New PC Need For Speed Games

[Nyukki]

My wife bought me a USB steering wheel for my PC for Valentine's Day, have heard that NFS Hot Pursuit 3 is awesome so was gonna buy that, but have since realised there are several newer NFS games on PC.

Anyone played any of these? Do NFS games generally get better as time goes on or are they like Final Fantasy games and have a chronological cut off point regarding quality? I'm looking for high speed, arcade fun rather than realism (a la Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast for example).

I've never played any of the NFS series before. What are the differences between the games, or do they all follow the same 'run from the cops' formula?

Appreciate any suggestions, planning to make my purchase in the coming days.

Many thanks!

[WrathOskvro]

Alot of people have disagreed with me, but I really loved the 2010 version of Hot Pursuit. I thought it was excellent.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

What kind of wheel?

Anyways, I'm not sure the NFS games on PC support wheels. However, most people's favorite NFS without a doubt is the original Most Wanted. It's open world but has very structured racing and the cop chases can actually provide a great challenge.

If you're into Sims, Race 07 regularly goes on sale for really cheap. iRacing is also fantastic but a huge money and time sink.

The Dirt series is fantastic and supports wheels. If you want arcade rally action, that's the way to go.

[Ghegs]

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010) is pretty damn good, I have it on both PC and 360 and have played through the racer side on both. I think it'd be right up your alley if you like Coast 2 Coast, the two are similar thematically (racing expensive cars in beautiful environments) and both are solid arcade racers.

Anyways, I'm not sure the NFS games on PC support wheels.

I'm fairly sure they do.

The Dirt series is fantastic and supports wheels. If you want arcade rally action, that's the way to go.

You jest, sir. I would not count Dirt as an arcade rally game. It might not be a simulation either, but that doesn't make it an arcade racer. Sega Rally 2, now there's a great arcade rally racer and it even works nicely on modern PCs.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

You jest, sir. I would not count Dirt as an arcade rally game. It might not be a simulation either, but that doesn't make it an arcade racer. Sega Rally 2, now there's a great arcade rally racer and it even works nicely on modern PCs.

I do not jest. There is very little, if any realism in the way the cars handle. They all turn on a centre axis (much like most arcade racers), understeer basically doesn't exist, and they accelerate and decelerate like they're on the stickiest of tarmac imaginable. It's a fun game, but the more serious presentation doesn't make it any less arcadey than the games before it. (Dirt 2 and 3 eschewed this in favor of the more classic over-the-top styling that's more familiar to arcade style games).

Speaking of Sega Rally, Revo is on the PC and it's quite a good game. I believe it supports wheels as well.

[Ghegs]

I'd put the Dirt games somewhere in the mythical region between simulators and arcade racers, Codemasters seems to be comfortable there with their other titles as well. Not realistic enough for sims, but they have elements that keep them from really being arcade racers as well. Except maybe Showdown, but I haven't played that. But the others feel very different compared to the Sega Rally games, for instance.

To bring the discussion bit back on topic, I really didn't care for the new Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Just wasn't very fun for me.

[Cronozilla]

If you find a game doesn't support the specific wheel .. you can use a virtual controller (like PPJoy) to generically map. It'll work with analog and all that stuff too.

I used it a few years ago to try out new control methods on NFS Carbon with a Wii remote, for example. And it functioned.

So, check that stuff out, if it doesn't work.

[Nyukki]

This is the wheel she got me, by a Chinese company called Betop.

4934489.jpg (35.35 KiB) Viewed 899 times

Includes pedals and feels pretty sturdy. Came with a CD that says if you install this driver it can be used with games that only support 360 pads, so that's nice.

I ended up buying Hot Pursuit 3 and Sega Rally Revo to start with, but will probably check out NFS Dirt as well at some point.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

[RyaNtheSlayA]

FYI Dirt isn't an NFS game.

[Nyukki]

FYI Dirt isn't an NFS game.

Noted, cheers.