Drifting into multiplayer
Black Box has even tried to implement a few features from Hot Pursuit, like the Burnout-style boost meter that rewards players for surviving dangerous driving. However, they tried to change the driving mechanics to make them a lot less arcadey. The most notable change is in drifting, wherein you just shouldn’t be doing it. In Hot Pursuit there was a great analogue feel to the drifting, allowing complete control anywhere between long sweeping bends and tight hairpin turns by a mixture of braking and use of the handbrake.In The Run, drifting is digital, and mainly dependant on the use of the handbrake. Whenever touched though, the handbrake slows the car to a crawl and is rarely recoverable. Even when making hairpin turns, it’s better to just slow down and cautiously drive round at 60 mph instead of either slamming into a barrier or exiting the corner at 15 mph.
There are points awarded for drifting though, which are unlocked as you level up your driver. This persistent leveling for both single player and multiplayer slowly provides new game mechanics, such as use of the nitrous at one level, and the ability to recharge it by driving into oncoming traffic at another level. While it may help to familiarise players with specific gameplay before introducing more concepts, it can really unbalance the multiplayer.
If you’ve played through the single player to the end, all the major driver abilities will be unlocked. However, jumping straight into the multiplayer with no nitrous, no drafting, and a handful of the lowest-tier cars isn’t going to lead to a good time for all. Even with all the driver abilities unlocked, there are plenty of annoyances to be had with the multiplayer.
Each game in multiplayer is a four-race event. However, the matchmaking will usually dump you into an event already on the third race. With bonuses for certain conditions only given for placing highly in an event, it can be quite frustrating. Not only that, but specially tuned “NFS Edition” cars are rewarded to players with high levels, vehicles with stats way above the standard cars. This usually ends with the elite level 23 players finishing in staggering times, unbeatable by the plebs at level 12.
It’s unbalanced and uninspiring, punishing those that haven’t played enough of the game with much more than just lack of practice. Eventually you’ll level up, aided by bonuses for performing certain actions while racing, or by completing the single player challenge mode. Again, after the success of Hot Pursuit, it just seems to pale in comparison with bland races that don’t reward skill.
At the end of our time with The Run, we had a strong feeling that Black Box had a vision that it wasn’t willing to compromise on. You will be placed 167th at the end of this race, you will complete these time challenges. Even driving a car off the road is grounds for using up one of the precious resets to return to the last checkpoint, with five resets meaning you need to start the race over. Black Box wants people to drive on its tracks the way it envisioned it, and as a result it all feels painfully restrictive.
Bottom line: Looks great, but suffers from poor drifting mechanics and unbalanced races. A missed opportunity for the Need for Speed series.
The Good
Beautifully realised real-world locationsHuge selection of cars
The Bad
Useless drifting makes for a bland driving experience
Never feels like an epic cross-country race
Pointless QTE sections
HEXUS Rating
Need for Speed: The Run
HEXUS Where2Buy
Need For Speed: The Run is available to buy from Play.com
HEXUS Right2Reply
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