Need for Speed NITRO (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

We'd generally begin a review of an EA published racing game with 'it's that time of year again...' but things are a little different this time around as gamers have been treated to not one but two versions of the multi-million selling Need for Speed franchise. Only the two NITRO titles are of any interest to Nintendo fans of course, but the decision to release a version just for the Wii and DS certainly got our attention. Better still, racing experts Firebrand is dealing with the DS version so strap yourself in; it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Gameplay

EA's Need for Speed series has been hitting the DS for some years now with the results varied at best. What they do attempt though is to try a different approach in every version and this time around you are challenged to race the world (at least six sections of it), everywhere from Rio to San Diego and Cairo to Singapore with extra challenges in the Alps and on the Moon (yes, we did say the Moon). Selecting the Career Mode in NITRO involves you racing around the world attempting to wow crowds with your speed and skill, with the latter being just as important as being first one the finish line. This is all down to a points system which means that you not only have to stay ahead of the pack, but must also pull off as many impressive moves as possible along the way. It's here that the developers have attempted to bring something a little different to the series and points can be racked up through mindless destruction and tagging, which involves travelling through two rings. You can also impress the judges by foiling the law and 'leap-frogging' your opponents.

It's not all just about racing around a circuit though as some of the sections may challenge you to destroy the entire object within the time limit or hit all the Tags around the course. There are also Knockout and Point-to-Point racers but because they generally use the same track you can feel a little short-changed. You don't have to go down the Career route though and there's also a Single Track option or a Multiplayer, which while fun, does require a copy of the game for each player.

Controls

While the actual driving layout is as you'd expect the experience is not nearly as pleasing as with other Firebrand titles; everything from the Drifting to the Nitro needs a bit more fine-tuning, with the Drifting in particular a little too 'slippery' for its own good. You'll also find that once you are airborne there's absolutely no way of controlling your car, so expect to spin out of control just because you've left the ground on more than a few occasions. Your other controls come into play as you race around the track, so for instance, Police can be avoided by pressing 'x' at the correct moment and opponents can be 'leap-frogged' in the same manner. All of this adds to your rating, which is important because as we've mentioned the success criteria is not only about speed but also driving style. It all has a very arcade feel to it and unlike some of the other Firebrand racing titles realism has been ignored completely.

Graphics

Given just how far Firebrand have managed to push the DS in terms of graphics with the Race Driver series, it's a little surprising to see a game which could have been pushed out some years ago. It's not terrible but the tracks appear unfinished and the game suffers from a great deal of 'pop up'. On the plus side you do get to travel though a variety of places and everywhere from Madrid to Cairo has enough visual references to please anyone who's been there.

Sound

Not everyone's going to enjoy the soundtrack but there's enough variety here to please even the fiercest of critics with everything from Alex Metric to Rise Against included. The sound effects aren't nearly as pleasing and while the skidding noises may mirror a car's tires, the engine noises are more like a low powered lawnmower than anything approaching a performance car.

Dual screen

Not a lot really and outside of the now standard Tag Editor, which allows you to design your own logo, there's absolutely no interaction.

Final comments

I'm a huge fan of developers Firebrand and their previous DS racers have been incredibly well crafted. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of this latest version of EA's Need for Speed and while there's nothing wrong with the game overall there are some flaws stopping it from becoming an instant classic. There's not much variety and the game suffers from some odd control issues, especially when drifting or during the mid-air sections. If you can forgive all that, you're still left with a pretty solid arcade racer but it falls far short of Codemaster's Race Driver series or the incredible Track Mania.

Pro: Great Soundtrack, Solid Arcade Racing
Con: Not Enough Variety, Not Up To FireBrand's Usual Standard
Final score: 6.9

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