Back in the glorious 90s, the phrase " Need for Speed» has become synonymous with racing". And although this is not the only successful racing series, so far no one has succeeded in surpassing its popularity (or at least repeating it). Why? Perhaps the answer to this question can be found by analyzing the 10 best parts of Need for Speed.

There are a great many such ratings, polls and TOPs, and, as a rule, they categorically do not coincide with each other. In one stubborn rating that I happened to see, a monster called NFS: Rival flaunted in the first place! So I had to create my own poll, which, we hope, will allow us to judge gaming sympathies relatively objectively.

The coolest NFS games

Street racing? No, have not heard

ProStreet managed to cling to the last car of the departing train with its frail hands and jump to the last step of our rating. Many seasoned NSF fans prefer to spit in disgust when they accidentally meet ProStreet on the street. And all because this game was "not like everyone else": the focus was shifted from street racing to more professional rides on the racetracks. Now the car could be smashed into the trash, and this, to the delight of rivals, seriously reduced its driving performance. Gone are the cops, and with them the free-ride mode in the open world.

Such buzzwords as “traction control” and “abs” appeared in the settings - not every student knew about the possibility of turning them off, as a result of which the entire monitor was splattered with saliva, cursing the disgusting control. In addition, different types of races required the use of different types of machines. All this created a sense of detachment from the series - fans of racing simulators like Colin Mcrae Rally might like this game, but fans of the series were perplexed what had become of their beloved NSF. ProStreet cannot be called a failure, nor a success - it was unusual, sometimes misunderstood, with its pluses and minuses.

9. Need for Speed: The Run (2011)

The guys from EA are not afraid to experiment, and in The Run, players again saw a number of innovations. The NFS has a storyline. Of course, he was present before, but in the "Race" he is put at the forefront - it cannot be ignored. The main character is involved in a mafia showdown and now, in order to part with the mafia friends, he needs to win the race from San Francisco to New York, which involves 50 people and hit a good jackpot. And for the first time in the NSF, this very main character discovered that you can get out of the car! Not in the middle of the race, of course (it's not GTA before us, after all), but during some sharp plot twists, you will have to leave the car and run from the bad guys on your own two, enjoying the action that unfolds behind your back.

All races are part of one large race. Since the journey passes through all of America, a variety of exciting locations are included: rocks, forests and deserts, cities and villages, night and daytime races - for every taste. Therefore, the main plus, in addition to the plot, is the graphics - at the highest level. By cons - despite the variety of locations, races become boring over time and seem to be of the same type. Indeed, with rare exceptions, only the “sprint” and “chase” modes are presented here (although the escape from an avalanche is truly epic, such events are rare in the game). So, like ProStreet, NFS Run has received mixed reviews.

8. Need for Speed: Undercover (2008)

Gaming critics were harsh: Igromania, which had praised ProStreet the year before (8.0), gave NSF "Undercover" a 6, accusing it of all mortal sins. Representatives of another reputable publication, Playground, were in solidarity with their colleagues, giving Undercover a score of 5.9. But, of course, the opinion of some authoritative critics is nothing for us, compared with the point of view of experienced schoolchildren who vote for Undercover. Why did this part fall in love with a certain part of the players and critics did not like it? And which of them to believe?

Let's start with what is most striking: the fleet is taken from ProStreet (new cars can be counted on the fingers), and physics, it seems, has not undergone noticeable changes in a year. The cops were picked up from Most Wanted, after making police chases easier. Like everything else: racing is pretty easy, especially in the first half of the game.

In general, the game leaves a feeling of some unfinished work - as if EA decided to create some kind of Bridge Vonted and Underground 2, but a good idea was ruined by a terrible implementation. Nevertheless, the game has found its fans - it can be recommended to beginners who have just begun their acquaintance with the NFS series. But the rest will be boring.

7. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)

How could the idea to create Most Wanted 2012 even come about? It all started in 2010 when EA changed the development team. Instead of Black Box, which worked from 2000 to 2010 on all parts of the NSF, the Canadians gave work on the racing series to Criterion Games. Their first project was the creation of Hot Pursuit, which we will return to a little later. Probably, a successful debut powerfully covered the developers and they decided to encroach on the sacred - NFS: Most Wanted. With no relationship the same MW to the received game does not have. At all.

Most Wanted 2012 breaks many patterns - even those that shouldn't have been broken at all. For example, the plot is fundamentally absent: the player simply appears in the middle of the city. Who is he, what is he doing here, why is he driving - invent yourself. A bunch of cars are parked all over the city - any of them can be taken for free to participate in races. The passage boils down to defeating 10 racers from the "black list" of the original MW - this is the only reference to the first part. To fight with the leaders of this rating, you need bonus points that are earned in regular races.

The game has nice graphics, good races, there is a multiplayer mode (although there is no police in it), but the strange decisions of the developers bring all good ideas to naught: the lack of a plot and a car for free kill any motivation and interest in passing. And the Most Wanted brand only adds to the disappointment: after all, any gamer, seeing these 2 words, looks forward to seeing something completely different.

6. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)

Hot Pursuit was undoubtedly a success for Electronic Arts: the transfer of the NFS series to Criterion Games allowed the series to be refreshed after not the most successful predecessors. Some of the innovations implemented in Hot Pursuit made it possible to break the applause of critics, who did not skimp on good ratings for this game. What is special about her?

For the first time in a long time, 2 full-fledged campaigns were provided in the game: not only for the street racer, but also on the side of the cops. And we can say with full confidence that never before in the NFS series has so much attention been paid to the game for the police - so in this regard, the new product managed to reach the heights of the legendary NFS 3. And thanks to Autolog, with an Internet connection, the game appeared in all its glory: the multiplayer mode allowed up to 8 people to be involved in a race or chases. At the same time, Autolog allows you to see the results of your friends in order to try to surpass them - the reward for this is not only a sense of satisfaction, but also special bonuses (experience points).

Among the pleasant little things, it is also worth noting the change of day and night - in Hot Pursuit, the sun can go below the horizon right during the race.

5. Need for Speed: Carbon (2007)

Although NFS: Carbon is traditionally rejected by many fans of the series (at least fans of the Underground and MW), this did not prevent him from enlisting relative support from critics - ratings from the same Igromania and other publications allow an average score of 7.5. Yes, and there are also fans of this toy. What did Carbon bribe them with?

The first is a good tuning system, with all the usual bells and whistles that after the Underground were cut down in Vantede Bridge. The second is the nighttime atmosphere of a small town. In general, Carbon has gathered an audience due to a certain similarity with NFS: Underground. Similarities in the good sense of the word - the graphics are really nice: raindrops, a variety of tracks, including a dangerous mountain serpentine - all this is a plus. But it was not without its downsides.

Only the lazy did not spit on the command system. And there is a reason: you don’t have enough crustacean teammates in other games? Great, now they will destroy other people's nerve cells in Need for Speed. In Carbon, you have to race with your own “gang”, which, in theory, should help to get victories. Sounds interesting, but only in theory. In practice, the behavior of partners gives rise to an infinite number of questions, the answer to which may be a disappointing medical diagnosis. And the captures of the districts, obviously taken from the GTA, force several times to go through the same type and too easy to intrigue races.

This is the whole of Carbon: endless unpretentious races are diluted with overly complex and annoying "duels" with bosses on a mountain serpentine. And these extremes, without any middle ground, enrage. From my subjective belfry, going through NFS: Carbon more than once is a punishment. But it will do for once - and it will probably be fun at times.

4. Need for Speed ​​(2015)

Even at the development stage, according to many statements by Electronic Arts, it became clear that they decided to create the best game in the series, designing this event as a restart of the entire NFS line. The new game was supposed to collect all the best that was invented in this genre before it. For this, the project was handed over to a third development team, Ghost Games. The excitement was pumped up, the trailers were intriguing, everyone froze in anticipation ... So what?

As a result, we got a good game, which could not become the "swan song" of Electronic Arts. From the first minutes, everything is fine: excellent graphics and video inserts, like in Undeground, immediately immerse you in the game. But, the first joy passes, and you understand that the plot is painfully predictable: "I came to the city - I decided to conquer the local party." At the same time, it is not clear why everyone is trying to help the main character and who he is in general. And the whole street racing party looks, to put it mildly, ridiculous. A pleasant trifle: the role of the main opponents is played by 5 real, world-famous street racers who starred for this game. But in fact, this does not save the script at all.

I am glad that all cars are initially open - you just need to collect the necessary amount. And fine-tuning, in theory, allows you to make the car behave as you like - either smoothly enter turns, or fly into them on a drift. This is in theory. And in fact, to understand all these settings and determine how changing them will affect the car, you will have to spend a lot of time.

The love of developers for drifting is noticeable to the naked eye - in practice, only by setting the car for drifting, you can more or less cope with it on the road. But even the most ideally tuned and pumped car will not be overlooked by rivals - for balance, the characteristics of opponents' cars are automatically “tightened up”. As a result, most of the game can be easily completed with the "starter" Subaru.

Much attention is paid to visual styling - you can decorate the car as you like. As for bumpers, spoilers, suspensions and other joys of external tuning, the developers decided to add realism and displayed in the game only those details that really exist for a particular model. And if there are no other bumpers for your Nissan IRL, then you cannot change it. Nevertheless, tuning can be confidently attributed to the strengths of this NSF.

What is the result? We have Need for Speed ​​with amazing graphics, but a deserted city, a weak storyline and lazy cops who are dumber than in Most Wanted. Based on the average critic score, the game received a well-deserved 7 out of 10, which is quite fair. A good attempt, which probably became the best in the last decade, but, alas, the new Need for Speed ​​is not able to cause the enthusiasm that Undeground and Most Wanted once managed to cause.

3. Need for Speed: Underground (2003)

It was this game that marked the beginning of an entire era. Against the backdrop of the fast and furious films gaining popularity, the release of NFS: Undeground turned out to be incredibly timely. Night racing, expensive cars and endless tuning successfully combined in one arcade. Naturally, it was not without old-fags, who immediately declared that “the NSF is no longer the same”, “ara-tuning for cattle” and in general, it used to be better.

But in fact, the success of Undeground was well deserved. The tracks were thought out to the details: different areas of the city had their own atmosphere and successfully intertwined with each other. Something similar happened with the proposed game modes: classic races were competently diluted with drift and drag tracks, thanks to which the Underground did not bother. Well, the glorified tuning allowed anyone who fancied himself a street, pardon the word, a racer, to hang stickers, flashlights, spoilers and other irreplaceable attributes on the car as much as you like.

Yes, here it was not even close to realism - there were no policemen in the game, and physics clearly went beyond common sense. But instead of pretentious and expensive supercars, the players had to drive on less "thoroughbred", but cool cars that could be seen on the streets of their city. NFS: Underground was able to give the feeling of unprecedented speed to an entire generation, becoming one of the best arcade racing games of its time. And signature music E Ron Don Don

The main revelation of the second series was an open world where you could freely move between races, looking for new shops with useful gear for tuning along the way. In addition, there are new race modes and the ability to choose a sponsor. The set of available cars has grown significantly - despite the fact that some cars, like jeeps, were absolutely useless in the race and were sold purely “for the soul”. The races themselves have become a little easier - too many nerve cells of gamers were destroyed by the first Undeground at the last levels, they might not have been enough for the second time. However, this simplification did not spoil the game.

1. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)

NFS: Most Wsnted was the pinnacle of NFS evolution. Most Wanted was good at everything: new racing modes (such as radar); the long-awaited return of the cops, surprisingly done right - the chases were balanced, kept in suspense, allowing you to wind around the world for a long time, fighting for your freedom.

The developers, finally, reduced the importance of visual tuning of a car by an order of magnitude: whoever wanted it suffered from it, and everyone else no longer had to try for so many photos on the cover of glamorous magazines, as in the Underground. Also now there is an opportunity to squeeze the car from one of the bosses.

And yes, the white day is finally back, after a series of night cities! The tracks have become more diverse than in the Underground ... in short, the pros and gains can be listed for a long time. The result was logical: Most Wanted confidently took the lead in the top of the best games in the Need For Speed ​​series.

After several unsuccessful experiments with the near future (Black Ops) and the distant future (Infinite Warfare), the flagship series of annual military shooters returned to its roots - to the fronts of World War II. The action of the new game from Activision and Sledgehammer takes place on the Western Front in 1944-1945: the anti-Hitler coalition goes on the counteroffensive, the end of the war is near. But you still have a lot of work to do: for example, the liberation of Paris, the crossing of the Rhine and the actual attack on Berlin.

The campaign traditionally runs for six hours and is most like a dense cut of Hollywood ideas about the war. And it's really great.

Veterans of the series will have to learn a lot again: you can no longer run along the walls, jump from a place onto the roofs of high-rise buildings - too. The weapon, for obvious reasons, is not very high-tech, but this also has advantages: you no longer need to spend half an hour in the menu choosing the right kind of red dot sight with night vision. Let's say more: for the first time in a very long time, self-healing health is absent in Call of Duty! If you get shot, you will have to hide in the bushes and look for a first aid kit, like in the good old days.

However, do not think that you can now learn history from Call of Duty. There is, for example, the legendary zombie mode, which many people like even more than the main campaign: in the company of other living players, you need to shoot hordes of the dead, brought to life by Nazi occultists. Plus, of course, multiplayer battles, in which millions of people around the world traditionally participate for years.

In a word, one of the most important games of the year, do not miss it. However, you can't skip it.

Need for Speed ​​Payback

NfS has been trying to reinvent itself for years, but the output has always been Fast and Furious. Payback features three playable characters, a long storyline about fighting a drug cartel, and an internal currency called Respect. It's a pity, but if not for all this husk, the latest NfS would have made a good street racing simulator: it has excellent physics and an almost perfect sense of speed.

LA Noire Remastered

The first time LA Noire came out six years ago and went unnoticed. Nobody remembered the game for a long time, and the Team Bondi studio was dissolved. A remaster was suddenly announced, and this is a great opportunity to revive a great game. Imagine a GTA in Los Angeles during the Great Depression: shooting and car chases are interspersed naturally with detective work.

Danmaku Unlimited 3

Usually mobile games treat you condescendingly: if something does not work out, they will ask you either for money or a big waste of time. Danmaku Unlimited 3 is not like that: you control a spaceship, around it all the space on the screen is occupied either by enemies or by the bullets they spew. Any collision with them is fatal. You have to move your finger across the screen with incredible speed and accuracy, otherwise death. And that's it.

Star Wars Battlefront II

The main (and only) big Star Wars game of the last few years. Unlike the first Battlefront, which featured only multiplayer battles, the sequel features a big-budget story campaign. There you play as an imperial stormtrooper (female) who takes revenge on the rebels for the death of Darth Vader - a similar approach was in the classic Dark Forces shooter. In addition to ground battles, there are space battles, which are handled by a separate studio. So it's basically a game within a game.

The Inpatient

This is a kind of prequel to the recent thriller Until Dawn, although the games are not connected by plot: The Inpatient events take place 60 years earlier. The action takes place in a madhouse, where you need to communicate with doctors and patients in order to unravel a terrible secret. Let's say carefully that not all interlocutors wish you well and long life. Inpatient in the retelling sounds better than it is actually played, but it is very well done technically. Don't even try to play on a PSVR VR headset if you're planning on falling asleep in the coming week.

Sonic Forces

If you're looking for the ultimate classic platformer with a modern twist, check out the recent Sonic Mania. Forces is an experimental and highly uneven story. There are several types of levels here: some mimic the classics, others pretend to be blockbusters with hypertrophied special effects, others are specially designed for passing together, the fourth are generally intended for hand-picked unique characters. It's all too busy and too trying to please too many to be an interesting game.

Over its long history, Need For Speed ​​has seen both rise to the very top of the charts and fall to the very bottom.

There were also races in fast sports cars and chases with the police and tuning and even cutscenes in the series. The released NFS: Rivals became the 20th anniversary game of the series, unless, of course, counting together with Shift 2 Unleashed, from the name of which, during the development process, they decided to remove the phrase Need: For Speed, apparently, so that suddenly the game would not be mistaken for an arcade game.

Of all the released projects, only NFS: Nitro is exclusive to the Nintendo console, while the rest of the games have always visited the maximum number of platforms. They tried to release v-rally rally races, cunningly invented by Electronic Arts, in America under the heading “Need for Speed”, of course, we will not take into account, and not one normal fan considers these games to be Need For Speed. So here we go, five of the best games in the Need for Speed ​​series.

It was the first part, which was released under 3DO in 1994, and under DOS in 1995, and occupies the fifth line. The first NFS impressed players, of course, with graphics and physics. Before that, we played some Lotus or F1 (Formula 1), in which one group of pixels overtook another. In Need For Speed, there was no doubt, you are in a cool sports car, rushing through a real night city or highway.

Already in the first game, you got to know the classic cars that settled in Need For Speed ​​forever - Lamborghini diablo, dodge viper, Chevrolet corvette, and real videos were shot about each of them in the game. It was also possible to read historical references, see photos of old models, and so on - that is, a real encyclopedia. Need For Speed ​​forever raised the bar for racing games, and after it the dandy no longer rolled in.

On the fourth line is one of the most interesting, unusual and controversial games from the Need For Speed ​​series - Porsche Unleashed. This is the only game in the series where gamers were offered to drive only one brand of car - Porsche, of course. From the very first models of the 50s to the most modern Boxster, at that time, of course. The game came out in 2000. Some gamers hate this game, and some consider it the best Need for Speed ​​​​of all. And in general, the players liked the idea of ​​driving the oldest cars.

In career mode, it is especially interesting to complete races, earn money and slowly buy more and more new models. You can feel the difference when you switch from 356 to 911. And even more unusual and cool was the Factory Driver mode, where the player in the role of a factory driver performed all sorts of technical tasks, drove between cones and even participated in illegal races. Porsche unleashed the unique Need For Speed ​​in fourth place.

Police chases are one of the most interesting and impressive themes in the NFS series. The police were already in the first part, but it was in Hot Pursuit in 1998 that she became the central character. The cops put spikes, barriers, rammed - and when they did catch a gamer, they gave out their phrases like: "Hands behind your head, feet on the hood" - or the classic - "This is the last warning." Owners of the old "pirates" will surely remember this masterpiece voice acting. In 2002, a very good Hot Pursuit 2 appeared.

Well, in third place we have the best Need For Speed ​​​​about the police - Hot Pursuit 2010 from Criterion Games, a remake of the classic Need For Speed ​​\u200b\u200b. You might want to say that the original '98 - the original Hot Pursuit should take this place, but we don't think so at all. The game from Criterion not only reproduced all the best moments of that gameplay, but also added its own features, that is, brought it to a new level - these are, of course, all sorts of attacking gadgets - like emia, spikes, and so on, and of course, a great game mode for a policeman .

Police mode for many gamers has become perhaps more interesting than the racer. An indescribable buzz - when serens howl around, a helicopter is circling overhead, and you ram a street racer and he goes straight into the ditch. Plus, all these gadgets like spikes, emmy, turbo, which can now be used by racers as well. They add beauty and drive to the race. The most beautiful graphics. Accidents look simply stunning, and the tracks are atmospheric and mesmerizing. Hot Pursuit 2010 is impossible to put down and is definitely not only one of the best Need For Speed, but also one of the best races ever. Third place.

And finally, it's time for Underground - in second place of the best Need for Speed. It is difficult to say something new about this game, about it, and so everyone knows everything. Well, which of the gamers did not sit at night at the Underground with phrases like - “well, now I’ll finish the race, change the bumper and definitely sleep.” Underground - he pulled the thinnest, most sensitive threads of our soul - these are girls, tuning, cool cars and nu metal.

Most surprisingly, the game that essentially revived the series' popularity after the not-so-well-received Porsche Unleashed and Hot Pursuit 2 was very easy to develop. Constant night time saved the developers a lot of time. The tracks were repeated, and the cars were very similar to each other, but in the Underground it was different. Gamers got tired of driving Ferraris and McLarens, instead they spent hours screwing on spoilers and painting vinyls on Mitsubishi Lancers or Subaru Imprezas.

And what a great soundtrack it was! Static-X and their immortal hit "The Only", Lostprophets, Rob Zombie, Story of the year, and the same song played on the menu ... Need for Speed: Underground - in second place, with greetings from the time when computer games brought real pleasure.

Here we come to the winner. First place, the best Need for Speed ​​​​of all time - Most Wanted 2005. Why is he so good? Everyone, he is good for absolutely everyone. This game has taken all the best from past games in the Need for Speed ​​series, put it all in one jar, mixed it well, and got a cocktail of 100% fun. Let's remember all those chips in order.

Let's say cars - from simple and beloved from the Underground Toyota Supra and Mazda RX-7 to chic Lamborghini Murcielago and Gallardo. And remember our beautiful BMW in white and blue tones - isn't that the kind of car you still dream of having? And, of course, tuning, styling, a lot of spare parts, vinyls, paints and other things - to make the car in the game truly yours. The gameplay took the most "juices" from the Underground, as well as Hot Pursuit, and everyone's favorite Drug racing - and speed radar races, and, of course, great, phenomenally cool and epic police chases.

All, which, by the way, was the most beautiful and diverse, and so, this whole world was open - please, get away from the chase along your own routes. And remember your favorite circles for avoiding the police and triangles, under which water towers and gas stations were hidden.

Even 2010's Hot Pursuit can't offer the best cop gameplay for a single. Remember those awesome tasks when you had to break through ten barriers, shoot down fifteen police cars, cause damage for a certain amount - the chase could drag on for half an hour, every minute of which was full of drive and tension.

In addition to all this, a great storyline with beautiful cutscenes and powerful characters, all this complemented the picture of joy. And the soundtrack included Static-X, Disturbed, The Prodigy, Bullet For My Valentine, and Avenged Sevenfold. In general, the game is a legend, a game is a masterpiece, a game - which they don't make anymore! Ten out of ten, and the best Need for Speed ​​of all time. First place.