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Need for Speed II

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Need for Speed II
Developer(s)EA Canada
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
SeriesNeed for Speed
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
PlayStation
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
PlayStation
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single player
Multiplayer

Need for Speed II, released in Japan as Over Drivin' II, is a 1997 racing video game, developed by Electronic Arts Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It is a part of the Need for Speed series and follows Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed, significantly deviating from the emphasis of realism in The Need for Speed to arcade-like gameplay, though it introduces car tuning. As does its predecessor, Need for Speed II features several exotic cars, and includes tracks set in various parts of the world. The game also opted to remove police pursuits introduced in The Need for Speed.

Gameplay

There are three main game types. The first two are single race and tournament and the last is a knockout race. Single races allow players to become familiar with the circuits and increase their skill of any one of the six tracks. The six tracks are called Mediterranean, Mystic Peaks, Proving Grounds, Outback, North Country, and Pacific Spirit.[1] Cars that are playable from the start include the McLaren F1, Ferrari F50, Ford GT90, Jaguar XJ220, Lotus GT1 and Lotus Espirit V8, Italdesign Cala, and the Isdera Commendatore 112i.[1] A bonus car, the Ford Indigo concept, can be unlocked as well. The game features extensive multi-player options including two to eight players over a LAN, by modem or serial connection and with split-screen racing.[2]

File:Need4speed2screenshot.jpg
One of the towns on the Mystic Peaks track

In a single race the player selects the opposing car, while all cars compete in a tournament and at the start of a knockout race. There is also two playing styles—arcade or simulation. Arcade mode improves handling while simulation mode is intended to provide more realism.[3] The number of laps can be chosen from two, four or six. Automatic or manual transmission as well car paint color are selectable in all game types.

A tournament race involves playing all tracks in order with the starting track able to be selected. Only after successfully completing a tournament in first place can knockout races can be played. Knockout races involve racing two laps over each of the six tracks with a number of opponents. These disqualification races always start on the easiest circuit and continue through each map, with the player who finishes last being eliminated after each race. After advancing through all the tracks another circuit is revealed. Monolithic Studios can then only be played by completing all knockout races first.

Special features

As in the original Need for Speed, the game features detailed specifications, history, and audio commentaries on each vehicle. The largest feature are several full motion video (FMV) segments for each of the cars, several of them being the professional produced videos for the concept vehicles. Additionally, each vehicle interior could be viewed through genuine photographs taken in a 360 degree panoramic view. This marks the last time such extravagant features are to be found in the Need for Speed series as future games render any material completely in 3D.

It is also possible to enter a number of codes at the start menu which if entered correctly, would make a swooshing noise. These codes replaced the chosen car with a vehicle from the games backdrop traffic. These vehicles could then be raced instead and had more realistic performance. Background vehicles included a Volkswagen Beetle, Volkswagen Variant, Mazda MX5, Jeep Comanche, Volkswagen Transporter, Yellow School Bus, Citroën 2CV, Jeep YJ, Toyota Landcruiser, Audi 100 Quattro, two Unimogs, BMW 520i, Mercedes-Benz SL 500, and Volvo 850 R station wagon.You could also drive various parts of the scenery including a large green T-rex, a little wooden kiosk and a western style wagon. The scenery items made no engine noise but would always make a tire screech when moving off the start line.

Development

Need for Speed II was developed by EA Canada. The lead programmer for the game was Laurent Ancessi with Wei Shoong Teh and Brad Gour as senior programmers.[4] To ensure the physics of fast car handling and performance were as accurate as possible the programmers collaborated with the manufactures of each vehicle.[2]

Music

As does its predecessor, the section of music present in Need for Speed II consists of both instrumental "rock" and "techno" music, but with the game's main menu exclusively playing techno music, both featuring a soundtrack by Romolo Di Prisco. The game's racing music are composed in a way that each two musical tracks are best played in specific racing tracks, using specific musical instruments and songs relative to the track's location alongside rock and techno musical instruments. The game also allows the player to enable what is known as "interactive music," which allows the game to play specific breaks when the player is driving along a specific portion of a racing track. The feature is also programmed to react to the player crashing, driving slowly, or leading from a pack of racers.

These traits are short lived in the initial portion of the series, with only its Special Edition and its successor, Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998), reusing these features. Only with the release of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002) were both rock and electronic music featured in the play list again, while interactive music was only reintroduced to a limited extent with the release of Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005), which extensively uses the feature in police pursuits, the music reacting to the heat level the player is currently in, and the player hiding or being arrested. Need for Speed: Carbon (2006) features interactive music additionally in canyon races, reacting to whether the player is in the lead, or if the player wins or rams through a guard rail and falls over the edge of the road.

Reception

Most reviews were favourable although some thought the game wasn't as fun as the first game in the series. A GameSpot reviewer liked the game but felt most of the roads were "outrageous" and that the cars would be unfamiliar to many.[3] An Adrenaline Vault review described the game as a "good overall driving experience" with easy installation, realistic sound effects and both an excellent interface and music.[1] Another review like the crisper graphics, smoother animation, rich colors and increased detail compared to the original.[7]

Criticism of the game stemmed from its being easier to play and therefore less realistic than its predecessor.[8] An IGN review felt the game was not as good as the original.[5] Some reviewers felt the steering was a little "jerky," and one went as far as to describe the graphical details as poor.[5] Another issue was that the game required a fast computer at the time, to display the graphics at the highest setting.[1][8] A reviewer for Computer and Video Games didn't appreciate the combination of super realist cars being driven on fantasy tracks and thought that the crashes "look and feel wrong".[2]

Special Edition

Released on November 6, 1997 in the United States and February 2, 1998 in Japan and Europe, the special edition of NFS II includes one extra track, four extra cars, three bonus cars, a new driving style called "wild", and 3dfx Glide hardware-acceleration support. These new features add up to a substantially improved game.

Because the Voodoo Graphics and the Voodoo Rush were the only 3dfx cards available at the time of the game's release, and because Electronic Arts did not future-proof the game's installer, later 3dfx graphics card models such as the Voodoo 2 are not detected during the NFS II SE installation process (a pop-up will confirm 3dfx detection). Subsequently, the installer doesn't copy from the disk the secondary version of the program with 3D acceleration. This problem is easily solved by manually copying and running the alternate executable file. Glide wrappers are available for non-3DFX graphics cards so that modern computers can run the game with hardware-acceleration. Several Glide wrappers with support for the game are dgvoodoo and Zeckensack's Glide wrapper.

Besides smoothing out the in-game textures, the 3dfx version of the game also features additional visual effects not found in the software version, such as car reflections, weather, improved fog, shading, improved skybox rendering and transparent in-game menu overlay featuring a rotating view around the player's car. These visual enhancements are standard in both the software and hardware accelerated versions of Hot Pursuit, High Stakes, Porsche Unleashed and Hot Pursuit 2.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Shawn Quigley (1997-05-11). "Need for Speed 2 PC review". Adrenaline Vault. NewWorld.com, Inc. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  2. ^ a b c d Duncan McDonald (13 August 2001). "PC Review: Need For Speed 2 Review". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Future Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  3. ^ a b c Tasos Kaiafas (1997-05-15). "Need for Speed II Review for PC". CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  4. ^ a b "Need for Speed II". MobyGames. MobyGames. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  5. ^ a b c "Need for Speed II". IGN.com. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  6. ^ "Need for Speed II for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  7. ^ "The Need for Speed 2 by Electronic Arts. NFS 2 Download and Review". Old Games Collection. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  8. ^ a b Navneet Prakash (2008-03-22). "The Evolution of Need for Speed". techtree.com. UNML. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
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