I picked this up on Tuesday night. These are my views (mainly gripes) so far:
- It's another Criterion game. The usual blend of arcade racing and destruction.
- As far as graphics go, I'm on the side of the fence that does think there are issues. I'm playing at 1920x1080 on a 24" monitor (BenQ XL2420T if it matters) and it definitely does look a little rough around the edges. I can only assume that those that don't notice it are playing on smaller screens using resolutions closer to consoles. No AA options = fail.
- As for slowdown/stuttering, I have noticed there is something going on there but haven't really delved deeper/run Fraps or anything to check as it honestly hasn't affected me that much. As some have said, there does seem to be a sort of 'FPS rubberbanding' effect occurring for want of a better term, particularly in the city areas at night.
- No apparent 120hz support.
- Single player is lacking - no story and everything is a standard race. Multiplayer seems to be where it's at, but in the games I've tried to match into there have only ever been 1 or 2 other people.
- I don't think the map is prominent enough any more. In BOP It was perfect on the loading screen for races as you started to get a really good feel for where everything was in a natural period of 'downtime'. Much better than looking at numbers and a winding road animation graphic in front of low-quality images...
- The GPS isn't zoomed out enough, and there doesn't seem to be a way to change it. It's annoyingly JUST zoomed in enough so that if you're following an Autolog route, sometimes you have no idea you need to make a long turn or take an off-ramp until it's too late.
- No real penalty for being busted.
- Nice selection of cars, but too many available in the beginning.
- Car handling is ok for me (using a 360 controller). Better cars and upgrades make for more manageable cars.
- Catchup mode seems way more obvious than usual. You can take a guy out and he's back on your tail in a matter of seconds.
- The camera is annoyingly jarring when going over bumps and jumps. This especially makes no sense in 3rd person mode.
- Someone mentioned it earlier, but the soundtrack is incredibly weak. There are a couple of memorable tunes and that's about it.
- The Need for Speed name has been completely bastardized now. Why they decided to let 3 different studios make entirely different games under the same name is just odd. Moreover, Burnout is hardly a weak IP - they should use it. And why the hell do they keep reusing old names? It's confusing and pointless; Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted are nothing like the original games.
- Related to the previous point a little bit, it seems that Criterion are having a bit of an identity crisis when it comes to having to work under the NFS name. They just don't seem to want to try any crazy or innovative ideas like they did with their Burnout titles. It feels like they've had to settle in an awkward middle ground.
Anyway, I am sticking with it for now despite all my gripes, but it's certainly not the best NFS title (or Burnout, for that matter).
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