Need for Speed: Heat

Need for Speed: Heat is a racing game that is the twenty-first installment in the popular Need for Speed series. The title was developed by the Ghost Games studio, which has been responsible for the development of the series since 2011, and had previously delivered productions such as Need for Speed: Rivals, Need for Speed and Need for Speed: Payback.

Plot

Need for Speed: Heat takes place in the Miami-like fictional Palm City, where street races (both legal and illegal) are commonplace. During the game we play the role of a hero, who gradually climbs the career ladder, gaining a reputation and earning more and more money.

Mechanics

In Need for Speed: Heat we have at our disposal a large city with an open structure. The game takes place here on two planes. During the day, we can travel around the metropolis freely, facing specially prepared challenges and looking for collectibles, as well as taking part in legal Speedhunters Showdown races and winning money. As the streets are patrolled by the police, it is important to be careful not to break the law in front of the police. However, even if we fall under the "uniformed" people, they will deal with us quite gently.

The situation changes dramatically after dark (which is triggered manually), when we can try our hand at illegal competitions to increase our reputation and gain unique tuning parts. Then corrupt law enforcement forces take to the streets, and they will have no hesitation in getting their drivers. Depending on how much we get behind their skin, our level of publicity is rising, and not only police cars, but also armoured vehicles and even helicopters are sitting on our tails. Although the game is worth the candle, because the bigger our publicity is, the more reputation points we gain, to make use of the latter you should lose the chase and go to your hiding place (in case of "mishaps" the prizes won will be taken away from us). The latter is not the only easy one, because every car has a life belt, and if we empty it, hitting other vehicles or elements of the environment, we will be immobilized.

The reputation points mentioned above are primarily used to unlock new tuning parts based on the products of real manufacturers, but in order to use them, we also need to spend a certain amount of money on them. The title offers a wide range of possibilities for car personalisation; we can make both optical and mechanical modifications. The list of the former includes a change in the color of the body, lights, tyres or license plates, as well as the installation of spoilers, thresholds and bumpers (or their overlays) or finally the replacement and adjustment of the appearance of rims (among them we will find models modelled on the products of real manufacturers) and the change in the sound of the exhaust. Mechanical tuning mainly involves the replacement of the engine (for the first time in history) of the series. In addition, we are free to replace certain components, adapting the car to the specific type of competition. Even though the driving model is arcade, the differences between the different cars are noticeable; moreover, a drift-ready vehicle will not necessarily work in off-road or cross-country races where the place at the finish line counts. It is worth noting that the personalization also applies to our driver.

As for the cars we buy with the money we earn, we can find on their list both cult classics like Aston Martin DB5 from 1964, Buick GNX (1987), Dodge Charger (1969) or Ferrari Testarossa Coupe (1984), as well as modern vehicles. The latter include not only sports cars that can be found on the road (BMW M4 GTS, Chevrolet Corvette, Honda Civic Type-R, Nissan 370Z), but also supercars (headed by Pagani Huayra BC, McLaren 570S, Lamborghini Huracan or Ferrari LaFerrari).

Game modes

Need for Speed: Heat can be played both alone and in multiplayer mode.

Technical aspects

Need for Speed: Heat has high quality 3D graphics. Particularly noteworthy are the car models designed with attention to detail. In addition, however, you may also like the detailed surroundings and realistic lighting. The fun is accompanied by a soundtrack that warms up the fight for victory.