Game Review: Need for Speed: Rivals

Need for Speed: Rivals is the work of new development, Ghost Games which is geared toward criterion based game play. In this game, as in the previous NFS series players have the option of playing as either cops or racers and cruise around a beautifully designed open world completing events that allow you to either evade the law or enforce it. Of course, enforcing the law is not a matter of asking drivers to politely over. Instead, it involves ramming racers at speed, using spike strips and shock rams and just generally wrecking the elusive racers vehicles by any means necessary.

As a racer, you have plenty of tricks up your sleeve as well, including shockwave that damage and repel other vehicles and jammers that prevent the cops or your fellow racers from using their own weapons against you. This wild technology can get you out of a tight spot as a racer, or help you incapacitate one as a cop. But it is your skill as a driver that matters most. Weaving through traffic and around roadblocks, drifting smoothly around turns and making smart use of your limited nitrous oxide can make all the difference. Skillfully dividing your attention between driving skillfully and making the most of your limited technology is wonderfully stimulating.

The combined action and strategy gives Need for Speed a realistic feel that is invigorating. The cars feel as though they have weight and the impacts are substantial, as they glide with the terrain and other vehicles. This gives the impression of being able to actually feel metal on metal as you collide with cops and other racers. There are two things that separate Need for Speed: Rivals from his predecessors. One of those is that, by default, you always share the road with other players. Those players may be cops or they may be racers. As you cruise around trying to complete objectives to advance your own career, your experiences as well as the experience of the other players may collide. 

If you are playing as a racer, another who is playing a cop may begin to pursue you whether you’re in the middle of an event or just cruising around. And if you are playing as a cop is more exhilarating to pursue human prey than computer simulated racers. Other racing games have tried to create a multiplayer experience, but in Need for Speed: Rivals, the multiplayer are seamlessly integrated into the world at large. And you can encounter other players at any time. If you choose a single player game mode, AI-cops and racers roam the road. So there’s still a chance you will run into a high-speed chase even if you are playing alone. 

The other element that makes Rivals particularly exciting is the irresistible risk versus reward mechanics you are constantly faced with as a racer. You build up a score multiplier as you drive around completing events and avoiding the police. And eventually you build up the points you need to purchase new cars and operating systems. As you advance, the skill level required advances as well. Both player cops as well AI cops recognize your skill level and become determined to hunt you down. Overall, Need for Speed: Rivals is an exhilarating fun and wild ride.