The Need for Speed
| The Need for Speed | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Pioneer Productions EA Canada |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Producer(s) | Hanno Lemke |
| Programmer(s) | Brad Gour |
| Artist(s) | Markus Tessmann |
| Series | Need for Speed |
| Platform(s) | 3DO, MS-DOS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn |
| Release date(s) |
3DO MS-DOS
Sega Saturn |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Aggregate score | |
|---|---|
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | (SAT) 95.00% (PC) 83.00% (PS) 68.50% |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| EGM | (3DO) 8.0/10 (PS1) 8.75/10 |
| GameSpot | (PC) 8.3/10 |
| Maximum |
  (PS1) |
| PC Power | 95% |
Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed, later released in Japan as Over Drivin', is a 1994 racing video game first released on the 3DO and then ported to MS-DOS, PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It is the first installment released in the Need for Speed series. The premise of the game involves racing in sport cars, including several exotic models and Japanese imports.
The game was noted for its realism and audio and video commentaries. Electronic Arts teamed up with automotive magazine Road & Track to match vehicle behavior, including the mimicking of the sounds made by the vehicles' gear control levers. The game also contained precise vehicle data with spoken commentary, several "magazine style" images of each car interior and exterior and even short video clips highlighting the vehicles set to music.
The game featured both closed circuits and three point-to-point tracks, each divided into three stages. For the latter, traffic vehicles appear in races. Police pursuits are also a key gameplay mechanic, in which the player could be ticketed or arrested after a police car succeeded in catching up with the player. Players are arrested if he/she received a third police ticket, while the Sega Saturn version only required two tickets for the player to be arrested. Completing the tournaments (or entering a cheat) unlocks the "rally" mode, where car dynamics are changed to make for a faster 'arcade' experience, as well as the "Warrior PTO E/2", a fictional jet-powered sports car.
Except for the aforementioned Warrior, each car in the game came with detailed specifications, history, audio commentaries and real-life videos, which would also be featured in subsequent games in the series, though this was omitted in later games. A replay feature allowed the player to view a saved race. Multiple camera views, playback speed and video navigation were offered.
Multiplayer consisted of a two-player head-to-head racing mode, which required computers connected via modem.
There are a total of six courses in the game: City, Coastal, Alpine, Rusty Springs, Autumn Valley and Vertigo. Each is a distinctive environment. City, Coastal and Alpine have three sections each, while the others are circuit races.
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Wikipedia