Need for Speed: Most Wanted was one of my favourite games last year and perhaps the best racing game I have played in recent memory. Criterion Games, the developers behind Most Wanted don't return this year as development of Rivals was handed over to Ghost Games. The only similarities between Most Wanted and Rivals is that both games take place in open world environments and feature the Autolog system.
Rivals takes place in a fictional environment called Redview County. Redview County ditches the urban sprawl that was Most Wanted and places a larger emphasis on natural landscapes, from dessert to snow covered hills. Redview County lacks a little of the charm that Most Wanted's world had. In Most Wanted, all of the game's cars were scattered throughout the environment and if you found the car, it was added to your collection. There doesn't seem to be as many easter eggs or hidden gems in Redview County. I would have appreciated it if there were some more urban elements in Rivals.
The game's career resembles Hot Pursuit more than Most Wanted in that you assume the role of both law enforcement and street racers. You can switch between both careers at anytime. When you play as either a cop or racer there are several speed lists per chapter that contain objectives that must be completed. The objectives vary form getting gold in events to using weapons on your opponents to driving at excessive speeds. The objectives themselves don't really change a whole lot from chapter to chapter and can feel repetitive at times.
Rivals has a story that is told through cut scenes between chapters. You dont assume a particular character, but see the narrative told from both the street racers and police officers. As the story escalates the racers become more brazen and a bigger threat to public safety. To counter the threat, the police adopt new tactics and weapons against the racers.
Both the Cops and Racers carry weapons. The Cops have access to spike strips, helicopters, road blocks, and EMP Devices, while the racers can use shockwaves, mines and their own EMPs. The weapons seem fairly balanced, but none of them really stood out to me as "cool."
Where Rivals really takes the Need for Speed series in a new direction is the risk/reward system the game employs. As you complete events and challenges, you earn speed points, which can be used to customize your car, buy new vehicles, purchase performance upgrades and weapons. You can then bank your speed points by driving to a nearby hideout or you can continue playing other events, thus increasing your score multiplier and earn more points. The catch is that if the cops bust you, you lose all of your speed points. On top of that, your car has a limited amount of damage it can take. (Repair shops which replenish your car's health and weapons.) My only complaint about the risk/reward system is that the speed points feel under-utilized in the Cops' Career. The Cops' Career lacks the level of customization you get with the Racers.
The racing itself is tight, fluid and adrenaline-filled. Drifting around curves, weaving through traffic and avoiding a crashed car in the middle of a roadway while fleeing from a police helicopter provides such a great rush. It's moments like these that make Rivals feel like such a great racing experience. Regardless of your past experience with racing games, the controls are fairly easy to pick up and play. The only real skill that may take some time to master is drifting around curves.
The seamless integration of single player with multiplayer is truly impressive. If you are logged into the Playstation Network you can play online with up to six players. The players basically populate the game's environments and as you drive throughout the map you can run into each other and play through the game's modes.
Rivals is a beautiful game and definitely shows off the power of the Playstation 4. One of the most noticeable effects is the constant debris blowing across the highway. Sometimes the debris can feel a bit over the top as Redview County appears to be the windiest place on Earth but it's touches like these that make you appreciate the full beauty of the Frostbite engine that powers the game.
Rivals isn't without its problems though. There were some bugs, most notably during sequences after you crash your car. Sometimes the game has difficulty resetting you car position after a collision and other times I would drive through certain objects in the environment. A few times, cars would also pop up in front of me as I drive through the environment.
Rivals isn't the most deep or balanced racing game around, but what it lacks in charm, it makes up for it by providing an intense and unforgettable experience.
- Sidd Masand
Follow @jokeman23
The Good:
- Gorgeous looking game
- Intense racing experience
- Integrated single player and multiplayer experience
- Risk reward system is a mix of exciting/frustrating
The Bad:
- Career objectives feel repetitive
- Redview County lacks the character that Most Wanted's world had.
- Speed points don't get you much in Cop Career Mode
- Some noticeable bugs
Score: 8.0 / 10
