Need for Speed: ProStreet

Need for Speed: ProStreet
Cover art for Need for Speed: ProStreet
Developer(s)	EA Black Box
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Series	Need for Speed
Platform(s)	Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Mobile
Release	NA: November 14, 2007 EU: November 23, 2007
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Need for Speed: ProStreet is the 11th installment of Electronic Arts' popular racing game series Need for Speed. On May 21, 2007, Electronic Arts published a teaser trailer of ProStreet, and was then officially announced ten days later on May 31, 2007. It was released worldwide in November 2007.

The demo, featuring two races, one speed challenge and one grip race, appeared on Xbox Live on October 26, 2007, on PlayStation Store on November 1, 2007, and on PC on November 2, 2007.

Gameplay

Need for Speed: ProStreet has taken the Need for Speed series in a different direction of gameplay from the previous installments of the series. Unlike them, where racing scenes are set around streets with moving traffic, all racing in ProStreet take place solely on closed tracks, thus making it the first game since Need For Speed II not animating illegal racing behavior, which in turn features no police as a result. Performance tuning feature is enhanced, compared to previous versions, especially Autosculpt. Unlike Carbon, where only certain body kits can be autosculpted, this can now be applied to all body kits, including stock bumpers and wide body kits. Furthermore, every adjustment through autosculpt impacts the cars' aerodynamics.

In ProStreet there are four different game modes: Drag (a race in a drag strip, point to point), Grip (similar to Circuit races but with four different types of Grip races available), Speed (similar to a Sprint race) and Drift.

• Drag race is simply a 1/4-mile drag race, where the fastest time, out of three runs, wins. There are also 1/2 mile drag races, and wheelie competitions.
• In Grip races, there are four different modes (normal Grip, Grip Class, Sector Shootout and Time Attack), the player has a choice to race rough, such as ramming, smashing, or blocking the opponent in order to win the race, or race cleanly and follow the given racing lines.
• Normal Grip races feature 2 to 4 laps around a circuit track with up to 7 other racers. First driver to cross the finish line wins.
• Grip Class races take 8 racers and divide them into two even groups. The racers are placed into the groups based on their vehicles performance potential. Group A starts about 10 seconds ahead of group B, both groups race on the same course but are only competing against the 3 drivers in their group.
• In Time Attack the driver with the fastest overall single lap time wins the event
• In Speed Challenge races, players must cross the finish line first to win the race (in a similar fashion to how a Sprint race works). The courses are normally fairly straight and braking is not usually required, but the races are high risk and the slightest mistake could send you off the track, and most likely out of the race. It is the highest speed type of race.
• In Top Speed Run races, the course is divided into 3-6 sections (just like that of Sector Shootout in Grip races) and at the instance a player crosses a checkpoint their speed is clocked and added to that players score, the player the highest cumulative speed wins(similar to how a Speedtrap race in Carbon and Most Wanted works).
• In drift, players drift to emerge as the driver with the most points scored in the event. Points are scored based on speed, angle, and how long the drift is held intact.

Other than gameplay itself, ProStreet features detailed damage modeling, unlike previous Need for Speed games (except NFS High Stakes and Porsche Unleashed) where damage is relatively little or non-existent altogether. The new damage system introduces more depth of damage (except on the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, where the damage modeling has been scaled down due to the limited processing power, so the damage is similar to the previous two games) where any object in the game world has the potential to inflict cosmetic damage, light damage, or heavy damage on a car, and even has the potential to total a car immediately after impact. Damage must be repaired before tuning or upgrades can be added to a car. Damage can also be repaired before starting a new race or restarting the current race. Damage can be repaired in one of three methods; using cash earned from racing (this is normally used for any damage under $5,000), using a "Repair Marker" that can be purchased for $5,000 before entering a "Race Day" or awarded for winning events, or by using a "Total Marker"(a "Total Marker" is the only method allowed to repair a totalled car, damage cost for a totalled car typical range from $50,000 to upwards of $200,000+) which can be purchased for $10,000 before entering a "Race Day" or awarded for winning an event.

ProStreet features customization of cars. The changes will affect the aerodynamics of the cars, and players can test them in an enclosed chamber called the "Wind Tunnel" (not available in the PlayStation 2 version).

The Speedbreaker does not return for ProStreet (as the game lacks a police presence; the Speedbreaker was mostly intended for police evasion, however it returns for the Nintendo DS version of the game).

Online

This game features an online mode except in the PS2 and Wii versions. However, unlike previous Need for Speed titles, it is much more integrated into the game; as long as a player is connected to the Internet and logged in, his/her in-game progress is recorded for the purpose of online leaderboards. A player's custom-built cars can also be shared online via "blueprints", with the creator being given credit whenever their car setup is used for a leaderboard.

Development

The official title was leaked several months before the official announcement. Soft Club, the Russian distributor of the game, unveiled the name and release date of the game in February 2007. EA had not until the official announcement on May 31, 2007, given any clue about the game's title.

Features

Cars

There are a 55 cars (46 on PS2) from 26 manufacturers in the release edition. Eight of these are supercars.

EA has released a Booster Pack for download to Windows,PlayStation 3,and Xbox 360.With the Booster Pack 2 more cars are made available for free and 14 more for digital purchase. However, with some computing skills it's possible to unlock all 76 cars available without buying neither the Collector's Edition upgrade nor the Booster Pack. A patch that make this procedure much easier has been released by a person under the internet-alias SAAM007 (see external links). Since this procedure only involves modification of the game through hex-editing it's considered completely legal.

Characters

In Prostreet, you play as Ryan Cooper, a former illegal street racer and a newcomer to the legal side of racing. He is seen only in the very beginning, during showdowns, and after defeating a King, however his face is never seen, as he wears a helmet all the time in that footage. He also never speaks.

ProStreet features some girls cast as characters in the game. Krystal Forscutt, a former Big Brother Australia contestant, and Sayoko Ohashi are starting girls.

All three voice actors heard throughout ProStreet's career mode are professional race event announcers: Jarod DeAnda (Big-J/Battle Machine) announces live at all Formula-D drift events; John Hindhaugh (Roger Evans/React Team Sessions) travels around the globe hosting Radio Le Mans, and JBird (J-Mac/Super Promotion) is the official voice of NOPI.

In ProStreet, there are five kings that Ryan must defeat in a set of challenges to become the Street King:

Ryo Watanabe: Ryo is the Showdown King and tries to discourage Ryan Cooper (maybe because he is afraid that Ryan will take his title.) Ryo is the main antagonist in ProStreet, and is the leader of a group called the Apex Glide. The Apex Glide has a variety of drivers, and participate in most of the race days that build up to a King. He drives an Evo X. He is the only King who's body is shown and talks in the game. In order to face him, Ryan must beat the three showdowns in the game, then he will challenge you. Defeat him, and the title of Showdown King will be yours, along with the Grip Car Evo X. (he uses it in every kind of race, but you only get it for Grip racing.)

Ray Kreiger: Ray is the Grip King, and leader of the Grip Runners (GR for short). He drives a BMW M3 E92. In order to challenge him, Ryan must set the track record on ten of the grip races, and then dominate three G Effect Race Days. Ray's face is never shown, and he never speaks in the game. Defeat him, and the BMW will be Cooper's, and he will be crowned the new Grip King.

Karol Monroe: Karol is the Drag King, and leader of the Aftermix group, a Drag Race only group. She drives an '06 Mustang GT. In order to challenge her, Ryan must set the track record on ten drag races, and then dominate 3 Rogue Speed Race Days. She doesn't speak in the game. Defeat her, and the Mustang will by Ryan's, and so will the title of Drag King.

Nate Denver: Nate is the Speed King, and leader of the Boss Cuss Group, a Speed Race only group. Nate drives a 1965 Pontiac GTO. In order to challenge him, like the 2 previous Kings, Ryan must set the track record on ten of the Speed Races, then dominate 3 Nitrocide Race Days. Nate does not speak in the game. Defeat him, and the Pontiac car will be Ryan's to use, and he will be the new Speed King.

Aki Kamura: Aki is the Drift King, and leader of the Touge Union, a Drift only crew. He drives a Mazda RX-7, considered by many to be the best drifting car. In order to challenge him and become the Drift King, Ryan Cooper must set the track record on ten of the drift tracks that he races on. Then he will receive an invitation to go to 3 Noise Bomb Race Days, and if he dominates those three, he will be challenged by Aki. Aki doesn't speak in the game. Defeat him, and the Mazda will be Cooper's, and he will be the Drift King.

Expansions

The Collector's Edition is available at the EA Store for the PC, unlocking 5 more cars and 4 more career race days.

An expansion pack branded by Energizer Lithium is also available. It adds 16 cars (some of which must be purchased) and 2 tracks. .

Customization

The Autosculpt feature, which was first introduced in Carbon, is featured in ProStreet and plays a significant role in terms of car performance. Although there are more parts to autosculpt in the car, the autosculpting method is relatively the same. The hood, roof scoop, front bumper and spoiler can all change how a car performs in a race. Autosculpt can affect everything, from your cars handling to downforce. ProStreet now allows you to modify stock and wide bodykits as well as hoods, roof scoops, wheels, spoilers etc. A new feature called the Windtunnel is introduced on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. It is not available on Wii and PS2 versions. The windtunnel, along with Autosculpt, can help you alter and change your cars performance and look greater than previous versions.

Locations

Many of the races take place on well-known roads. Locations include Chicago (Meigs Field Airport; now disused), Nevada, Europe, Tokyo Docklands (Daikoku Futo parking area), and the Autobahn (A100 Berlin ring road). Also EA makes a clear reference to its NASCAR series by including an oval track known as Texas World Speedway, a real track in Texas used by the SCCA, and also Infineon is available in the NASCAR configuration, called GP Circuit. The game also includes many other real world tracks such as Portland International Raceway and Willow Springs Raceway in the USA, Autopolis and Ebisu in Japan, and Mondello Park in Ireland. The tracks are the same in all versions of ProStreet.

Reception

While NFS ProStreet has been given a rating of 7.0 (good) by Gamespot for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and 6.5 (fair) for Windows, PlayStation 2 and Wii, as well as a 7.0 rating by Game Informer for all platforms; Both reviews have cited the lack of police in the game, the handling of cars being non-similar to their real life counter parts, and the fact that ProStreet strays away from its traditional roots of street racing as reasons for the ratings, as well "an overload of in-game advertising and a higher hardware requirement." The IGN.com review of the PC version seems a bit more realistic as far as the list of complaints goes. The rating was a 6.9 (passable) but it mentioned the common (at least among people who bought and played the game) complaint was that all of the cars had shoddy performance and terribly unrealistic handling. videoGaiden lambasted the game in its 2007 Christmas special, having harshly criticised its predecessors in the previous two years. The main criticism was that the game was as lacking in substance as the previous installments, but also lacked the high production values of those titles.

Controversy

The advertisement of the game has recently come under critical fire for featuring topless models in certain ads. UK promotional material for the game featured in The Sun advertised the game with two topless models. Electronic Arts claims that the ads "slipped through the proper EA approval process." As a result, the ads have been removed.

In some contries the game's minimum requirements had been very crtiticized.

External links

• Official NFS:PS website
• Official NFS franchise website
• SAAM007's tools