Need for Speed: Nitro

Need for Speed: Nitro is a racing video game and the fourteenth title of the Need for Speed series.[2] It was published by Electronic Arts for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms. It is also one of only two games in the franchise to date (the other being the mobile No Limits) to not be made for PC and the only game of the franchise to be released only for Nintendo consoles. It was announced in January as part of a three-game announcement that includes Need for Speed: Shift and Need for Speed: World.[3] The game was developed by EA Montreal who have previous experience with Nintendo titles, although the DS version was developed separately by Firebrand Games' Florida studio.[4] An improved version of the DS edition of the game, Need for Speed: Nitro-X, was released for DSiWare on November 26, 2010.

Need for Speed: Nitro
Developer(s)Firebrand Games (DS)
EA Montreal (Wii)
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
SeriesNeed for Speed
Platform(s)Nintendo DS, Wii
Release
  • NA: November 3, 2009[1]
  • AU: November 5, 2009 (DS)
  • EU: November 6, 2009
  • AU: November 26, 2009 (Wii)
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Need for Speed: Nitro is an arcade style racing game that emphasizes speed and excitement over realism or vehicle tuning. The Wii version allows up to four players to race, with a maximum of eight racers at once. The Wii version lets up to four racers compete in drag races, too. The game features race tracks in various locations such as Rio de Jeneiro, Dubai, and Madrid.

Need for Speed: Nitro features disproportionate real-life vehicles.

Modes

Events feature different modes, namely circuits, team circuits, elimination races, drift challenges, speed trap challenges, drag challenges and time attacks. Career mode allows players to compete in several cups and build up a roster of vehicles, while Arcade Mode lets players immediately jump into a race with customized difficulty and race conditions. During races, police will attempt to block and ram racers, causing damage that will reduce the players' top speed and amount of nitro available. Police are not in drag races. The game features power-up icons in the race that immediately repair vehicle damage or increase your opponents' police heat level. During a race, players are awarded "style points" based on performing powerslides and drafting, and nitro is recharged over time. There is small nitro and powerful nitro similar to the Wii version of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.

Own It

The game has an aesthetic feature called "Own It"; while a player is in the lead, the surrounding landscape and buildings are textured with his car's colors, graffiti, and tags, all of which can be created with the game's new car customization system. Lines on the road will also have the color of the car colors.[5] The "Own it" feature is a convenient way to indicate the race leader, and players get additional style points for staying in first.

Development and marketing

In the new franchising model for the series adopted by EA, Nitro takes its place aiming at casual gamers rather than the hardcore fans of the series and is also Nintendo exclusive. As with previous titles in the Need for Speed series, Nitro features a large catalog of customizable licensed vehicles, as well as cops. It is distinguished by fast, arcade racing with an anime-like visual, akin to Blur. Need for Speed: Nitro is also the first Need for Speed game that has traffic cars that can also be bought in career mode (with the exception of the Volkswagen Golf traffic car).

A trailer was released on the Need for Speed website depicting four cartoon-like vehicles that are actually disproportionate real-life vehicles. The cars were a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, a Nissan Skyline, an Audi R8, and a Lamborghini Reventón.[6] The trailer also displayed the buildings in different vibrant colors and several disproportionate police vehicles, such as the Shelby GT500.

Reception
Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(Wii) 73.31%[7]
(NDS) 71.71%[8]
Metacritic(NDS) 70/100[9]
(Wii) 69/100[10]
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.comB-[11]
AllGame[12]
Eurogamer5/10[13]
GameSpot7/10[14]
GameTrailers7.2/10[15]
IGN8.0/10[16]

Need for Speed: Nitro was met with generally positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Wii version 73.31% and 69/100[7][10] and the Nintendo DS version 71.71% and 70/100.[8][9]

Mark Bozon from IGN awarded the game an 8.0 out of 10, stating that "Nitro is a blast despite its faults".[16] Although 1UP enjoyed the title, they criticised the game for its shallow campaign, awarding the game a B-.[11]

Eurogamer was considerably less impressed, awarding the game a score of 5 out of 10, stating that "[although] it might scream 'excitement' at the top of its tiny lungs...Need For Speed: Nitro's initially endearing zest quickly degenerates into repetitive strain." Despite this, Eurogamer praised the innovative use of the changing level appearance depending on the player's car.[13]

Official Nintendo Magazine gave a more positive review, rating it 80% and saying; "Need for Speed: Nitro doesn't do anything remarkable. It doesn't have a fancy gimmick that no other game has featured before, it doesn't have the sort of visuals that will blow you away, and it doesn't offer outstanding online multiplayer gameplay that will have you playing for years to come. It's simply fun to play, and in focusing on quality over quantity EA has managed to put together one of the best racing games on the Wii."[17]

References
  1. Kirk Pedersen (19 October 2009). "NFS Nitro in stores November 3!". Need for Speed. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  2. "Need for Speed NITRO : NFS Nitro - EA Games". Ea.com. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  3. March 4, 2009 8:04AM PST (2009-09-15). "Need for Speed: Shift". GameSpot.com. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  4. Jordan, Jon. "DS Preview - Need for Speed: Nitro DS". Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  5. Bozon, Mark. "Need for Speed Nitro Review". Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  6. "Need for Speed Nitro E3 Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  7. "Need for Speed: Nitro (Wii)". GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  8. "Need for Speed: Nitro (NDS)". GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  9. "Need for Speed: Nitro (NDS)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  10. "Need for Speed: Nitro (Wii)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  11. Grimm, Michael (2009-11-17). "Need for Speed Nitro Review for Wii from". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  12. Alan, Scott (2010-10-03). "Need for Speed: Nitro - Overview". allgame. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  13. Reed, Kristan (2009-11-03). "Need for Speed: Nitro Review - Wii - Page 2". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  14. "Need for Speed: Nitro Wii - GameSpot.com". Uk.gamespot.com. 2009-11-06. Archived from the original on 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  15. "Need for Speed NITRO Video Game". GameTrailers.com. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  16. Bozon, Mark. "Need for Speed: Nitro review on IGN". IGN. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
  17. "Nintendo of Europe". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.