Need for Speed. Missing in action – the most anticipated games lost in development hell
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Need for Speed is one of the most renown arcade racers. This year marked the 20th anniversary since the release of the first game in the series (at the time called The Need for Speed). Two decades have seen over 20 titles (including the Shift mini-series) and for some time now Electronic Arts has been working on something new, trying to redefine the series’ identity. Need for Speed had its ups (ProStreet was a complete departure from the standards) and downs (Undercover wasn’t that well received by both the critics and the fans) and instances in between (The Run was combining both good and bad elements, and 2010’s highly-reviewed Hot Pursuit was surprisingly boring, for such a good game).
It seemed as if we would be getting new Need for Speed games on a yearly basis. Apparently, the Most Wanted remake and NFS: Rivals, have forced the management to skip the perfect chance to create something amazing to crown the big anniversary. A Need for Speed released on the 20th anniversary would have to be something grand. Meanwhile, 2014 has missed out on a new entry. Is that a good thing? If we were to be given a medicore, unoriginal racer – it’s better to get none at all. The biggest question remains: what do the gamers want?
Looking back, the best changes to the series came in the time of the two Underground spin-off games, and a third one seems to be the most desired. Ghost Games, the studio behind the latest NFS (consisting mostly of former Criterion staff) is currently busy with production of the next game – on their website they claim to be listening to the fans, and crafting a game the audience desires most. That is certainly good news and let’s hope they keep the promise. Even if we don’t get Underground 3, the next release will be something not to miss. A Most Wanted 2(3) or any other variation wouldn’t hurt either.
