I don't get it... Why is it that hard to focus on handling and general feel of the game in today's racing games? That should be the main thing. And open world is a must? How about some really well designed tracks like we used to have...
dont wanna be a debbie downer, but... my impressions are not that great.
honestly I'm kind of finding it equally as average as Payback
the handling is a slight improvement, but overall it's still got largely the same issues. They added an option to double tap the throttle instead of brake to drift for drifting, but I'm honestly not sure it's made any difference. If you choose to tune your car to grip, it just feels way too understeer-y, and really highlights how "static" cars feel in Ghost's games - there's no body roll, no suspension, cars just feel planted, boring.
then there's the visuals. Daytime looks shockingly bad in some places. Bad pop in, the sharpening filter is way too aggressive, and just generally... really flat. Night time does look considerably better, but, NFS15 is still way more atmospheric. And the rain looks pretty awful in my opinion, the particles feel like they're taken straight from BF5, except not the rain particles but the snow particles...? They're so damn chunky lol.
And damn, the city feels dead as hell. Traffic is scrace and pedestrians are nowhere to be found. It really sticks out like a sore thumb here because the game doubles down on the city environment. They really should've done something about this, add a few pedestrians in the game like in The Crew who just jump out the way or add enclosed areas like in Forza where the pedestrians are spectating. Would've added so much extra life to the game.
What I do like, is the night concept - the risk/reward system is taken straight from Rivals. It can craete some truly tense moments, I love that. The music fits the setting, though I bet a lot of people are gonna be pissed with the selection. The story/dialogue is suprisingly not as terrible as in Payback. It's still fairly bad, but for a racing it's acceptable, I guess.
The car customziation is still the one area where NFS is simply not challenged. While FH4 and TC2 both added more customization, they are still a far cry from NFS. And Heat's customization seems pretty good from what I've seen - thankfully the GODAWFUL speed card system is gone.
I fucking loathed payback because of the speedcard system, but ignoring that, I thought it was an "okay" arcade racer. Now, Heat is basically that - with a few tweaks (actual free roam cops from the get go) and additions. It's... okay. It's fine. But I don't think it's really "good". The core of the game, which is the actual driving, is still not nearly as good as it needs to be. With NFS 15, Payback and now Heat, I just never feel like I wanna cruise around in the open world, whereas in The crew, Forza, I constantly do. Here, I just wanna do the races, story and then never play again.
I played using the 10 hour trial, not sure if I'll get the full version yet, maybe I'll do just to support Ghost as, despite me being quite crtiical of them, they really are one of the few remaining devs still doing big budget arcade racers.
All the best ones like Hot Pursuit, High Stakes, Porsche Unleashed, Hot Pursuit 2, Underground and Hot Pursuit.All of the best NFS games have been open world, so, yeah I do think it's a must for this sort of game.
All the best ones like Hot Pursuit, High Stakes, Porsche Unleashed, Hot Pursuit 2, Underground and Hot Pursuit.
I swear he said the same thing about Payback.Yeah he talks about it on the Bombcast for a bit. Impressions largely seem to match this thread, that's its "fine" but rather soulless and empty. Didn't understand why they keep doubling down on the formula of this style of NFS. Not realistic enough for the fans to be brought in by the real cars, not fun/action enough for fans of Burnout. Sits in the middle where it won't fully please anyone.
All the best ones like Hot Pursuit, High Stakes, Porsche Unleashed, Hot Pursuit 2, Underground and Hot Pursuit.
I swear he said the same thing about Payback.
Meanwhile, Heat will be on sale for Black Friday so yeah, I'll wait until then.
I completely agree on the handling. When Criterion were in charge of this series the handling was amazing. The 2010 and 2012 NFS games were the only ones I've truly loved. It's been a sad state of affairs since then.I don't get it... Why is it that hard to focus on handling and general feel of the game in today's racing games? That should be the main thing. And open world is a must? How about some really well designed tracks like we used to have...
I remember him bashing Payback. He did say it looked graphically good, which is true.I swear he said the same thing about Payback.
Meanwhile, Heat will be on sale for Black Friday so yeah, I'll wait until then.
How do Cops get you? Is it Burnout style where they just have to knock you out of commission on the road?OK, Cops got me, lost 100K wtf, now I have 2k left
Don't get caught lol
Man, the lag in the handling is not good. Feels like there's a half second delay that It takes for my car to react to my inputs.
Not sure what I expected though, the other two previous games have the same awful delay.
The irony is they only had 8 months to do that game.Rivals was Ghost's first NFS and I don't think they topped it. If fact I think Rivals still looks better than Heat. Ghost should stick with exotic locations instead of an empty city.
There is a difference between favorites and best ones.
There is a difference between favorites and best ones.
I don't like Underground 2 or Most Wanted 2005, but I know they are considered some of the best.
Just reported your post for saying you like Payback.Thanks for setting up this thread, very interested in trial impressions. I downloaded and plan to try tonight.
I like Payback *gasp* so I'm probably an easier target than most. I don't like very open world racers unless there are options to make the experience somewhat linear with quick travel, race lineup/checklists, etc.
Hot Pursuit 2010 IMHO is the best NFS and just a little bit of DNA from that in Rivals makes it special. At least the combat in Rivals was a breath of fresh air.Well Rivals is just Hot Pursuit 2010 but scaled down. So... Sure it had to be decent but it was really nothing special
Agreed on NFS Hot Pursuit 2010. It was an amazing game. I would legit pay $60 for a port of that game to current consoles running at 60fps. One of the best arcade racers I've ever played.Hot Pursuit 2010 IMHO is the best NFS and just a little bit of DNA from that in Rivals makes it special. At least the combat in Rivals was a breath of fresh air.
Now all racers want to be Forza. I welcome the new Grid and its closed in tracks.