Need For Speed Rivals

With the genre of arcade racers thinning out each year, the Need For Speed name continues to carry the banner onward. Favoring thrills and nitro-boosts over simulation, and the open road over the track, Need For Speed Rivals takes that thinking onto next-gen consoles.

Developer Ghost Games has accepted the torch from Criterion, and delivered what is undoubtedly the most visually impressive and, in many ways, the most ambitious entry in the series in years. But can increased horsepower and an online environment take Rivals across the finish line on their own?

It’s worth pointing out that although NFS remains one of the most well-known names in the arcade genre, that doesn’t mean it sets an example that all should follow. As the technology powering the series has continued to improve, the will to mature the core attitudes and ‘fiction’ beyond established cops-vs-racers rhetoric has been noticeably vacant.