Need for Speed The Run

Pros

• Nicely choreographed action sequences provide a unique counterpoint to the present trends in the racing genre
• A huge number of cars to choose from each with their own stats and handling quirks

Cons

• Story mode is poorly written and very short
• Severely lacking in terms of multiplayer modes

Need For Speed: The Run is a racing game that doesn't stress too much over realism, opting instead for the sort of high octane racing experience you'd see on the big screen. It's more the Fast and the Furious than Gran Turismo, but as more racing games move towards creating an authentic experience in terms of everything from vehicle physics to manufacturer branding, it's refreshing to see a racing game that's not afraid to be big, dumb fun. The Need For Speed series has never been about meticulously tuning your hot rod and sorting through a complex assortment of rotors and pistons to make sure that your car is running in peak condition. Instead, it's about the fantasy of cars as portrayed in TV and film. The Run doesn't stray from that formula one bit. If anything, it leans into it.

First off, there's a story here, or at least the sketch of one. After having a run-in with the mob, your last chance at survival means a cross country trip with angry mafioso on your tale. The actual narrative is bare bones and undernourished, but it's really just the dressing for the setting and game systems. The premise allows the developers to create a series of tracks and challenges that cover a diverse array of environments.

Another place where Need For Speed: The Run bucks the trend of modern racing games is in its stubborn insistence upon a linear path. Open world games are the norm in just about every genre, but they're especially appropriate to racing games where the thrill of the open road and the ability to track down shortcuts and secret pathways is often some of the most rewarding opportunities. The Run settles instead for tightly scripted sequences. This means that you'll be given specific numbers of cars you need to pass in every races or checkpoints to overcome. While this can be tedious at points, this approach to racing also brings with it some advantages. By stripping out the open world and the emergent gameplay that have become so standard in this genre, developer Criterion has been able to put together some truly thrilling sequences that replicate the feeling of the sort of big budget action movies the game is trying to emulate. This is the sort of tight and stunning action you'd never be able to achieve in a game like the core Forza series. It also allows for a more forgiving challenge. Your opponents respond to your difficulty, so you rarely have to worry about lapping all your opponents and just cruising through a race or being left in the dust early on and never having a chance to catch up.

Pros

• Nicely choreographed action sequences provide a unique counterpoint to the present trends in the racing genre
• A huge number of cars to choose from each with their own stats and handling quirks

Cons

• Story mode is poorly written and very short
• Severely lacking in terms of multiplayer modes