Need for Speed ProStreet – PS2 – Review

When an old
console receives annual sequels, the results might as well have the word
“rehash” written on the box. FIFA 08 and NHL 08 aside, this year’s sports games
have stunk on PlayStation 2.

Knowing that
the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Need for Speed ProStreet will get the most
development attention, as well as the biggest budget, you might not expect the
game to be that spectacular on other consoles. But while it’s unknown how the
Wii version will turn out, PS2 owners can rejoice in another engrossing NFS
update – albeit with several imperfections.


 

Before going
any further, ProStreet’s moniker needs to be addressed. Technically you can’t be
both a pro racer and a street racer, and this one – at least the PS2 version –
is not a game you’ll be confusing for Hot Pursuit 2. Other than the drag races,
you won’t be confusing it for Underground either. There aren’t any trees,
beautiful landscapes or architecture, or uncharted shortcuts to uncover. It’s a
racer that goes straight to a desolate track. And they are not your everyday
courses. Giant balloon animals (of sorts) are the few background visuals, along
with sponsors whose billboard text is much clearer than anything else in the
game. The courses themselves are narrow, which is fine, but there aren’t any
graphical showpieces to take note of on your way to victory.




These screens are from the next-gen (PS3 and Xbox 360)
versions of the game.

The Days of
Our Lives

By now you’ve
likely heard about ProSreet’s Race Day concept. Race Days combine several
competitions spanning multiple race types (Grip, Drag, Drift, etc.) into one
section of your career. Contrary to the name, the events don’t last for just one
day. Players can take as long as they need and retry each competition an
unlimited number of times.

One thing that
could limit your success, however, is money. Cash prizes are awarded to those
who place in the top three spots of each race. The early races are very
forgiving, but they’ll soon be the opposite so appreciate that while it lasts.

Every crash, no
matter how light, inflicts damage on your vehicle. Damaged vehicles do not heal
themselves, and only get worse with each subsequent crash. They are also barred
from entering Race Days, though it’s not something you have to worry about if
you’re already inside a Race Day.

Like it or not,
your mistake must be remedied. That means shelling out thousands of dollars to
fix a crumpled front end (figuratively speaking – the game doesn’t actually show
the crumple, as explained later in the review). There is one other solution:
damage cards. They come in two flavors, body repair and total repair, and are
generously distributed in the game. You can also purchase these cards
individually for a large sum of money. Use them when your vehicle is in turmoil
for a free repair.

Old Race Days
may be played through additional times for extra funds. This could come in handy
when shopping for a Ford GT, whose $150,000 price tag isn’t easily covered.


 

Thin white lines sail past your vehicle at top speeds,

acting
as a sign of speed when there are no stationary objects
flying by to make that
point obvious (as in any other racer).

Staying On
Track

Race Days are
not safe from the genre’s tradition of repeating tracks to extend the life of
the game. You’ll race the same courses several times before the end is reached.
And though they are devoid of Underground’s graphical beauty, their sharp design
– coupled with a good control setup – is fairly impressive. There are a couple
of straight paths, but unless you’re drag racing, don’t plan on ignoring the
steering wheel. This being the “pro” edition to the series, there are quick
turns around every corner.

The turn
indicator (which flashes red, yellow and green to show your chances of taking
the corner successfully) is helpful, but you’ll still skid out. Getting back on
track isn’t easy, and regaining the lead can be next to impossible. Nitro boosts
don’t last forever, and with few clear paths available to unleash them, you’re
likely to end up crashing as a result of that extra boost of speed.

One of the few
things added to the presentation is a wavy camera view. At the start of each
race, the picture shakes lightly and zooms in and out to show off the cars’
slick details. If you’ve heard of guerilla filmmaking or have watched MTV Cribs,
which often have that handheld camera look, then you know what the game was
shooting for. It’s cool but underutilized. Computer-generated clips are shown at
times when the in-game engine could’ve been used. ProStreet is by no means the
prettiest game in the series – that title belongs to the first Underground. But
the leap from in-game graphics to CG is a big one, which is something most games
have been trying to avoid.

ProStreet’s
customization looks and sounds a little different but is essentially the same
kind of point-and-click setup found in its predecessors. Win a few races, earn
some dough, and pour it into an upgrade that affects your vehicle’s power,
handling, and/or aerodynamics.


 

If a guy puts on a dress before playing NFS ProStreet,

would
that mean he’s competing in a drag race?

Not Always a
Speed Racer

ProStreet
suffers from PS2’s old age. The game is fast but with only three competitors,
plain backgrounds and zero excess traffic, the sense of exhilaration is not as
high as the three-year-old Burnout 3. Also, the frame rate crashes for a second
after every pause, a disorienting problem that can kill your progress in a close
race. And the load times – roughly 20 seconds before every race, 10 seconds in
between each round, and 8 seconds for every restart – are atrocious.

Vehicle damage
has never been a big part of the Need for Speed series, and though it has made
its way into ProStreet, you won’t know it by the visuals alone. Banged up cars
control differently, and you’ll receive a warning of light or heavy damage after
every crash. Damage is also noted with a red hue that surrounds your
speedometer. But it ends there. Broken (but not shattered) glass excluded, there
aren’t many realistic signs that you’ve just been in a wreck.


Review Scoring Details

for Need for Speed ProStreet

Gameplay: 7.9
Before players dive
into this game, they must be aware of its slow beginning. ProStreet has a
tiring, monotonous start that could turn off even the most loyal Need for Speed
fanatic. But if have the need to stick around, the race events do speed
up to a better, more enjoyable pace. Eventually.

Graphics:
5.9
While the vehicles
are realistically detailed, ProStreet’s other graphic elements are vastly
inferior to games released five years ago. Pardon me for asking, but what
gives!?

Sound: 6.0
CSS, We Are Wolves
and Junkie XL provide a few highlights. The rest of the score, however, is so
repetitive it’s distracting. The songs jerk around in ways that defy the logic
of. You can turn off the tracks you don’t want to hear and mute the annoying
sound effects, but then the few songs that remain become repetitive.


Difficulty: Easy/Medium
ProStreet achieves
roughly the same level of difficulty featured in last year’s game.

Concept: 6.0
An amalgamation of
ideas from the previous Need for Speed titles, plus weaker vehicles and slower
speeds.

Overall: 7.9
Since the early days
of PS2, Need for Speed has dropped several worthwhile sequels (and before that,
several great games on PSone). Need for Speed ProStreet didn’t turn out to be
the perfect Swan Song the world was waiting for, but really, it’s more
disappointing than it is flawed. Players will have a hard adapting to the pro
style, which is more about sharp turns than breathtaking speeds. It was even
harder for me to adapt since I played the last game, NFS Carbon, on Xbox 360.
Without question, that is where the series belongs – on PS3 and Xbox 360. Its
PS2 days are done. But if a PS2 is all you have, and if simulation racers are
more your style, ProStreet isn’t a bad game to kill time with.