I'm not sure how to say everything that is on my mind right now without coming off as some kind of hater who wants to see the game fail "because fuck EA" - I really,
really want to like this game, but as a whole, I just can't. My passion have always been cars, and naturally in gaming it has always been car games. I've been playing car games since I was 7-8 years old, so for 15+ years now. My point is just that I'm not talking completely out my ass. You don't have to agree of course, but, hear me out please.
First of all, I know it's a BETA, but I also know that we are 1 month from release, and not
a lot is going to change in that time. Bugs and glitches will most likely be fixed, but I couldn't care less about those to be honest - I'm talking about things that for me, are major flaws in gameplay. So much that pretty much all the hype is gone for me, and that I went from "instant buy" to a solid "nope".
To start off, I'm honestly a bit baffled by the driving mechanics and physics in this game. Obviously we can all agree that NFS is not a SIM (simulation) racer, which is the most serious kind of racing games you'll get, such as iRacing and possibly Project Cars. It's not a realistic semi-SIM either, such as Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo etc. So what is NFS? - An arcade racer, as it's always been. And there's
nothing wrong with it being in that genre.
However, the
problem with that, again this is just my opinion, is that it's not actually
fun to race and drive around in this game like it's supposed to be in an
arcade racer. It's about fun, and just enjoying it, not constantly thinking about what would be the most realistic outcome. All the cars I have tried feel incredibly heavy and clunky, and I for the life of me cannot understand WHY that's the case. The same cars don't feel heavy and clunky in SIM racers, and having tried a few of the cars IRL that they have available in the game, I can say that they certainly don't feel heavy and clunky in real life either. The best way I can describe it, is that it feels like the cars drive on train tracks (rails) in this game, I have no real freedom or control over the car.
Summed up, it's an arcade game, and the first priority should be fun. And I'm not making this up to prove a point, but it is much more fun for me, to say, drive a jeep in Battlefield or just
any car in GTA V, rather than any car in the dedicated car-game that is NFS 2015. And that is such a damn shame.
So, done with the mechanics, handling and physics - let's talk about the insane "rubberbanding" that is going on in this game (and in NFS games in general.)
Rubberbanding. Why would anyone want a race to deliberately be
unfair? You've earned your 1st place in the race and gotten away from the opponents by being the better driver - and then you see, out of nowhere, the group of players that were easily 10 seconds behind you just a second ago, now gaining rapidly on you and even overtaking you, despite them ramming into every object in their way. Sounds great right?
That's what NFS 2015 racing is like, both online and offline. If you want a good example of "rubberbanding" and "scripted" AI, try and select a sprint race for example, and finish that race 5 or so times in a row (less will also do), and notice (pretty much impossible not to notice)
when the AI are overtaking you, and
when they are letting you overtake them. It's the exact same places, every, single, time, unless you actively obstruct/block their cars. It's like watching a movie 5 times, you know the plot, and what's going to happen, because it's scripted. It's outrageously boring. Of course this isn't only noticeable when doing the same race multiple times in a row, but it's most noticeable this way, so try it out for yourselves.
I can only speak for myself of course (and a couple friends that also have it) - but the game had so much potential, and as they won't change anything radically with a month from release, I can safely say that for me, it did not in any way live up to it's potential.
TL;DR
Pro's:
- Pretty graphics
- Fantastic customisation
Con's:
- Not fun to drive
- Car physics/handling too heavy and unresponsive
- Rubberbanding on- and offline.
- AI scripting (offline)
- Chromatic Aberration & motion blur
- (Always online vs. EA servers)
I'm not trying to piss anyone off here, I just wanted to hear if anyone else feel the same about the game. To sum things up, I just expected things like handling and AI to not be
worse than that of UG1 and UG2 - which are approximately 12 years old now.
I realize that there are probably people who like this type of driving mechanics/physics. I like, or am content with the driving in games such as iRacing, pCars, Forza, GTurismo, DiRT, early NFS games, and so many others, but I honestly can't stand the driving in this game. Why did it have to be this game.. Been waiting for it since UG2. Fuck me.
Oh, and for those who are reading this and are yet to play the game, ignore everything and form your own opinions. Try the game before you buy it as always though, there will most likely be a demo sometime before or around release.
