With the reveal of Need for Speed Heat dropping yesterday, racing fans are ready to fuel up and take their skills to the streets. The 2-minute teaser trailer shows off a bit of the game while hinting at some of the features that fans can expect in this new entry.
However, Need for Speed, the flagship racing franchise from EA, has been lacking certain improvements that the game was once praised for in the past, dating back to Need For Speed Rivals in 2013.
Fans of the franchise have been begging for EA to make some critical changes to help increase the longevity of the game and improve the various aspects that have fallen by the wayside over the years.
We have compiled some of those improvements that players have been clamoring for so that Need for Speed Heat can be the best entry yet.
Here are six improvements we want to see in Need for Speed Heat.
Improved Driving Physics
Driving in Need for Speed Payback was a challenge. Rather than allowing the player to feel like they are one with the car, it felt instead like you were in a constant fight with the physics to keep your car straight and steady as you attempt to pass the other drivers.
Using brake to drift is a staple in most racing franchises, it allows the driver to take a sharp turn at incredible speeds and maintain your position in the race, a key skill that players must learn in order to take the number one spot in the polls.
However, Need for Speed Payback made drifting a risky endeavor. Spinning out of control became the norm rather than a rare occurrence for both experienced and inexperienced players alike.
In Need for Speed 2015, EA attempted to make the driving more accessible by implementing a handling slider that allowed players to choose just how much grip their car had on the roads.
However, while increasing the grip helped improve your control over the vehicle, it also made you feel as though you were driving a boat rather than a car.
EA then attempted to improve upon these handling sliders in Need for Speed Payback, but the sliders felt less impactful for long-time players and even more confusing for new players as the tweaks rarely felt like they did much of anything.
Need for Speed Heat needs to improve the driving mechanics first and foremost before anything else. If players find the driving to be too difficult or an annoyance from the get-go, they are more likely to stop playing rather than learn the nuances of the mechanics.
Lately, Need for Speed games have been lacking that precise and fluid driving that racing games need to have in order to succeed. If the entire game is based around driving a car, the game should not make controlling your vehicle an exercise in patience.
Need for Speed would benefit by learning from its competitors, such as Forza Horizon, that nail the satisfying arcade-style racing by tuning the driving mechanics in a way that appeases both casual and hardcore players.
