not there yet.