Need for Speed ProStreet

I’ve never called myself a racing fan. For some reason, the sport just does not appeal to me, on television nor in video games. But one section of the wheel-spinning genre always manages to slightly catch my eye every time I find myself investigating the racks at my local game store. Need for Speed always draws me in, stealing my attention with its colorful car paint schemes and its intense street-themed races. The raw power of a finely tuned car is appealing to me, and I have no clue why.

Recently I received a copy of the new PSP game, Need for Speed ProStreet. With an unwavering sense of excitement that I have never felt for a racing game before, I slipped the disc into my PSP and flipped the on switch. The intro screen shows off a sexy sports car, tuned to perfection. I hit start and begin to check out my options in the main menu. I decide to dive right into the game and start a career. Picking my starter car from the initial few choices, we took it straight into the modification menu. Luckily, all of the visual enhancements are free and range from changing the tint of your windows, to changing the size and style of your rims, to altering the color of your car. One unfortunate absence was the ability to truly modify the paint. Instead of being able to layer different colors and create beastly looking murals on the side of your vehicle, the player is limited to one color tone.

There are four different types of cars that can be selected from, and the style of car the player chooses will dictate which races can be challenged at that time. There are muscle cars, tuner cars, sports cars, and super cars. Each type of car has its own perks and downfalls, and the player is forced to adapt accordingly. Tuner and sports cars can take corners at higher speeds, but do not produce quite as much torque or top speed. The muscle cars are raw in power, but do not handle quite as well. The super cars are the high-end war machines that blaze down the straight-ways with blinding speed.

I was also able to modify an item or two on my beginner car in the performance department, assuming I’d need all the help I could get in order to hang tough with the computer-controlled crowd. The options here are also slightly limited, with modifications available to the engine, chassis, handling, induction, and nitrous of your vehicle. Each category has anywhere from three to five upgrades, but you can skip directly to the highest upgrade, if you have the right amount of money. The upgrades do not seem to boost the overall performance of the car too drastically, although at times, I saw extreme changes in the ratings of my speed, handling, and acceleration. This makes me question whether buying a minor upgrade is even necessary in order to get a step ahead of the competition.

Money is obtained as the player wins races. In the beginning of the game, there are three tracks available, and each track has a multitude of different races offered for the player to partake in. Each race states which type of car must be used, what type of goal is required in order to win, and the amount of money the player will win if the goal is completed. There are also points that are awarded for each race called “Driver Intuition” points. These add an interesting factor to each and every race by allowing the player to level up and gain attributes that improve acceleration, as well as providing a line that aids the player by telling them where the best possible driven path is located. There are three driver personas that the gamer can play with, starting with the easiest “Weekend Warrior”, and ending with the notorious “Speed King.” The higher your selected driver persona, the less the driver intuition will help you, but you will also gain more money and points towards your overall level.

After a certain number of races are completed on a track, the next track will be made available, with more difficult corners, faster straight-ways, and tougher competition. Certain races also award the player with new cars for purchase, or actual cars to modify and race with. These new cars are integral to advancing through the game, because certain races can only be performed by using a specific car.

The controls are sketchy at first use, but the player will quickly adapt to them and forget (almost completely) just how difficult the steering can be. I found that using the directional buttons was much easier than using the analog stick, due to the fact that over-correcting my car occurred more often with the analog. I also never had to use the Nitrous system to win a race, which was a bit disappointing.

NFS ProStreet is an overall attractive game with positive and negative aspects visible while playing. The cars themselves look great, especially when driving at top speed with your opponents trailing behind. The atmosphere surrounding the cars also works well, with street racing kicked to the curb, and track racing used as the dominant agenda this time around. As stated before, the cars can be modified visibly, and I found that the metallic paint seems to be the most eye-catching of the three paint styles available. One thing that I did not like much was the slight wind blur that occurred when I was trailing an opponent. This visual aid helped in knowing when I was utilizing the drag from a car in front of me, but the sensation delivered seemed more distracting than beneficial. For some reason, the wind blur effect only appeared during certain types of races, and when it did appear, it did not seem to make much of a difference in my car’s speed.

The soundtrack of NFS ProStreet is quite impressive, with a number of fairly unknown bands making a pronounced stand through your PSP speakers. The game also gives the option of importing your own music into the game, which is a cool little addition that works fairly nicely. Music is always audible during races, although not as prevalent as when in the menu screens. The cars sounds, such as tires squealing and engines roaring are very effective and definitely deliver a sense of power through the speakers. As I progressed through the game and gained access to the super cars, I really truly felt the overall power as I drove them around the tracks.

From a multiplayer aspect, NFS ProStreet is stuffed full of options to get online and get an opponent. The game offers Wi-Fi via Ad Hoc or Infrastructure mode, and the manual even tells gamers what port to open if playing behind a firewall. Races online are exhilarating, and seem to flow nicely in regards to lag or connection speed.

NFS ProStreet seemed slightly repetitive at times, but the game switches the race modes and tracks up enough to stay mildly fresh. Many times I found myself playing the same track in reverse, which requires memorizing the big turns all over again. This adds some to the replay value of the game. The mini-map on the HUD is essential to surviving a race, as I found myself constantly glancing at it when I’d forget where a major turn was located. There is also a career stats screen that allows the player to view your records and game data, as well as adjust the gameplay options.

I found myself constantly and consistently turning back to the tracks of NFS ProStreet, striving to win the next big race or progress to the next championship track. The game is addictive and fun, which is always a huge plus when buying a game for a handheld system. There is replay value within the walls of this game’s tracks, and I can promise that you will be striving just as hard as I have been to complete each and every race possible.

Gameplay: 8.0
The game is addictive, engaging and definitely forces the player to utilize all skills available in order to win each race. Race modes make any repetitive aspects seem like less of an issue.

Graphics: 8.5
Need for Speed ProStreet is easy on the eyes in nearly every way. Minor problems such as the wind blur are dismissed thanks to the beauty of the cars and the surroundings.

Sound: 9.0
Adding your own soundtrack is truly the highlight of NFS ProStreet, but if you lack the ability to do so, the music included is intriguing and fitting for the action on the screen.

Difficulty: Hard
Although the game can be played on an easy level, with the circle button used as a computer aid for the player, the true draw of all racing games is to challenge you. The hard mode of NFS ProStreet is testing to the senses.  

Concept: 8.0
Conceptually, nothing screams out at me as a new, cool addition to the racing genre. Everything seems to be done right, but nothing is done superbly.

Multiplayer: 7.0
EA effectively produced a good video game with competitive aspects abound. Racing games have always been known for the competitiveness, and NFS ProStreet is no exception.  

Overall: 8.5
Need for Speed ProStreet grasped a hold of me and has yet to let go. The game is engaging, competitive, and challenging. Each car is suitable for the game, and every time I unlock a new one, I feel a desperate need to test it out. NFS ProStreet is not without its flaws, but the flaws are minor and the essence of the game shines through.