As a car enthusiast, I had to have a Need for Speed game in my collection. So when I found it on sale at a store, I said "why not? After all, it's the newest one." I also have Forza Horizon 4, so I will compare these two games since they are both in the same category of racing games.
The good things about the game:
- First of all, Need for Speed is great for its perfect customization. It has so many options for each car, purely in terms of appearance, that you can make it exactly how you want. Something that Forza unfortunately lacks.
- The story is very nice. You start from the bottom as a rookie and strive to become the best street racer while dealing with the police. It doesn't give you everything from the beginning, and you have to work to unlock parts and cars, which is not necessary in Forza because everything is already unlocked, you just need credits. And Forza lacks in terms of story as well.
- The graphics are pretty good, it looks really nice on the screen.
- The sounds are very realistic most of the time, except for the backfire which for some reason all cars have. Take notes, Forza.
- It is one of the few cross-platform games for now, and that is very convenient for me because I can play with my friends who have a PS4.
The bad things about the game:
- The handling of the cars is the most arcade-like thing ever, after Mario Kart. For many people, this is not an issue, but for me, being a big fan of driving, it is a huge downside. Especially when you see the clearly more realistic handling in Forza.
- Need for Speed Heat has around 150 cars, I don't know the exact number. Forza Horizon 4 has 400+ cars and they were adding more until about 2 weeks ago. So it's clear which game offers more variety.
- The customization may be good, but the mechanical aspect is not good at all. It may be the first Need for Speed game with engine swaps, but it doesn't come close to the level of detail in Forza, both in terms of upgrading and tuning.
- I don't like the map. In Forza, the roads were a bit more sparse, and it had a better view at every point on the map, while in Heat, it seems like they have compressed a lot more than necessary on the map.
- If you don't have a fast car at night, the police will kill you. It's very difficult to escape.
- Drifting in this game is terrible. A purpose-built drift car that I have made is not capable of holding a long slide, unlike in Forza...
In summary, I have to say that it is a very good Need for Speed game. However, there are still many things that need to be addressed in order to reach the level of Forza. If you are someone who doesn't care much about cars and just wants a racing game, or if you are someone who cares about how the car looks externally without paying attention to handling/tuning, then this game is for you. If you are not that type of person, look into getting Forza Horizon 4 for an open-world game, or consider F1 2021/2020, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Project Cars 2, or even WRC 9/10 if you are more of a racing sim type