[LGR Theme plays]
[fizz, sip]
Aahhh...
[typing]
After EA updated The Need For Speed in the PC version
with extra game modes and other miscellaneous improvements in '95,
EA Canada got to work on the next iteration of the game, and...
it was still The Need For Speed.
Not the sequel people were expecting.
The Need For Speed Special Edition was released for DOS and Windows PCs
in 1996.
This one's very special to me,
as it was the first game I ever bought with my own money.
Actually it was this version, the CD-ROM Classics gold box.
And while it wasn't a full sequel,
it was a vastly improved experience yet again,
and as such is the absolute be-all, end-all
of the Need For Speed titles.
Now sometimes you'll hear people say
that the 3DO version has a better physics model
and sometimes better graphics than the PC or later console ports.
I've played them side-by-side quite a bit
and yes, there is a difference, but I don't see it as being negative
on the later versions,
I just see it as being different.
If you like one or the other, pick it.
Personally, I prefer The Need For Speed SE, and here's why.
Again, the menus are improved
with segmented main and race menus.
Little things like being able to select your race type and such really help.
All of those additions from the PC port of the game are here,
plus several new ones.
There are still no new cars, but there are two new tracks.
Burnt Sienna, a Western American mining town,
and Transtropolis, a dark, industrial city.
You also get various higher-quality sound and graphics improvements,
an in-race map,
as well as time of day selections
for some of the various tracks.
And in the Windows version, you also now had DirectX 2
and TCP/IP multiplayer.
Along with this, you also get the new hidden No Mercy mode.
which makes the game even harder than it was
by turning off opponent catch-up.
Heh.
"Catch-up."
But most importantly, you now have a full in-race soundtrack
and various menu songs, in both techno and rock flavors.
[hard rock music plays]
Dude, where the heck did they find these guys?
Seriously, this music is so radically '90s.
I feel like beating myself over the head
with flannel and dinosaurs every time I hear it.
It's easily one of my favorite NFS soundtracks to this day.
By the time SE was finished,
the 3DO had all but died
and the big new 32-bit consoles had been released:
the Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation.
So in 1996, the console ports of the game were released to each of these systems.
I'm just gonna show the PS1 version here,
since the Saturn and PlayStation games are basically identical.
[swoosh, click]
Once again, the menus have changed
to be more appropriate for a lower-res TV screen and console controls.
Mostly, the content is derived from the first port of The Need For Speed to DOS PCs.
So, you don't have the Special Edition's new tracks,
but thankfully you do have that gnarly soundtrack from Special Edition.
So that's an acceptable trade, I guess.
You also get somewhat improved graphics, at least here and there.
For instance, you have traffic and opponent cars
with varying colors,
although you still can't change your own car color,
and subtle lighting features
like lights projecting on your car in tunnels.
You also have split-screen multiplayer,
which is a first for the series, believe it or not.
But probably the most fun is to be had with the console-exclusive cheat codes.
You can now cheat your way to all sorts of goodies,
like the Warrior Car and Lost Vegas and Rally modes
from the earlier games, of course.
But also new tracks, which are reskins of Rusty Springs,
Oasis Springs, which is more Egyptian than Western American,
and Lunar Springs,
which is on the FREAKIN' MOON!
You also get what is probably the craziest cheat ever:
car-mounted machine guns.
Holy crap, you heard me right.
Twisted Metal-style machine guns.
Although you can't see them,
just honk the horn and you can shoot traffic,
cops and opponents with an endless supply of bullets,
sending them flying in the air.
Awesome.
But the Need For Speed story does not end there.
In Japan, the series also got some love,
known as Over Drivin'.
It was released on both Saturn and PS1 again,
but with some twists.
[swoosh, click]
On the PlayStation, the original game was Over Drivin' DX.
It's the same as the American game,
just translated when needed and such.
And some other small changes, like saying "1 vs. 1"
instead of "head-to-head,"
a couple of renamed tracks,
and, of course, the showcases are in Japanese.
[Japanese narrator]
So really, there's no reason to even consider getting the game
unless you speak Japanese, of course,
or are interested in imports.
However, there is another PS1 game that is entirely different:
Over Drivin' Skyline Memorial.
This one is presented by Nissan
and is almost entirely different.
It uses the same base game engine and setup,
but all of the vehicle content has been changed.
It traces the history of the Nissan Skyline ancestry,
from vintage Datsun cars
all the way up through the R390 Le Mans racer.
Strangely, many cheats from the game have already been activated,
unlocking Rally Mode, Lost Vegas and Oasis Springs from the get-go.
So really, I'm not sure what point there is to beating the game anymore,
since you normally had to unlock these or cheat to get them.
There's no longer a full car showcase for each car,
just videos giving much of the pertinent information
in wonderful Japanese.
[Japanese narrator]
Also, the controls are switched around somewhat.
Everything from the menu controls to the driving are switched around
from the regular American-version game.
During the race it's mostly the same,
except that there is no horn,
no gear shift graphics.
Actually, there's not even any traffic.
And the cars themselves are of noticeably lower quality than the original games.
The handling for each car still does feel unique,
but there is a bit of a problem.
The original game is incredibly balanced,
with each car possibly being able to win the race
if you drive it properly.
But now the cars are of such differing caliber
that unless you're matched up against something very similar,
you're either going to win big or lose big.
There really aren't too many close races.
And with the unforgiving AI,
uh, it becomes a pain really quick.
There are also some very strange, minute changes.
Like the addition of very Japanese sound effects
for every menu selection option,
and new AI names.
Seriously, some of these are just bizarre.
Wh-what?!
The Rake?
Pood?
And... Narf?
These aren't even Japanese names, to my knowledge.
So why did they change them?
Anyways, Skyline Memorial is very much worth checking out
if you're into obscure import titles.
And there's also the same basic game as Skyline Memorial for the Sega Saturn,
Over Drivin' GTR.
There are some small changes and one or two of the cars that are unique to this port,
but it's the same basic thing.
And thus ends the original Need For Speed set of games.
I don't even know how to end this.
The Need For Speed games,
especially the original series here,
is just so classic,
and so very important to gaming today.
Really, at that point, most of the racing games
were either full-on F1 simulation games
or party games like Mario Kart or Micro Machines.
Weird perspectives, not very realistic.
You didn't have anything with real cars
that aren't just Le Mans or Indy racers.
The only games that really came close
was the Test Drive series.
And while it had a lot of the same ideas,
it still wasn't like The Need For Speed
in the respect that it did fully 3D,
arcade-y, simulation-y racing,
with a variety of very unique cars and tracks,
much like you see in a lot of games today.
The Need For Speed was really the first game to get everything right in this way.
True 3D graphics,
great audio,
great commentary,
very good gameplay, very solid racing mechanics,
and several cars with varying degrees of difficulty and power.
Now there still wasn't much to do,
and to be fair, there really wasn't much to do in the Need For Speed games for a long time
as far as unlocking new items or upgrades or anything like that.
And that's fine. It was just about enjoying the cars.
And having fun with a cool racing game.
The Need For Speed is just awesome.
If you don't have one of these, or all of these,
you should scour eBay until you find them.
They are worth it.