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Street racing the way it should be.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 21
Date: December 12, 1999
Author: Amazon User

The first Need for Speed, on the 3DO, was an impressive game, but somewhat limited. Throughout the series, EA has expanded the dimensions of the game until now, with the wonderous NFS: High Stakes.

Control in the game is superb. The earliest avaiable cars handle great, but lack the acceleration or top speed of the top-of-the-line cars earned throughout the game. This allows for players to advance their skills while having fun and does not give the game a sharp learning curve; anyone could pick up a controller and have a blast.

The graphics are stunning, especially at night during a thuderstorm. Lightning illuminates the sky and realistically flashes to show off the terrain around you; rain strikes the windshield in the first-person camera angle. The cars have a life-like appeal and suffer real-time damage, adding to the quality of the title. EA did not miss a thing with this title in the graphics department.

Music is more of the usual EA style, with a mix of rock and techno, keeping you aware of the track and focused upon the game. Also, the inclusion of different languages in the pursuit mode, along with the ability to play as police, adds more realism, something gamers are sure to appreciate.

EA has a gold mine with this game, and it is sure to please the racing fan, while being a great game for new-comers to the racing genre.

Better than Gran Turismo?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 19
Date: December 06, 1999
Author: Amazon User

YES! Even though this game doesn't have 8 million cars, it is better-in my opinion- than Gran Turismo. First off, this game has control, the main part of the game. In here, you don't spin out after turning. It has more modes of play: test drive-where you pick a car and drive around a course once; single race- think about it; Hot pursuit- the main attraction. You can be chased by the cops, or you can lay down the law as a cop. This mode is especially fun when you have two people,one as a cop and one as the felon;tournaments and special events- series' of races where you earn money to buy or upgrade cars, gain access to new tracks, and to unlock special edition cars; high stakes- you and a friend duke it out to see who looses their car and who wins it. Your car is permanently deleted from your memory card when you loose. This game also has wonderful graphics WHILE YOUR RACING.gran turismo only has good graphics during the replayshe soundtrack is also better. On NFS there are 20 songs that you can race to. You can even pick which one you would like to listen to. On gran turismo there are 3 songs. The car upgrades are also very cool. When you upgrade your wheels, they turn from crome to gold. Spoilers and the such are also added to the car, and engine upgrades add pinstripes to your ride. The tracks are international, and look very great.

Need For Speed High Stakes

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: December 02, 1999
Author: Amazon User

If you are looking for a great, realistic racing game, here's the one. This game is action-packed with hot pursuit,high stakes mode and much more! This game is a great buy and very fun.

Fun and better than NFS3

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Definately better than Need for Speed III Hot Pursuit. The car control is back into the much better form of Arcade racing which categorized the original Need For Speed which started the whole thing off. The tracks are interesting, taking from many aspects of racing strategies. Shortcuts are minimal, but fun to use and easy to find.

The development of the game requires the player to beat certain challenges in order to unlock more tracks. In addition, the hot pursuit mode requires you playing the cop to pull over the speeders before your time runs out to earn faster police cars. Something I enjoy is the choice of "Local Cops." It's an option under the track select. Depending on where the track is set (Germany, France, Great Brittain etc.) the cops will speak in that language. (Believe me, Electronic Arts makes fun of the British here). It adds to the realism and extras.

Playing as a cop you have the option of calling in for backup, setting a roadblock, or requesting a spike strip (or "stinger" in British). The radio between the HQ and your car is realistic and keeps you well up to date on what's going on in both modes of play.

The cars are your standard array of sports cars using everything from the Jaguar XK8 to the Porsche 911 Turbo, all the way to the McLaren F1 racecar (of the Mercedes GTR, whichever you like better).

The police have become smarter and the cars they drive are directly related to the track and the car you are driving. In America, the cop cars are the standard Caprice, the Corvette, and, of course, the Diablo. Foreign soil has the M5, the Porsche 911 and the Diablo. The cops will radio in for a faster car if they have trouble catching you and will set roadblocks (good ones this time) or lay spike strips to catch you.

What can I say? It's the next one out, and its pulling strong. No complaints.

one awesome game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 12, 2000
Author: Amazon User

this game is perhaps the best racing simulation to date...the computer version has download-able cars too! ...if you liked the need for speed series that you must have this one too...i am addicted and must always remember...it is just a game...defer from driving a real car for at least an hour after playing this game to be sure you have lost your ...need for speed!

Awsome AI, awsome graphics,AWSOME GAME!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 02, 2000
Author: Amazon User

When I first played this game I was in aw. I mean the graphicsare awsome, the AI is purfect,and the car selection is great. Overall this game is great in so many ways, but their was a problem that I noticed-and that would be that the games weather is not on the dot cool as oh, let's say test drive 5. But go to it, go to it, buy the game-YOU'LL LOVE YOURSELF FOR IT

I still feel the Need For Speed

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: August 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Need For Speed: High Stakes is the only game from the Need For Speed series that I have played, so I cannot compare this particular game to the others in the series. What I can say is that NFS: High Stakes is a great little game even now, four years later. The graphics look a little clunky compared to today's technology, yet there is still enough detail to the cars and race track surroundings to keep me happy. Despite the fact that I obviously am not very good at keeping my car on the track, I think the controls are pretty good. The only annoying thing is that pushing the joystick up honks the horn, and I end up hitting the up arrow to some degree every time I move from left to right and vice versa. One feature I really like is the ability to look behind the car during the race, although this usually sends me right into a wall or tree; any time I actually manage to pass another car, I almost have to look back and watch it eat my dust. The game is truly blessed with many camera angles. After each race, the game automatically shows you an instant replay of the entire race (unless you choose to skip it), shifting between ten different cameras. This means I can watch and see just how horrendous all of my crashes were.

In many ways, the best part of the game is not the actual racing. The first thing you have to do is choose a car, and there are at least nineteen cool little speed demons at your beck and call (and even more later on if and when you have enough cash to move up in the world). If you can't decide which car you want, you can take a trip to the car showroom and hear all sorts of details about the specifications and features of each model available. Serious players can build, update, and customize any car to make it his/her pride and joy, yet really serious players have the high stakes option of putting their money where their mouths are (i.e., racing for pink slips) - you lose the race, you lose your car.

The tracks are really quite diverse and require different driving styles; when you have to deal with a number of hairpin turns, you'd better be a better driver than I am. Different environments help make each race unique, as you might have to battle bad weather, additional passenger traffic, and the darkness of night. Of course, you don't have to just go out there and race cold turkey; you can take all the time you want running test laps and getting a feel for each track. You also have the option of racing in single events or competing in tournaments.

My favorite aspect of this game, though, is the Hot Pursuit option. Here, you can choose either to run from the law or climb inside a police car (which can vary depending on the country in which you are driving) and play Smokey to some other guy's Bandit. You even get to bang against and all but wreck fleeing speeders in your quest to enforce the law. Whichever side of the law you choose to play, you are privy to all sorts of great police radio chatter. Speeders will have to evade not one cop alone but a whole group of them, and these cops coordinate their pursuit tactics. Roadblocks, spike strips, and a bevy of cruisers trying to block you in can all make for quite an exciting challenge.

Need For Speed: High Stakes is getting a little long in the tooth now, as is the original Playstation console, but the game is still a lot of fun to play when you just want to goof around for a little while. Serious gamers will unlock cars and tracks that more casual players may never see for themselves, but any novice can pop in the CD and entertain himself/herself with a world of fun features.

A Great Game!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Need For Speed is amazing!Cool Tracks,Cool effects,and cool cars of course!Need for Speed is a fun game for anyone!If you try it you will love it.Well,I won't tell you what you are going to see in the game,because it's a surprise!But there is also tournments,Races,and you can try to unlock tracks,cars,and more!If you complete some tournments!The rest a surprise!I hope you like it too,Like me!

Solid

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Excellent game! Graphics are solid and driving conditions (brakes, skidding, and even damages from crashing) are very realistic. I not only like the fact that you can choose a number of cars, but also the fact that you can customize and upgrade your car depending on the amount of cash you have in your account (another realistic point). Several different driving modes (Hot Pursuit, test drive, tournaments, etc.) will keep you interested in this game for a long time. My only problem with this game is that there is limitation to customizing the controller. Otherwise, I love this game.

The best racing game ever made!!!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Normally, I do not play racing games. But this one sets it apart from the others.It hasthe usual racing game setup. Like you have to unlock cars and tracks. But what DOES set it apart from others is that you can get chased by the police in a mode called 'Hot Pursuit Mode.' You may also to choose to be the cops. Once you arrest ten speeders within the time limit, you unlock more varieties of cop cars. Like, you may start out with being able to play the BMW5 cop car, but soon, you could unlock the Porche 911 cop car. One thing that I find really neat, is the fact that when you drive the speed limit, and stay in the right lanes, the cops will never start to chase you. The graphics are exellent, the sound is superb, and the gameplay is fabulous! I would highly recommend this game to racing fans, and even to those who don't like racing. I didn't at first, and I still HATE ganes, but this is better in every way!

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