Need for Speed Wikipedia. Need for Speed, also known by its initials NFS, is a racingvideo game franchise created by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Ghost Games. The series centers around illicit street racing and in general tasks players to complete various types of races while evading the local law enforcement in police pursuits. The series released its first title, The Need for Speed in 1. Since Need for Speed High Stakes, the series has also integrated car body customization into gameplay. Need for Speed has been critically well received. It is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, selling over 1. Due to its strong sales, the franchise has expanded into other forms of media including a film adaptation and licensed Hot Wheels toys. The series has been overseen and had games developed by multiple notable teams over the years including EA Black Box and Criterion Games, the creators of the Burnout franchise. In August 2. Criterion Games, it was announced that Swedish developer Ghost Games would gain control of the Need for Speed racing franchise and oversee future development of the main series. At the time, 8. Ghost Games work force consisted of former Criterion Games employees. GameplayeditAlmost all of the games in the NFS series employ the same fundamental rules and similar mechanics the player controls a race car in a variety of races, the goal being to win the race. In the tournamentcareer mode, the player must win a series of races in order to unlock vehicles and tracks. Before each race, the player chooses a vehicle, and has the option of selecting either an automatic or manual transmission. Kiddy/2013/kopip.jpg' alt='Watch An American Tail Online Metacritic' title='Watch An American Tail Online Metacritic' />All games in the series have some form of multiplayer mode allowing players to race one another via a split screen, a LAN or the Internet. Although the games share the same name, their tone and focus can vary significantly. For example, in some games the cars can suffer mechanical and visual damage, while in other games the cars cannot be damaged at all in some games the software simulates real car behavior physics, while in others there are more forgiving physics. With the release of Need for Speed Underground, the series shifted from racing sports cars on scenic point to point tracks to an importtuner subculture involving street racing in an urban setting. To date, this theme has remained prevalent in most of the following games. Watch The Von Trapp Family: A Life Of Music Online Free 2016 on this page. Need for Speed Shift and its sequel took a simulator approach to racing, featuring closed circuit racing on real tracks like the Nrburgring and the Laguna Seca, and fictional street circuits in cities like London and Chicago. The car lists include a combination of exotics, sports cars, and tuners in addition to special race cars. Watch An American Tail Online Metacritic' title='Watch An American Tail Online Metacritic' />Most of the games in the franchise include police pursuits in some form or other. In some of the games featuring police pursuit, the player can play as either the felon or the cop. The concepts of drifting and dragging were introduced in Need for Speed Underground. These new mechanics are included in the tournamentcareer mode aside from the regular street races. While emigrating to the United States, a young Russian mouse gets separated from his family and must relocate them while trying to survive in a new country. In the historic melting pot of 19th century New York City, Fievel and the Mousekewitz family are struggling to make their American dream come true. See how well critics are rating all Playstation 4 video game releases at metacritic. Need for Speed, also known by its initials NFS, is a racing video game franchise created by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Ghost Games. Watch Dogs stylized as WATCHDOGS is an actionadventurestealth video game developed by. In drift races, the player must defeat other racers by totaling the most points, earned by the length and timing of the drift made by the players vehicle. In drag races, the player must finish first to win the race, though if the player crashes into an obstacle, the race ends. The concept of car tuning evolved with each new game, from focusing mainly on the mechanics of the car to including how the car looks. Each game has car tuning which can set options for items like ABS, traction control, or downforce, or for upgrading parts like the engine or gearbox. Visual tuning of the players car becomes important in tournamentcareer mode after the release of Need for Speed Underground 2, when the appearance is rated from zero to ten points. When a car attains a high enough visual rating, the vehicle is eligible to be on the cover of a fictional magazine. Like all racing games, the Need for Speed series features a list of cars, modeled and named after actual cars. Cars in the franchise are divided into four categories exotic cars, muscle cars, tuners, and special vehicles. Exotic cars feature high performance, expensive cars like the Lamborghini Murcilago, Mercedes Benz SLR Mc. Laren, Chevrolet Corvette and the Ford GT muscle cars refer to the Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger and the Chevrolet Camaro while tuner cars are cars like the Nissan Skyline and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. The special vehicles are civilian and police cars that are available for use in some games, such as the Ford Crown Victoria in Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and garbage trucks, fire engines and taxis in Need for Speed Carbon. Originally the series took place in international settings, such as race tracks in Australia, Europe, and Africa. Beginning with Underground, the series has taken place in fictional metropolitan cities. The first game featured traffic on head to head mode, while later games traffic can be toggled on and off, and starting with Underground, traffic is a fixed obstacle. Most of the recent Need for Speed games are set in fictional locations of our world, in a number of different time periods. These include, but are not limited to, Bayview, Rockport, Seacrest County, Fairhaven City and Ventura Bay. DevelopmenteditThe Need for Speed series was originally developed by Distinctive Software, a video game studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Prior to Electronic Arts purchase of the company in 1. Stunts and Test Drive II The Duel. After the purchase, the company was renamed Electronic Arts EA Canada. The company capitalized on its experience in the domain by developing the Need for Speed series in late 1. EA Canada continued to develop and expand the Need for Speed franchise up to 2. Vancouver based gaming company, named Black Box Games, was contracted to continue the series with Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2. EA Black Box has been the primary series developer on a yearly cycle from 2. In 2. 00. 9, EA brought in Slightly Mad Studios, due to sagging sales, and they released Need for Speed Shift, and EAs own UK based company Criterion Games came with Hot Pursuit in 2. In 2. 01. 1, Slightly Mad Studios released a sequel to Shift, Shift 2 Unleashed and EA Black Box released Need for Speed The Run. In 2. 01. 0, EA introduced a social platform, titled Autolog, for Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and future games in the series. Autolog provides social features for Need for Speed games via a mobile app and website it allows players to track game progress, view leaderboards, share screenshots with friends, and more. At E3 2. 01. 2, Criterion Games vice president Alex Ward announced that random developers would no longer be developing NFS titles. Ward wouldnt confirm that all Need for Speed games in the future would be developed entirely by Criterion, but he did say the studio would have strong involvement in them, and would have control over which NFS titles would be released in the future. During August 2. 01. Criterion would be restructured and downsized, while Ghost Games would spearhead all future development of the series. Series overvieweditThere have been 2. Need for Speed series. All games of the Need for Speed series by system. Title. Year. PCConsoles. Handheld. Developer. Notes. The Need for Speed. DOS3. DO, Saturn, PS1. NAPioneer Studios. EA Canada. 3DO version was the first version to be released. Need for Speed II1. Windows. PS1. NAEA CanadaSeattlePrototypes and showcars available. NFS III Hot Pursuit. Windows. PS1. NAEA CanadaSeattleNFS High Stakes. Windows. PS1. NAEA CanadaSeattleRoad Challenge Europe, BrazilNFS Porsche Unleashed. Windows. PS1. GBAEden GamesEA Canada. Pocketeers. Porsche 2. Europe, Porsche Germany, Latin AmericaNFS Hot Pursuit 2. Windows. GC, PS2, Xbox. NAEA Black BoxSeattleNFS Underground. Windows. GC, PS2, Xbox.