What a Rush !!! URGENT UPDATE AT BOTTOM (Need For Speed Porsche 2000 (PC))

Member Name: bigdgaff

Product:	Need For Speed Porsche 2000 (PC)
Date:	22/06/01 (1489 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Adrenalin packed racing, Flawless graphics, huge ammount to play through

Disadvantages: needs quite a high spec system, Can be a little repetitive, You need a 17 inch monitor to avoid glitch, see update at bottom of op.

I have had NFS Porsche 2000 for about a month now, and I am just starting to perfect the skills to compete in the intermediate level. This game is by no means easy, but this just adds to it's longevity.

After you have installed the game, you will be presented with a stunning introduction sequence where a Porsche test driver takes various models for a spin and shows off just some of the things you can do behind the wheel. The intro will get your adrenaline pumping in anticipation of what you are about to experience if you love porsches as much as I do. I guess you have to have some positive feelings towards Porsche to buy this game in the first place though.

After the intro, we get to the real guts of the game. There are two main "campaigns" for want of a better word. You can start as a member of the factory test drivers team where you have to complete various tasks for your boss. The other mode is the Evolution of Porsche game where you take part in tournaments, buying and selling Porsches of the time to progress.

You start the factory game as a new test driver, you are at the bottom of the team as little more than an apprentice. This means that the first few tasks involve driving round cones on the skid pan to prove to the boss that you can be trusted to drive the most expensive cars without scratching the paintwork. After you complete the basic training, the boss sends you to deliver cars through police infested roads with tight time limits. As you improve, you will push yourself into line for promotion, but this will be to the expense of the next superior to you, so naturally there will be a showdown for the position. The ultimate aim of this scenario is to become the best test driver in the team and attain the elusive rank of Ace. I am nowhere near this target and hope that if someone gets there, they will leave a comment to let me know what happens.

The Evolution game is an entirely different monster. You prog
ress through all three eras of Porsches history, Classic, Golden and Modern. In each era there are a number of tournaments. Each tournament consists of a number of races. There are two types of tournament that I have discovered so far.

Standard tournaments with points that are added up as you complete each race, the only way to win the tournament and unlock the next tournament in the list is to place in the top three at the end of the tournament. When you enter a tournament, there may be an entry fee and you win money depending on the position you attain. You use this money to buy a new car, or repair and upgrade your existing ones.

The other type is a rally format where the times of each race are added up and the winner is the driver who has the lowest total time. This is more difficult as the prize money is only paid at the end. So you need to have some money before you enter so you can afford repairs. Fortunately the returns are normally higher for the added risk.

As you complete each tournament, time passes and newer models become available to buy in the show room while the classics on the second hand market become more valuable as time passes. This means that racing classic cars in the Golden era becomes quite an expensive passtime when you have to make repairs.

What about the cars? Well you start the game with a limited number of cars in your database. There are many cars and many variations(eg several different modified engines) that you "unlock" during the evolution game. When playing through the evolution game, you also get the chance to compete in "once in a lifetime" races where you can win a bonus car. Once you own a car, in the evolution game, it becomes available for you to use in multiplayer and single player races.

The handling takes some getting used to as the cars are rear wheel dive and so you have to learn to hit the accelerator when you lose the back end. It doesn't matter wha
t your skill level is though because the car will always be on the edge as you learn to push harder. I find myself holding my breath for most of the race as I concentrate on trying to keep up with the car in front. I also get a big adrenaline rush when I get in the lead because on the majority of tracks, you will be constantly watching your rear view mirror to try and block the car glued to your bumper. You find yourself praying for the finish line to hurry up and appear before you pass out. You cannot blink or you will be into a wall so by the end of a hard race, you just have to fall back in your seat with your eyes closed regaining your breath for a minuteas you come down from the high.

As far as performance of the game on a computer, I can only speak of it's performance on my system. I am running it on an AMD Athlon 900Mhz with an ATI Rage Pro 128 32mb Graphics card and 352mb of pc133 SDRAM. It runs like a dream on this system and I have been able to increase the game resolution safely to 800X600 with no ill effects. You can probably go higher but I am happy where it is now. As always, check the spec of your computer against the minimum requirements on the box to see if it will run. A word of warning though, most games will only barely run at the minimum spec, so I usually suggest you should try to have a system at least half way between the minimum and recommended spec on the box for most games to run passably well. If you are able to exeed the recommended spec, you should have a flawless and exhilarating experience on this game.

I cannot really comment on the sound as I have a cheap set of PC speakers. When I wire my PC up to my Hi-fi, I will update the opinion. For what it's worth, I think it sounds pretty good compared to other games I have listened to.

If you have any interest at all in cars and driving games, buy it as this game is definitely the most fun of all the other driving games I have played simply because it cre
ates the feeling that you are part of the car. So many of the other games I have played just feel neutral or detached.

Oh yes, be prepared in advance as you will be hurling abuse at anyone who tries to speak to you during a race, as you need every bit of concentration for the task in hand. A do not disturb sign comes in handy here.

Just in case you need any more convincing, check the price. At just £5.99 from HMV, can you really afford not to get it?

I will also add that there is a Need for speed website, I havew now got the URL. It is: www.needforspeed.com
There is a new car to download every month the site promises and there is a link to Porsche's website so you can custom design you own dream Porsche. I managed to build one with everything on it for around £130,000. Makes the price of the game seem like nothing really, dosen't it?

As I am still fairly new to writing opinions, please leave comments letting me know what I am missing out or any improvements I can make. Thanks in advance.

URGENT UPDATE...........

I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM ON SOME MACHINES. YOU CAN SET THE GAME TO RUN AT WHATEVER RESOLUTION YOU WANT. BUT FOR THE GAME TO START, YOUR WINDOWS RESOLUTION NEEDS TO BE CONFIGURED TO 1024X768.

YOU CAN DO THIS BY MINIMISING ALL WINDOWS. RIGHT CLICK ON THE DESKTOP THEN SELECT PROPERTIES. IN THE WINDOW THAT APPEARS, SELECT SETTINGS IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER.

IN THE AREA TITLED "SCREEN AREA", SELECT 1024X768 FROM THE SLIDE BAR AND THEN CLICK APPLY BEFORE CLOSING THE WINDOW. YOU MAY RECEIVE A WARNING TO THE EFFECT THAT IF THERE ARE ANY PROBLEMS, DON'T CLICK ANYTHING AND THE OLD SETTING WILL RESTORE.

If you have a 17 inch monitor, there should be no problem. Sorry I forgot to mention this annoying glitch before, it completely slipped my mind. For this reason, I have down graded my rating from best to four star. It is still great for the p
rice though.

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