Vroom!Released in 2009, Need for Speed: Nitro provides a classic arcade racing experience revamped for the Wii. Using simplicity and easily replenished Nitro, the thrill of the game is undoubtedly one of its best features.
Having first bought it on bargain, I did not have high expectations. It was a pleasant surprise to find the game both engaging and thrilling.
I will examine the various facets of the game and provide critical analysis that may help you decide whether or not the game is worth playing.
Without further ado, let’s jump in!
Graphics: 10 / 10I have very little complaint about the graphics of this game.
The courses are well detailed and the graphics of the cars are excellent. One neat feature is the changing of banners around the sides of the course. They reflect the car in first place by shifting colors to match. While seemingly non-essential, this component incentives racers to gain the lead for others to see on multiplayer.
Increased frames per second let the game stay playable at graphic intensive parts. As a racing game this component is essential and helps game-play.
One of the best features is the graphics of the cars. They are very customizable show up well on the courses.
Overall, the graphics are clear and distinct. They improve game-play and have impressed me. 10 / 10.
Sound / Music: 7 / 10The soundtracks are contemporary and provide excellent background music to the races. They are well chosen and add to the excitement of the game.
That’s if artists like Adam Young from Owl City float your boat. If they don’t, you might find yourself annoyed hearing the same annoying contemporary songs every time that you race.
Since turning music off reduces the experience, perhaps dramatically, your interests make the choice about music.
Switching over, the sound effect that’s most prevalent is the motor. The motor is louder than the music which risks annoying you. However, I did not mind it, but I would have preferred the music to overpower the sounds of the motor.
Police sirens and police radars often play in the background as cops try to chase and damage your racecar. These sirens add to the thrill but quickly turn annoying. The sound effects for crashes are not terrible but could use improvement.
I found the music enjoyable and appropriate, but the sound effects excessively loud. 7 / 10.
Addictiveness: 7 / 10The thrill and excitement of NFS:N can cause adrenaline rushes and can make it hard to put down the controller.
When you are in first and manage to dodge the cop cars, you might feel unstoppable and free. I’ll often keep playing round after round trying to keep first place and beat the other racers to feel this way. As you can see, this game really centers around emotions. If you can be emotionally impacted by the music and thrill of a racing game, you’ll love it.
Various modes of play add to the addictiveness of play. These include standard racing, drift challenges, and elimination.
With limited race-tracks, some courses start to feel overplayed in single player. However, it’s easy to play the same course dozens of times on multiplayer. In those cases, the designed excitement of competition overrides the overuse of courses.
It’s true that limited courses reduces the addictiveness over time. However, as mentioned, it remains addictive to play with friends. The loud music and sound effects make it more competitive than social, which adds to the fun.
As the lack of courses makes single-player less addictive over time, the score for addictiveness rates a respectable 7 / 10.
Story: 3 / 10The story is simple, as you progress, you unlock more cities and races.
There are five cities that you race at: Rio de Janeiro, Cairo, Madrid, Singapore, and Dubai. However, there are only 10 tracks. For races and elimination, you only expect to see five. The repetition of tracks does become tiring as you keep playing.
The game works well without a complex story and I would not care for one. I have not played a racing game with a true story behind it for years, so I had no expectations going into this game.
Since the story is essentially meaningless, I must rate this category 3 / 10.
Depth: 7 / 10The different game modes provide depth to each city. Trying to get all the stars for each event takes time and hundreds of races.
More depth appears in the options to custom edit content for cars. While stars from races are needed to unlock content, the options to customize cars include color, incredible designs, manually painting, car body changes. You also get to choose the graffiti that appears around your racecar when you take the lead in a race.
My only complaint would be the lack of courses. With more racetracks the game would have been close to a perfect score.
As it is, depth rates 7 / 10.
Difficulty: 7 / 10The cars are not difficult to maneuver and I found the courses manageable.
However, the bosses increase in difficulty as you unlock more cities and they’re all challenging to beat.
The unchangeable viewpoint from behind the racecar poses problems. It does not allow one to see completely around the vehicle. Without the ability to look behind, it is harder to see whether someone is catching up. Furthermore, the car itself blocks some of the road ahead so you may crash into a car ahead unexpectedly.Better viewpoints are needed.
The interfaces in NFS:N are notable for their user friendliness through simplicity.This allows new players to quickly use the various without much trouble, such as the car customization.
Considering the bosses and viewpoint, the difficulty deserves a 7 / 10.
Overall: 8.0 / 10My holistic review of the individual category scores leads to an impressive 8.0 / 10.
The main strengths were the graphics, music, car customization, and enjoyment. The main weaknesses include few racetracks and problematic viewpoints.
I would recommend buying it for:
1. excitement and thrill
2. playing with friends with blasting sound
3. those who want to play the first NFS released for Wii
I loved playing this game and I hope you do too.
Thank you for reading!
Graphics
10 Sound
7 Addictive
7 Depth
7 Story
3 Difficulty
7
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