Need for Speed (PS4, Xbone, PC) - Reviews out

There have been a few updates since launch and the latest add-on, Showcase, arrives next week. The free update includes new multiplayer match-up options, wrap (car design) sharing, repairs via gas stations, additional car customisation options and a photo mode.

It sounds like the game has improved quite a bit since launch; I was wary of the rubber-banding issue but apparently an earlier update adjusted this element. Anyone giving it a go?

Well, I've finally started Need for Speed. My impressions of the first hour:

> Man, is this game trying to be cool. The language used and the live-action sequences seem desperate to be street. Do people really talk like that *all of the time*? Right from the off you are bombarded with people talking to you, phone messages arriving and hash-tag quotes appearing. Maybe I'm just old.

> But... you get used to it. The live-sequences are actually okay with some good transitions betwen them and the gameplay.

> I am terrible at the driving. Terrible! Right from the opening sequence, I was so focussed on trying to understand everything that was going on that I got lost on the first 100 metre-or-so drive .

> The graphics are really good. I was a bit apprehensive about the game being set at night because my sight isn't too good with dark colours, but it's okay. Some of the effects are excellent.

So, early days but I think I'm gonna like it - probably more so once I get the hang of all of the buttons and how the game is structured. Then again, I've only done about ten minutes of driving before spending half-hour learning the car visual customisation controls - that's more my style . Check out the GRcade community on PSN for the first pic of my GRcade car*!

* It's rubbish. But I'm gonna get it looking cool in time .

To be fair Jawa the handling is utter garbage - there are many times when the game almost controls the car for you, often not knowing if you're trying to drift or not and making the decision for you. This leads to either crippling understeer or equally heavy oversteer. Need for Speed Underground 2 is a better game in every way and is from 10 years ago:

Another update, including multiplayer options, end-game play and new drift/speed races, arrives on Wednesday. To be fair to Ghost Games, I think they've done a good job in updating the game since launch and adding on new content for free.

You can only polish a turd so much, and underneath it's still a turd.

Digital Foundry have taken a look back at the origins of the Need for Speed series, focusing upon the arrival of the first game back in 1994. I remember having a lot of fun with that on my PlayStation, and this video provides some excellent, comprehensive information on how it came to be.

Damn, PC was so far ahead of consoles in the mid 90s, night and day difference.

Also...