Review for Need for Speed: Heat. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 08/11/2019
The smell of burnt rubber and gasoline is something I just can't give up, besides the tobacco of the good one. I just arrived in Palm City and already got a speeding ticket. It went well with that cop that I was too hungry not to stop at the diner, otherwise who knows when he would have caught me. It doesn't end there though, the time to let my Dunhill burn some Squadron Leader and I'll be back on the road. It's two in the morning and it's time to make these rookies understand that it's not just a matter of pistons ...
When in doubt ... Hold it down!
Electronic Arts forcefully returns to the screens with Need for Speed Heat, with breathtaking chases and clandestine races. It seems that the software house has decided to spray a little nitrous into the time machine, making us go back to the times of Need For Speed Most Wanted e Need For Speed Hot Pursuit. It's hot in Palm City, a heat that you will not be able to extinguish sitting at the table of your favorite lounge bar, perhaps looking at the sinuous shapes of a stripper who leaves you an ice cube in the drink after passing it on.
This is an adventure for those with heavy feet and a brain seemingly clouded by gasoline vapors. After the classic tutorial race that starts the plot, you will find yourself in the garage of the Rivera family and you will immediately understand how much the Police have been put at the center of this chapter of the Need for Speed saga. It will be here that you will choose your avatar and the first car to participate in the Speedhunters Showdown. The plot packaged by the developers is very intriguing right away and makes you an integral part of the events that have characterized and characterize the Rivera family: Lucas, the brother on the path of redemption and his sister Ana, markedly rebellious and not inclined to submit to the rigid policy of Police in clandestine racing. Their perennial dualism will accompany you throughout history.
Looking at the car park you immediately notice the novelty represented by the cars of prancing Horse, very welcome return to the series. For those who are passionate about vintage models, the Ferrari F40 from 1988 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary of 1989 from Lamborghini Diablo SV from 1995. There is no shortage of Porsche, Aston Martin, muscle car and the cars JDM. The risk of getting bored, it just doesn't seem to exist.
You go downtown… Expect trouble
Right from the start, Need for Speed Heat literally throws you into the fray of its main game mechanic, which is Heat mode. In fact, when the sun goes down, Palm City transforms itself completely. In the dense interplay of lights and shadows, luminous signs and nightlife, the stages of your ascent to the Olympus of the city's clandestine races unfold, a must to get to the upper floors of the Speedhunters Showdown. Participating in night races is not recommended but mandatory, because without the necessary level of reputation, it will be impossible to unlock the upgrades for the car that will be necessary to continue in the plot. In fact, the shops do not sell parts to pilots who do not make a name for themselves and are not known in the world.
It sounds easy, however the Lieutenant Frank Mercer together with his task force, he will do everything to put a spoke in the wheels and put you behind bars along with your dreams of glory. Once the night mode, you decide the number of races to participate in, heading from one part of the city to the other in search of points of interest. Be careful though, running at night, even if it is highly remunerative, will force you to escape from the police, alerted by motorists along the road.
The Heat mode, in addition to making you full of reputation points, also raises the level of danger with which the Police identify you: if at the beginning it will seem relatively easy to escape a chase, as your name becomes known to the task force, will also increase the prowess of vehicles, passing from simple patrols to increasingly powerful machines, armored vehicles and helicopters.
Although the game leads you to risk unscrupulously to break through the reputation multiplier, try to be realistic: if you realize that your car needs performance updates and you have escaped the last chase by a large dose of luck, It is best to reach one of the shelters and end the night mode, collecting the points earned and using them in order to have better parts to mount on the car.
Risking to be captured, makes you lose a large number of reputation points (and money), forcing you to have to do it all over again, also because Need For Speed Heat brings with it a completely new mode for the series: damage. If you are keen observers, to the left of the hud inherent in the speedometer and the NOS fill indicator, there is a bar with two crossed tools that indicate the overall status of your car. Repeated collisions and accidents cause the bar to drop and force you to go to one of the gas stations for repairs. On the third repair over the course of one night, you are forced to end mode and return to day mode.
The artificial intelligence is well calibrated in the Police management algorithm, because during the day the aggression of the agents is kept to a minimum in full compliance with the rules, but when the sun goes down, good corrupt cops will try to stop you following the motto " The end justifies the means". However, this does not mean that during the day mode you can go around and skid in the face of the patrols: in the presence of traffic violations, a chase will start anyway, only that ... You will have nothing to gain. Challenge the police at night, where it counts for reputation.
Garage Inc.
Need For Speed Heat brings with it a sort of return to the past as regards the level of customization of the car. From a purely conceptual point of view, the car is divided into four areas: engine, chassis, transmission and auxiliaries. In the engine area we can work on elements such as theaspiration supercharging and so on, with the new element relating to "swap“, Or rather the complete replacement of the standard engine with a more performing engine from another machine. The area of the frame allows you to work on suspensions, brakes e your shape of urethanewhile working on the broadcast we can adjust the gear ratio, differential or clutch.
The area auxiliary, another novelty of the game, has two further elements, one "active" is one "passive". In the active elements (which can be activated manually by the player) we find, for example, the ability to instantly refill the NOS cylinders or the ability to quickly repair the car, while in the passive ones (always active) we have the ability to do more damage to police cars , or re-inflate the tires after having punctured them on the spike strips. For those who prefer driving bonuses, in the passives we find bonuses to reload the NOS when drifting or jumping.
In principle, this new concept of car processing allows practically infinite customization also based on the use we are going to make of the car.
In fact, there are always four categories: racing, drifting, shooting and off-road. Each car has a propensity to one of the four disciplines, so it is essential first of all to choose the most suitable one and, subsequently, to work on the development and tuning. The advice we give you is to take the time to fully understand the car's processing system, because it is an aspect that represents perhaps the biggest change introduced by the developers within the series.
To give you an example, the NOS can be installed in two variants: a larger single tank and several smaller tanks. The single tank has the advantage of discharging more power to the ground, but to be reused it must be fully recharged.
The smaller tanks discharge less power, but their use is much more flexible because once one is finished you still have the others to use. As you progress through the story, you will soon realize that the difference between a win and a defeat is how much attention and care you put into setting up the vehicle. While Need For Speed Heat is not a simulation title, it tends not to forgive macroscopic errors typically found in a fully arcade driving game. Before thinking about an engine swap, therefore, equip your car with a more performing set of tires: races, even on the road, are won in corners. For the first time in the series Need for Speed, it is possible not only to choose an avatar but also and above all to personalize it with countless accessories such as scarp and clothes, branded by famous and really existing brands.
Graphics and audio
Need For Speed Heat was built around the Frostbite 3 graphics engine, the same one used for the predecessor Need For Speed Payback. The graphics of the cars have increased quite markedly, details such as aerodynamic appendages and details of the graphics are rendered in a better way, as well as the elements of the setting. Palm City inevitably remembers Miami, with its breathtaking views, palm trees and a succession of really well made neon light effects. When we tried this game, we noticed several lags especially during the interludes of the movies and in the most excited phases of the races, unexpected events that we are sure can be corrected with future updates. The soundtracks are really good, with songs typically from movies about illegal races.
Among the artists included in the game's soundtrack we find Pedro Bromfan, known for his role in the Netflix series "Narcos" French Montana, Cardi B and Post Malone "Writing on the Wall" and many others. EA and Ghost Games have made all the songs available on Spotify, Apple Music e Deezer. The sound of the cars is really well cared for, the engines stand out from each other and every modification implemented to the car at the engine level is immediately followed by changes in the sound level. The sound of the exhaust is even customizable by acting on different parameters, in order to be able to adapt it to your taste. For the first time in the Need For Speed series, it is possible not only to choose an avatar but also and above all to personalize it with countless accessories such as shoes and clothes, designed by famous and really existing brands.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer mode of Need For Speed Heat is based entirely on the concept of "crew“, Already perfectly anticipated at the beginning of the story mode. In the beginning, the game automatically places you in a starting crew. Gradually you can build your own crew, with a maximum of 32 members. If you're not interested in being a leader, you can still be part of a crew by getting an invitation from an existing team. The mode on line grants access to additional reputation points, money and quantity of Heat not obtainable only and exclusively with the single player mode. At the time of testing, server stability was good but everything should improve further when the game launches and the number of players is up to speed.
… It seems like a lifetime since I started doing small car jobs in the garage with my father. My childhood memories are steeped in the smell of gasoline, oil and the roar of engines. As much as the police chase me, the feeling given to me by racing and processing is something I will never be able to give up. Those donut eaters will never know what it's like to hold your breath just before starting a new engine, it's like witnessing the first cry of a newborn. The tobacco is running out now, it's time to refill the pipe and change the tires, tonight it went well but better not to play too much with luck.
Need For Speed Heat is a chapter that we absolutely recommend playing. The storyline is electrifying, the fleet is vast, and the customization of the cars is truly incredible. When we tried it, we highlighted some lag and frame rate drop problems which, however, do not affect the gaming experience. The adrenaline flows freely, hand in hand with the narration and the passion transmitted. The Ghost Games narrative team has come up with a really well done storyline, with characters finally characterized and with their own room to maneuver. In every moment of the action and the interludes, one never gets the impression of being "in the background" of the story, but always and in any case an integral part of it, something that has always been lacking in the previous chapters. Turn the keys in the ignition and fasten your seat belt, the streets are waiting for you!
► Need for Speed: Heat is a racing type game developed and published by Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 08/11/2019
