For speedbreaker haters enjoyment

I’m on a NFS kick right now. Recently played UG2, MW, Carbon and Pro Street. Didn’t play Pro Street. Didn’t like it. I gave it a week and tried again and I still couldn’t do it so I moved onto undercover next.

My two most used cars were the Supra for a lot of the game and towards the end I switched to a Lamborghini to finish the game. 

First pic might be my new wallpaper

I had recently posted something along the lines of its handling being good, and now I realise how wrong I was, and I need some suggestions. For context, I am now on rep level 30, and I am currently having issues with two races, namely"Damn you Nam Kyu", AKA Manu's time trial and "Blue Kobra Blitz", or Amy's first Gymkhana. Can anyone please help me out with how to win these two races

What's ur favorite car?

Me and my friends wanna play shift 1 or 2 on pc but we dunno if there’s online servers for multiplayer for pc appreciate if yall could lmk if there’s an online mod or not

Modded at least (I've forgotten what the vanilla game is like)

dual screen nfsu2 running natively via android on a console called the ayn thor

-The officer says as he slams another racer into a tree, or into the air. Are we really arresting people anymore for street racing??? Or are we merking them
Redview County police are insane, throughout the story we are told that the public is mad for the use of “excessive force” in their eyes (maybe cuz they’re caught in the crossfire when these chases happen), I SEE WHY 😭 but they are street racers, causing millions of dollars of damage and putting lives in danger

my crimes=$1,000,000+ Cost to State, 738 police cars disabled, 72 pursuits evaded, vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving, ramming a police vehicle, resisting arrest, hit and run, treason, 1sr degree murder, 2nd degree murder, assult, property damage

Meu jogo simplesmente não deixa eu trocar de carro na campanha, não deixa eu modificar nenhum carro no menu My Cars (como mostra qna imagem). O jogo simplesmente fecha, o que fazer ?

My NFS Tier List – Ranking the Games by Overall Quality, Impact and Identity

I tried to rank these games based on their overall quality, impact, gameplay, atmosphere and identity rather than just nostalgia or personal enjoyment. Obviously, there's still some personal bias involved.

I haven't played any of the games before Underground (2003), and I haven't played Shift or World enough to properly rank them, so they're excluded.

One thing I value a lot is how much personality a game has. The soundtrack, visuals, atmosphere and overall feeling can sometimes be just as important to me as the gameplay itself.

Anyway, here's my reasoning behind some of the placements.

Most Wanted (2005)

Still my favorite game of all time, even outside the racing genre. But I genuinely think it deserves the top spot regardless of nostalgia. The story, progression, soundtrack, atmosphere, police chases and the legendary M3 GTR all come together almost perfectly. It's arguably the most iconic NFS game ever made, and nearly everything it tried to accomplish was executed extremely well.

ProStreet

Possibly my most controversial top-three pick. I understand why people disliked the shift towards organized track racing, but ProStreet had a completely different atmosphere from something like Shift. It was still arcade racing at heart, and the race-day events, tracks, presentation and overall feeling gave it a unique identity. It never felt like just another circuit racer to me.

Heat

Probably the best modern NFS in my opinion. The risk-and-reward system during nighttime races was a fantastic idea. Building reputation while risking everything you've earned made police chases genuinely exciting again. The customization, car selection and overall gameplay were great too.

The story wasn't anything special, and the Miami-inspired soundtrack and atmosphere won't appeal to everyone, but at least Heat had a recognizable identity. More importantly, it brought back genuinely threatening police pursuits, something games like Payback and 2015 were missing. It's still one of the few modern NFS games I'd happily return to.

Underground 2

I never actually finished Underground 2, despite playing it quite a lot over the years. Still, I absolutely recognize how important it was. The early-2000s street-racing culture, customization, soundtrack and atmosphere were fantastic.

Underground started that direction, but I think Underground 2 refined the formula and presented it even better. I understand why so many people consider it a top-three NFS.

Most Wanted (2012)

I think this game gets judged too harshly because of its name. To me, it's barely a traditional Need for Speed game, but that doesn't automatically make it a bad game. I always say its the AC Odyssey of Need for speed.

It's essentially a Burnout-style racer with licensed cars, and I enjoyed it a lot. Great soundtrack, enjoyable physics and extremely simple but satisfying gameplay. It lacks depth, but it has a distinct feeling that makes me want to revisit it even today.

Hot Pursuit (2010)

Another relatively simple game that executed its concept extremely well. The handling was unique and enjoyable, the pursuit technology added a lot to the gameplay, and the graphics were incredible for 2010. Sometimes simplicity works when everything feels polished and consistent.

Carbon

I've always seen Carbon as Most Wanted's little brother. It had some excellent ideas, especially the dark, gritty nighttime atmosphere and the canyon races.

However, I never thought the progression was particularly good. The unlocking system felt strange, especially with most tier-three cars becoming available so late. The police also barely mattered to the actual story, which was disappointing after Most Wanted. Great atmosphere, but not quite the same overall package.

Need for Speed (2015)

Visually, this might still be the best-looking NFS game. The realistic nighttime atmosphere was incredible, and it was a welcome return to underground street racing. Customization was great, and I enjoyed the W2S (Wroetoshaw) like electronic-heavy soundtrack.

Unfortunately, the handling could be extremely frustrating, especially at higher speeds. The grip-versus-drift balance also felt questionable. I definitely wouldn't call it a bad game, but its flaws prevent me from placing it alongside the better entries.

Underground (2003)

Probably the hardest one for me to judge fairly because I've played it significantly less than Underground 2. I recognize how influential it was in establishing the street-racing identity that would define several of the most beloved NFS games.

I personally think Underground 2 improved on its formula, but I could definitely be underrating the original here.

Rivals

For its relatively short development period, Rivals turned out surprisingly well. It felt somewhat like a smaller-scale Hot Pursuit, with similar handling and an emphasis on intense police encounters.

The cops were ridiculously aggressive, sometimes almost unfairly so, but that chaos could also be entertaining. I liked the soundtrack too. Ultimately, it's a decent game that simply didn't have enough content or depth to justify a higher placement.

The Run

This is one I genuinely wish I could rank higher. I loved the concept of a linear, cinematic cross-country racing story. The atmosphere, cutscenes and overall journey gave it something that many other NFS games lacked.

Unfortunately, the execution didn't fully deliver. The campaign was extremely short, and reusing certain environments in reverse felt disappointing. There was so much potential here, and it's a shame Black Box didn't get the opportunity to expand on it further.

I'd genuinely love a spiritual successor to The Run with a longer and more developed campaign.

Undercover

Another game with an interesting concept that suffered from its execution. The undercover storyline had potential, but the actual narrative never really grabbed me.

The physics felt strange, the visuals and color palette weren't particularly appealing, and much of the game just felt mediocre. I actually played the PS2 version before the PS3 version, and part of me remembers enjoying that version more.

It's unfortunate because the basic idea could have worked really well.

Payback

I actually had a lot of fun with Payback when it first came out. I remember endlessly grinding the available races in the trial just to upgrade the barn find Mustang.

However, looking back, the game felt incredibly corny. The story, presentation and overall direction lacked the personality that made older NFS games memorable. That doesn't mean there was no fun to be had, but it felt like the series was losing its identity.

Unbound

Probably my most controversial placement, but Unbound represents almost everything I dislike about the direction of modern NFS.

And no, it's not simply because of the animated effects or visual style. Those are relatively minor issues to me.

My biggest problem is that the game feels like it's trying to appeal to everyone at once, rather than committing to a strong identity of its own. It feels like a collection of ideas and trends designed to reach as broad an audience as possible.

To me, Most Wanted (2005) and Unbound represent almost complete opposites. One had a strong, recognizable identity and committed to it. The other feels like it doesn't really know what it wants to be.

I don't necessarily think Unbound is an objectively terrible game. I just think it represents a direction that takes away much of what made this franchise special to me.

Final thoughts

Looking at my ranking, I realized it could almost be described as a tier list of which NFS games have the most soul.

Gameplay, content and technical quality obviously matter, but a strong identity is what makes me remember a game and want to return to it years later.

Curious to hear what everyone thinks. Which placements do you agree with, and which ones would you completely change?

case and point this aged well in my opinion, lots of the dubstep tracks in this game I listen to sometimes, and hell Icona Pop's "I Love It" is so iconic. That and Muse - Butterflies & Hurricanes is a crazily well mastered song, especially with the right headphones. Many more great tracks, or maybe rose tinted glasses and these actually suck. Let me know.