NEED FOR SPEED RETURNS Speed demons
With the release of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit about to roar over the horizon, Criterion creative director Craig Sullivan spoke to Kristan Reed about the studio’s love for the brand and how it is going to break new ground for arcade racing.
What inspired Criterion to create a Need For Speed game in the first instance? We’ve always been fans of the Need for Speedfranchise, ever since the original release on the 3DO. We asked to do a Need For Speedgame and give players Criterion’s take on Need for Speed. We think we’ve created something that a lot of people will find fun and different.
The original Hot Pursuit and 2005’s Most Wanted are generally regarded as the critical high points of the series. Why do you think that is? Everyone has their favourites, the two games you mention being my personal ones. When we think of Need for Speed, we think about the exotic cars, epic drives and intense police chases. Those are the three features that inspired us, so we wanted to bring it back but for the connected generation. This is done through Need for SpeedAutolog, which is a revolutionary suite of connected features that
allows players to connect, compare and compete with their friends.
“ NEED FOR SPEED: A QUICK HISTORY
The Need For Speed August 1994
The 3DO poster child had glossy FMV, glorious dashboard view, and exciting gameplay. Few people played it until it was ported to systems they could afford.
74 October 29th 2010
Need For Speed II March 1997
The long-awaited sequel ditched the realism of the original for a more arcade flavoured approach. In came car-tuning and exotic cars, out went police pursuits.
NFS III: Hot Pursuit March 1998
Having realised that police chases were fun, Hot Pursuitmode came back, and EA Canada delivered an incredible PC version that looked years ahead of its time.
The series has rarely been a hit with the press, but has been successful commercially. Why has the brand has been so resilient? The beauty about Need for Speedis that every year the game provides a different experience. The Need For Speedfranchise provides a big enough umbrella to support different types of experience and this year it’s Criterion’s turn to bring our interpretation to the table.
player, is accessible and highly connected. We think this is a perfect combination for any racing fan. We always aim to make games that anyone can pick up and have fun with. To us that means drifting a million dollar car around a corner laughing your ass off – so that’s where we started.
We always believed playing with friends is the best way to enjoy our games and this is the natural evolution of that.
Craig Sullivan, Criterion
How much of a challenge was it to appeal to the full spectrum of racing fans with the new Hot Pursuit?
Our focus has been on creating a fun, standout Need For Speedexperience that favours the
The Autolog social gaming feature appears to be one of the priorities for the game. Can you tell us more about it? We have always believed that playing with friends is the best way to enjoy our games and this is the natural evolution of that. Autolog not only puts friends and the competition between them at the heart of the game but does it in a way that is seamless. The comparisons are used to drive your game experience and change the way you play. In the wider world everyone is connected through various devices so they will be familiar with Autolog functionality. In simple terms, when my friend beats me, Autolog tells me about it and allows me to respond.
The handling has a very distinctive feel. Was this a deliberate decision? We wanted to make a handling model that was our version of ‘Dream driving’. To us, that means
WHAT’S OUT NEXT WEEK? Release dates and key upcoming titles are listed on p94
NFS: High Stakes March 1999
Plenty of firsts in the 4th NFS, including High Stakes mode, a damage model, as well as a full Career mode, Getaway, and Time Trap modes.
NFS: Hot Pursuit 2 September 2002
The transition to the new generation of consoles brought a change of direction; a street racing style with the in-car view ditched – but critics nodded approvingly.
NFS: Underground November 2003
With the Pimp My Ride generation in full effect, EA embraced the street racing vibe. It didn't go down well with critics, but sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.
www.mcvuk.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112