HOT PURSUIT, Need for Speed 3, is the latest in the Need for Speed series and, like the original game, it features excellent driving through real-world tracks.
The cars in NFS3 are the 98 Corvette C5, Aston Martin DB7, Jaguar XK8, Mercedes SL600, Italdesign Scighera, Ferrari 355F1 Spider, Ferrari 550 Maranello, Lamborghini Countach 25th, Lamborghini Diablo SV, Jaguar Sport XJR-15, and the Mercedes CLK GTR. For the Australian and New Zealand markets Electronic Arts has added the Ford GT Falcon and Holden HSV GTS.
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In a whole new feature, as well as trying to outrun the police, you can now take the side of law and order, and ride in a police pursuit car. Using the Lamborghini Diablo SV or 98 Corvette C5 (complete with police colouring and markings) you can chase down offenders, set up roadblocks, and even lay spike trails. I don’t know of any police force in the world that uses Lamborghinis in front-line traffic enforcement, but never mind.
Once you have chosen which car you’re going to drive, there are a few options for the sort of race you will compete in. You can participate in a straight race, with other cars (you have control over what sort of cars they have), go for it in Hot Pursuit (watch out for the police), take part in a knockout championship (the last car in each race is eliminated), or go for the Grand Tournament, which consists of eight four-lap races, each taking place on a different track.
Racing with Ferraris. Unfortunately, they cant be used in pursuit mode, owing to the manufacturers objections.
There are eight tracks available, and each can be mirrored. You can race in the daytime or at night, and with weather on or off. The combination of driving at night with weather is very hard – it’s almost pitch black except for your headlights, and the road is pretty slick with rain or ice. Try getting away from the police at 200km/h in these conditions and you’ll soon find yourself slamming into a wall.
Video Clip Available Unlike some racers, the dashboard view in NFS 3 is more than playable. Whoops. I think its safe to say theres no getting out of this one.
The graphics on the tracks are amazing, with awesome detail in the scenery. You’ll be driving through deserts, towns, modern cities, forests, mountains, and more. The trees, power lines, road markings, houses, and so on all look realistic.
The cars themselves are great too. With all the graphics options turned on they have awesome chrome effects, reflections in the rear window, brake and headlights working, and wheels turning. As they drive through leaves they throw up scatterings of leaves in their wake. Smoke trails and skidmarks are all part of the charm too. It’s really fun doing doughnuts and seeing the rubber all over the road.
The sound is good, with different engine noises for each car. When being chased by the police you hear the police radio traffic in the background, with the police calling for assistance, or setting up roadblocks. This all adds to the fun of the game tremendously.
Each car is showcased, with all the vital statistics and a slideshow. You can alter the settings of each too, such as engine tuning, brake balance, steering speed, and gear ratios.
For those who are a bit nervous of driving such powerful cars, there are several steering aids, including a navigator, fast collision recovery, help with braking and best line into corners.
Need for Speed 3 is Electronic Arts and costs $79 (including gst). It requires a Pentium 166 or Pentium 133-megahertz processor with 3D graphics card, 16 megabytes of Ram, and quad-speed CD-Rom drive. It recommends a Pentium 200MHz processor, 32Mb of Ram, 3Dfx graphics card, 16-bit soundcard, and any input devices that are supported by Windows 95/98 (including force feedback). You can play multi-player either in split-screen mode, modem, network, or serial cable.
This is certainly a fun game, and is great for showing off your fast new gaming machine. It’s easy to get into, looks great, and there is a lot there to help with longevity. Check out the Web site at
www.nfs3.co.nz
Electronic Arts promise to provide more cars to download. Safe driving!
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