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TalkBack / PREVIEWS: Need for Speed ProStreet
« on: September 22, 2007, 08:24:36 AM »http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/previewArt.cfm?artid=14452
The Need For Speed series has been known recently to skirt the law. High speed car chases, underground street racing, and other shady activities have taken place, usually under the cover of darkness. ProStreet is taking the series in a more legitimate direction, keeping the essence of the tuner car culture and removing the need to look over your shoulder for Johnny Law with every turn.
Instead of the street racing that one normally associates with movies like The Fast and the Furious, developer EA Blackbox is taking a real-world angle on things. There are actually drift racing and drag racing disciplines in the tuner car world, and these modes will be presented in ProStreet similarly to how such an event would be staged in real life. Two more game modes, grip racing—which sounds like a fancy way of describing a traditional race—and the new speed challenge mode, will cover all of the bases of the multi-disciplinary world of actual street racing.
In another nod to a more realistic street racer, players will be able to individually tune their cars to each event type. That is, a single car can have four different setups based on the specific demands of each event. This makes sense, given that the level of grip your car should have should be different in a drift race than in a grip or drag race.
Speaking of drag racing, the Wii version will have special controls that take advantage of the Wii remote's motion-sensing capabilities. In drag mode, for example, you'll use remote gestures to shift gears. EA is also including a family mode control scheme that first appeared in EA's sports titles. The computer has three levels of assists to help inexperienced players with acceleration and braking, so all someone playing with family controls will need to do is hammer down on the "Go Button" (the 2 Button on the Wii remote, as held sideways) and steer the car around corners. Seasoned gamers can forgo this option altogether, of course, and use more traditional control schemes without any interference from the game.
New to ProStreet is the concept of vehicle damage. Previous games have had dings and door scrapes affect the look of a car, but this time if you hit something out on the track, the car's performance will be affected. There are three different damage states a car can be in, which will change how your car looks (pieces flying off) and drives (hard to steer) out on the track. You won't be able to just bounce your car around corners anymore, either; if you're going too fast and hit a wall, you'll crash, and your race will be over.
All versions of Need For Speed ProStreet, including the Wii version, will be hitting store shelves in early November.
But even better, it's well fleshed-out in terms of gameplay. You can change the rosters and lineups of all 12 teams in the game, including calling up farm prospects. You can call for defensive shifts and shore up to bunt. The game even keeps track of statistics and keeps you updated on changes from inning to inning. I think that's impressive, and as such it's more than enough to recommend this game to anyone that likes America's pastime. - Steven Rodriguez 
Trying to find a safe spot among all the sprites on the screen is difficult, especially because the advancing horizon scrolling is a bit jerky. (Mode 7 scrolling, this ain't.) As a result, it's very easy to die in this game. Truth be told, it's a little boring, too. There's not much in Super Thunder Blade to recommend it to anyone. So I won't! - Steven Rodriguez 
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Are you having a hard time picturing this game? Do yourself a favor and just picture the first Zelda game. Now improve the graphics (but not necessarily the art direction) and you've got Neutopia II. It is so painfully obvious that this game was a direct attempt to cash in on the success of Nintendo's franchise. It features a top down view. The 2 Button is used to swing your sword. The 1 Button is used for one of several sub weapons that the user can switch between. Two examples of these sub weapons are bombs and a boomerang. Labyrinths are one-screen-at-a-time levels that feature bomb-able walls, secret switches, and even snakes that speed up when they see you. If you take too much damage and run out of hearts you even spin in a circle before falling on the ground. Overall, the game is interesting and the overall mechanic is a proven one, but if you want to play a Zelda game, play a Zelda game. If you've played them all and still want more, pick up Neutopia II. - Mike Gamin 
