Это видео недоступно.
Сожалеем об этом.
Need For Speed Unbound is Good...But Not Great! NFS Unbound Review
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 4 авг 2024
- Ranking this 2nd to Need for Speed Heat, as it took 4 steps forward, but also some steps back. I went into this game COMPLETELY BLIND. I didn’t watch any trailers, didn’t watch any reviews, and didn’t partake in the BETA. I literally didn’t even find out that a new NFS game was due for this year…until someone tweeted it to me in September.
Having said that…I enjoyed this game and don’t let the rushed reviews from Non-Car Gamers dissuade you from buying it. I can’t blame those journalists too much, it is their job after all and they want to be the first to the punch. But the first take is never the most honest take. Most games have depth that needs to be accessed before it can be properly addressed and criticized. This depth can’t be found in the first week of play. TL:DR I wanted to fully enjoy the game, digest it, let it sink in and then make a video on it. So here’s why I think NFS Unbound…is the SECOND Best Modern Need for Speed Game.
I actually don’t mind the story. Maybe it’s because I hardly drive my Corvette anymore, so I’m slowly aging backwards from 46 back to 26, my pre mid-life crisis me that existed. Seriously guys, I’m in my mid 20’s. I’m not actually in my 40s like some people think, that’s just a running joke about me owning a Vette. I’ve had people at car meets actually be surprised to see how young I am. Okay that aside, back to NFS Unbound.
The story is told through short sweet cutscenes. Some are still cringy, but since they don’t overstay their welcome, I didn’t get bothered by those ones. It’s kind of wholesome when you leave the garage each time and Rydell asks you for advice on using modern technology OR gives you advice from what he learned from his era. A nice balanced dynamic of an old dad trying to connect with their surrogate daughter.
Unbound has charm in it’s story. It’s not a great story by any means, but it’s not bad either. Not even close. You’re finally playing as a down to Earth Car Enthusiast. Not some Undercover Cop, Secret Heist participant, or Revenge Chaser looking to right wrongs. The main character you play is just a mechanic for a failing shop. They’re young, but not a total hype beast. They don’t care about followers, but still understand social media enough to explain to Rydell how it works, but not being so obsessed to the point, that they feel comfortable to livestream in public like Tess does. The Main Character feels like an Actual Car Enthusiast I can relate to and probably have even met variants of in Real Life.
Like seriously, I love this presentation for once. I’m so sick of the whole, GET FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. GET FOLLOWERS, POST VIDEOS, DO WILD STUNTS, ROB TRUCKS, GET FOLLOWERS, STEAL CARS, GET FOLLOWERS. That literally every Arcade racer is trying to be. The Crew 2, has Followers as a metric, Forza Horizon uses Fans, Need for Speed Heat gets REP or Reputation. All those are fancy words for just saying, “Get Famous” and it’s tragic when the past 10 years of Arcade Games have been peddling stories with that as the backbone of the game.
This...this is the NFS the new generation of Car Enthusiasts will grow up with and Good Lord, am I so dearly fond of that. I'm so proud THIS, is what they'll grow up playing. Good job Criterion, welcome back and see y'all next year.
0:00 - Intro
0:18 - Boosting
4:07 - Difficulty
4:54 - Police Difficulty
7:50 - Graphics
9:28 - Cars
11:28 - Map and Events
15:15 - Performance and Customization
17:32 - Story
20:50 - Rank Among Other NFS Games
HokiHoshi NFSU2 Review: • A 2021 Review of Need ...
Music Used:
WMMT5DX+ Main Menu
Honkai Impact 3rd - Ace Menu Theme
Scarlet Nexus - Suoh City
Scarlet Nexus - Sweet Hideout
Tower of Fantasy - Mirroria District B
Scarlet Nexus - Grab Your Own Power!
Scarlet Nexus - Musubi
Rynx (VanossGaming) - Read My Mind
• Rynx - "Read My Mind" ...
MY INSTAGRAM! / bladed_angel
MY TIK TOK! www.tiktok.com/@bladed__angel...
MY TWITTER! / bladed__angel
DISCLAIMER:
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."
The materials are used for illustrative and exemplification reasons, also quoting in order to recombine elements to make a new work.
Definitely agree on how overall the lack of passion of EA/Devs towards this game and probably the current generation as a whole. Unbound supposedly had 3 years of development but the actual game felt like it was less than that. To me it just feels like EA is putting a bare minimum effort towards NFS and be happy with a 7/10 game and it shows with the whole shuffling, putting Criterion to work on a non-racing game. EA should be going all out on their flagship racing game and aim for that 9/10.
The 3 Year wait is DEF THE MAIN REASON I RANKED THIS AS SUCH!!! Heat was only a 2-year wait, maybe that's why my expectations were lower, but broooo. I feel like this game could've just had a little bit more. It's definitely still a good game, but NFS needs a Great game RN.
E
Well although i do agree with alot they didnt have 3 years, they did get moved to work on 2042 for about a year, and i think alot of ppl forget this game was developed right when covid was at an all time high and i think everyone is forgetting that. And i dont think this happened but given EA got rid of Ghost just like that maybe Criterion changed up the game that early in development, who knows. I dont think they did that though.
"3 years of development" Criterion had to abort the development for some time beacuse DICE needed help with Battlefield 2042 so it's not 3 years
@@TheoF1 That's why he said "EA is putting a bare minimum effort towards NFS and be happy with a 7/10 game", seriously even Heat feels better and more polished than Unbound with 2 years of development time.
Finnaly someone who can give a genuine review who understands game mechanics
Unlike some
*cough* ign *cough*
They didn't spent enough time to understand the gameplay I'm pretty sure.
It was painful to watch them never use the Yellow NOS or ever grip tune. A few other large Game Review Channels did the same thing...
@@BladedAngel I really only trust ISAD at this point as far as actually game skill goes. He doesn’t talk much, but he’s so goated.
Tbf ign was prob starved for a nfs game and it ended up being alright
@@BladedAngel I mean ign reviewers don't even understand the game
They did the same with choo choo charles and now with nfs
1:26 there is a hidden mechanic with the burst nitrous (that’s the yellow NOS) in unbound. If u get it all the way to max and u figure out how to use it right in the corners, u can actually grip the corner a lot better, and u can take the corner a lot faster, which can also refill ur burst NOS back to full, allowing u to chain together multiple “super grip” turns if u can figure out how to do it right
This is why I love it even more. This new mechanic adds so much depth. Easy to use, hard to master...it's a highlight of Unbound and NEEDS to return in future nFS games.
yeah same idea but with some cars you can just drift the corner, boost when you're straight and it grips right back up so ye its a really cool mechanic
Wait, that sounds like Ridge Racer's nitrous mechanic.
this is some mario kart type shit
I like the concept of this mechanic but in practice it can grip a bit too much. if you get a tiny bit of air time, like even by just going up a curb, it can cause you to spin out due to a few wheels being off the ground. its a minor thing where its a side effect of these mechanics but doesn't really fit within the physics.
THANK YOU BLADED! I was tired of all the journalists giving the game reviews from a non car enthusiast perspective. I was hoping you’d mention this game at some point and I’m glad you made a whole video on it! One thing I like about the city is the npcs that walk around like in gta. It adds more life to the city, for me at least. Thanks for the video!
Bruh Midnight CLub 3 had NPCs in Cities, that's a bare minimum at this point. I need more nooks and grannies err I mean crannies, in my cities!
@@BladedAngel fair point. I kinda forgot about the npcs in midnight club. Love the videos btw
@@BladedAngel would be cool to see other racers out on the streets and be able to race them like in payback
Tbh the pedestrians almost reminded me of Midtown Madness lol
@@smolltaco5667You mean like in NFSU2... That would also let you unlock unique upgrades that you couldn't get otherwise back then.
I would argue that Lakeshore is a great map. Sure, I would agree by the dullness of the city core, the thing that makes it alive were the pedestrians around and the moving bridges. I think this is the first Need For Speed game with moving pedestrians, and when I first saw it, it already gives me Midnight Club vibes. The moving bridges are giving me Underground 1 vibes as well, because I vividly remember Olympic City’s open bridges that you jump off, and Lakeshore’s moving bridges gave me that throwback.
I agree that it is indeed a great map, and it also helps that i enjoyed the gameplay of Unbound. I have been spoiled by racing games with massive maps such as Test Drive Unlimited 2 and The Crew 1 and 2. To the point that it is what makes or breaks a racing game for me immersion-wise.
Unbound however, made me ignore the map size for the first time in years. That's how enjoyable it was to me, personally. Fuck the overtuned cop spawn rate though.
Finally after almost 30 years lol
Agree mate. I see some people claiming Heat and Payback had a better map and then wonder how. Lakeshore also has those multilevel streets, like irl Chicago, the moving train or the big ferris wheel
I'd rather just play midnight club 3 tbh. In fact, that's exactly what I booted up after this game.
HOUSE REAL BIG, CARS REAL BIG, EVERYTHING REAL BIG.
I think the grey aesthetic of this game somewhat was supposed to represent the sub story that was happening on the in-game radio, about the mayor (i took every opportunity to listen to the full dialogues). The Mayor, Stevenson i believe was her name, kept antagonising street racing and tried to normalize Lakeshore. This normal feeling was probably how Lakeshore got this grey aesthetic. Now I know i might sound your old English teacher explaining why the writer's curtains were blue, but when you make the connections, you can't deny this being a possibility.
Maybe, another theory ppl have told me is that because the style is so flarey and saturated, the city is meant to be easily contrasted against it. Maybe it'll grow on me? IDK. Let's hope this game ain't dropped by EA as with a few updates...this is very close to being a great game. Keep in mind, I definitely still enjoyed it! Very good game! Just I want that Great Experience...I really want that little oomph from the devs that extra polish.
I don't think the game designers would sacrifice the games aesthetic to satisfy some abstract sub story.
@@therarestpepe9655boy, you have NOT played any Fallout game
HP2010 had the most smooth drift gameplay i have ever seen in a NFS game.
To this day it's still my favourite game to drift in (yes at RIDICULOUS speeds but that's literally the fun of an arcade racer)
100%
Nah NFS Carbon is💪💪💪💪
@@dyaanahmad5079 NFS Rivals
The yellow boosting mechanic is so fun, makes me alot more bold in terms of taking tight corners at high speeds, got the Palace Edition for cheap and been having fun with it so far.
Also really love the art style they went with in this game, it's like Anime/Street graffiti inspired and I'm all for it.
It really reminds me of the drafting mechanic from Midnight Club LA
@@Maddiedoggie oh crap you're absolutely right.
I actually like Lakeshore’s map. With the improved handling and nitrous, the roads feel great to drive. I can appreciate the multi layer design of the city with railways and underground sections. Plus you can’t tell me places like the 2 racetracks or the storm drains weren’t fun to drive through. Or drifting the mountains roads in a correctly built drift car.
I ranked the map higher than the city. I'm fine with the surrounding area. The Drifting, Touge, and Pipe sections are indeed fun! The City...IDK, Maybe I just expected more from a 3-year wait?
@@BladedAngel fair enough, I still like Lakeshore, its not great, but I still like it.
I really enjoyed this game. My main issue tho is late game grinding. After completing all the challenges and gathering collectibles, my only drive to play this game is buying cars, upgrading them and driving around. But if you need to grind 3 full weeks only to buy a bugatti, grinding becomes really exhausting
EXACTLY 💯
I was hoping that with new tech, this wouldn't be a thing now lol.
I remeber thia late game grind in Underground 2 and a bit less in Midnight Club 3.
A shame they can figure out how to keep high dollar races dynamically going after the story is done at this point in time 😓
I wish it had more story or at least a sub plot to carry through the next weeks.
Even Midnight Club 3 had the manners to give us Tokyo Challenge as a break to Main Story/Endgame zone for post main story.
This entire comment thread has just devolved into me realizing Midnight Club 3 has been ahead of the NFS Franchise for a decade now...so I'm just gonna replay that instead.
funny you say that, i don't need to do any late game grinding since i had enough cash to fully invest to 3 cars. i'm seeing a major case of skill issue here
The art style looks rad. I would've bought it if the game didn't require me to install some bullshit EA service and create an account/login there
The sad thing about the number of cars is that there are a lot of cabrio-versions of cars that are already in the game, which in my opinion dont count as different cars. And the list only grew a bit over the last few NFS titles as it is always the same ones with a few additions. So for somebody who played the previous game there is not too much new in terms of cars.
Yes. Too much variant for a single model. Game with customization shouldn't have more than one variant of same model.
@@govinlock8568 I did not say that. I said that Cabrios don't count as separate cars for me as they mostly drive and look the same. For me it doesn't mean that the game has 140 cars but 120 as the others are Cabrios of already existing cars.
Reason why I didn’t bother buying this game
Roadster in this game has a different engine swap list than the hardtop version of the same car. And in some car the hard top version accel faster but Roadster have extra points for other stuff. Nos for example.
It still doesn't take away from the fact that the roaster still consists of plenty different branded cars, y'all can poke at the number of cars these games have all you want, it's not like any of you even use half of them before finally get tired of the game and dropping it, I can guarantee if Most Wanted 2005 and Underground 2 came out today y'all would lose your heads over the less than 40 cars they had, this is just a generation of entitlement I guess.
Being from the Underground/MW era I really really enjoyed this game. Lakeview to me had the same feeling I got from Rockport and Rydell was kind of how I see myself now with younger enthusiasts. Its definitely one of my favorite games.
It's not the same
Nfs 2005 and unbound is very different if you compare them
@@fillyjonkxiioflowersaxony they are very different but the feel to me is similar.
@@nedronbronzebeard7118 in what way?
@@fillyjonkxiioflowersaxony the game over all to me reminds me of when I got into NFS in 05. Just reminds me of simpler times and ease. Like, the cops being easier reminds me of how easy they were in MW with the speed breaker system. The way the outdoor events and sprint races play reminds me of my favorite times in MW speed traps and sprint races. The Charger being back in the game as a playable car. The story is nowhere near the same but the feeling of being "the best" in Lakeshore. The feeling of "taking on the top racers". The attitude of the cops. There's just a lot that make it feel similar to when I played MW/Carbon when I was 14. Hell, maybe it could be the fact that I didn't really play NFS until Heat... And I didn't like the Day Events (felt like Forza Horizon to me). Unbound though is all just pure Street Racing... Like MW/Carbon.
@@nedronbronzebeard7118 good points,
The thing I miss from mw 2005 is that you can pick any car you want and didn't need to play the best car to have fun.
Ps and I miss the gas stations in mw 05 it was fun as f to make them explode
seeing your TOF gameplay makes me realise how far behind i really am 😭, im literally at the part when the lvl cap was 50 💀
Come back :D
Game has lots of content, most major bugs and exploits (even ones I enjoyed like jetpack+Grapple glitch) have been patched. Hackers have moved on to other popular titles. So the game and community is a very peaceful world now! Except Solaris maybe. Giga Whales might still be toxic there.
@@BladedAngel I haven't played since launch, is it really worth coming back to?
@@gunman8452 Up2u, it's a Sci-Fi game. Next weapon is a Sniper Rifle, so my biggest recommendation is: "Do you like Anime, Guns, and Skyscrapers? Then yes, TOF is good"
"Do you like Medieval Fantasy with Castles and expect this to be Genshin? Not recommended" Too many ppl expect TOF to be Genshin, it's not. Different setting. Aesperia was a sad rushed market quota designed to "mimick" what was popular at the time (Genshin) and it resulted in the devs now working their ass off to make an actual identity instead of the the one their publisher PWE forced onto them...what sounds good in marketing won't play good, but I'm glad the game just full sends as a Sci-Fi game now. Shooting Cars with NOS off a Cliff is fucking hilarious. I'll gladly trade a Grapple Movement glitch patch if I get a car lmfao.
@@BladedAngelwat is tof I’m interested
@@Tha-mountain Tower of Fantasy. MMO gacha game. It's on Steam and F2P so you can give it a try if you want to.
About customization… Heat had an inventory system where you could keep unwanted performance parts to sell or put on another car. I figure I’ve lost a few million by the lack of this feature in Unbound.
Right, like they padded it to make you play the game longer, I like the fact how you could take parts off one car and equip it to another vehicle in heat
honestly fine with this feature, makes me think twice before buying anything, in Heat, i can just spend my money on anything, repeat a day race 3 times, rinse and repeat.
@@davesmith3529objectively not true, you say that but my experience says otherwise, i completed Unbound in less time i completed Heat, not to mention playtime differs from person to person, and depending on the player's cash management skill it can cut the """"""grind time"""""""" by 3 to 7 hours
I feel like most video game journalists don't even know how video games work. Then they give harsh and unfair ratings to video games, or at least the games I saw that were reviewed in recent times. They need people who are passionate gamers and they need people who understand every aspect of a game (details, customization features, competitive aspects of video games, etc.).
They're rushing a half baked product to review rushed half baked products. Truly a vicious cycle....I can't believe how much 1st week footage Reviews I saw of this game at launch. Like...how can you rate a whole game just 2-4 hours in????? 40 hours later, THAT'S when I gave this review:
My main criticism is that they don't have enough routes or layouts for the races or whatever you wanna call tracks in an open world game.
I like the ones that are there, but I feel like way too much of the map is completely unused in race events, so a majority of roads you'll just come across during side stuff like chases, speed traps or collecting stuff.
There's so much to be gained here, because the map has great roads and shortcuts... they just don't use it nearly as well as they could have for your main activity: racing.
Couldn't they just pay an intern to place a shit ton of checkpoints for a week so we end up with 3 times the amount of layouts?
Personnally I would argue NFS Most Wanted 2005 has actually easier police difficulty compared to the modern NFS because of 2 thing : the addition of an actual HP and the removal of pursuit breaker. When I was a kid I was kind of scared of heat level 4 and 5 because it could instantly ruin your run because of spikes and fast car but last year when I played the game again, as a more mature player, I found the game actually pretty easy. But when I tried Rivals and another one I forgot, having an actual HP that decreases when getting hit or even inflincting hit on other car actually made me even more wary of cops than I was before. The feeling isnt the same because in 2005, your car is an invincible beast that can only be stopped by throwing spikes or enough car at it (but it can never be destroyed). In the recent NFS your car is no longer that invincible beast and you cannot afford to casually ram cops because at some point you'll just wreck your car.
A small detail some may say but still.
Not just hp and pursuit breaker but speedbreaker as well in the old games. Speedbreaker is extremely clutch in difficult situations
i agree to this so much, Pursuits in those games are piss easy, hell its a lot easier than Unbound lmao
I haven’t finished the game yet. But this game is amazing. I personally didn’t think the police chases were too easy. Once you take out most of the cops it has a timer that will give you reinforcements if it runs out. Also the cops system was pretty good I thought, they would find you a lot faster the higher heat you are in. Also the gas station health system is very different. Because it is timed. it won’t let use it again for a couple of minutes instead of limiting you to only a couple of times a session that you could use often. Forcing you to repair less often but when you need it because you may die before you can repair again
Also I thought the game looked good and the city felt massive even if it is smaller. It’s more condensed so the highways takes you to places sooner.
Also gaining heat linked to races and having a week system is very good. It forces you to only take bigger races and cash in a little early or you could lose everything if the cops catch you. In need for speed heat I got a little too comfortable being heat 5 and just being able to get away with anything. If the cops were too hard then new players would get too frustrated. But I still have been busted a few times and had a lot of close calls. In need for speed heat a lot of the time you’d get the cops on you during a race but then by the end of it you’d lose them. in unbound I would still have the cops on me and have to get them off after the race.
Reinforcements? What Reinforcements? *rams 5 more police*
I definitely think I'm just too used to NFS games, so that's why they felt easy to me. I do note that in the video. Most people who haven't played literally every game on repeat, will likely still be fine with them. I just memed the shit out of them lmfao
Also in Heat when you jump anywhere the cops would die because they couldn’t land like you lol. But in Unbound I noticed they were on my ass no matter if I jumped high asf or not. Also the dialogue of the cops funny ash
Bladed Angel with the Chaika eyebrows on his character.
I agree on the gray look of Lakeshore. I hope a LUT modification can bring color into it. Otherwise, good ol' Reshade will do the job for me.
My main gripe with the game is customization parts being not just locked, but even hidden away. Like the blower on the Camaro, that's carried over from Heat.
Or the Hero car kits.
bladed posted. *grabs popcorn and sits down*
26 minutes longggggggggg enjoy that popcorn!
What I like about Unbound is that the story is more street oriented more than trying to be like fast and the furious, I rather have a game where the stories problem is someone trying to get their car back and not we race to take down the cops situations
same, its more of a chill vibe instead of generic revenge story number 79182
The only problem i had with unbound was that the physics felt unpredictable, especially around tiny jumps, where the car would grip up right away and crash, but the problem was that i chose the civic as the first car and had it on grip tires (who would've known) and i was complaining over how super understeery the game was, until i tried online with the skyline and surprise-surprise the game felt actually decent lmao
I don't know if anyone has said yet, but regarding your comment on the age of the vehicles. I read an article a couple years ago that explained the process of getting cars into games. Basically what happens is for example EA puts a list of car together, they send that list to the respected companies to get the license to use that vehicle in their game. At that point the Motor companies then send the response back. Some of the requirements that the companies require with the approved vehicles are not reasonable so then EA would have to either change or just remove that vehicle. Me personally I wish they would have a few different cars in general. I think that we have too many options for some motor companies where as others are not available. For example Toyota or Lexus but overall I am happy they have a large amount of options to choose from, my only complaint there is the difficulty to earn money to buy them all.
My biggest issue with modern need to speed is that 8 don't even need to hand break to drift, just trying to turn normal causes the rear end to kick out like I have a drift kit installed and hit an oil patch
Honestly, i see the sales issue also in the fact of its next-gen console requirement. Most sales are console anyways and due to the high prices since release, scarcity and the looming global financial problems since the big Rona making the switch to next-gen very slow.
The thing you said about realism in games, thats so true.. the more the realistic games get nowadays, all u realise is.. u never want the world around you to be simulated when its what you see everyday, but see something different.. like how it COULD be from a different perspective.. thats what we need.. older nfs games just had that.. some strong base foundation they built on.. these newer games it feels like.. idk its like all the effort goes to making the game as eye-candy as possible.. like the visuals are sick but.. but it lacks character and.. yk.. some life.. as u said.
Thought EXACTLY the same driving through the city. Many times i had dajavu thinking i was in heat map.
City so boring.
But i have more issues i had with the game.
My car stability was horrible, had to turn sensitivity way down and still didn't help. On bumpy straights small adjustment sent me flying into the wall, and playing on intense that was... Pain.
Another thing. One ai guy would rubber band forwards when ahead on intense.
I watched when at full speed on highway. Him get more and more ahead untill i was watching distnace increase by 100m a second.
It was game breaking.
If I wasn't already ahead i was out.
So i felt the instability of my car a lot more, along with ai glinging cars into me, making it impossible.
i've stopped looking at leaks, predictions, trailers, and reviews of games i *know* i'm going to buy a couple years ago. it really helps me enjoy the game as a brand new experience and make my own opinion about whether a game sucks or not. Instead of playing a game i've already formed an opinion through other peoples hype and expectations.
Everytime a big racing game not named Forza comes out, big media reviews phone it in and don’t do the game justice when reviewing. A lot of people that don’t like racing games only don’t like them because they are bad at them.
Facts
9:05 this is the reason I loved the midnight club series so much. Nothing else on the market comes to close to in terms of the racing genre and it’s such a shame that it’s gone for good 😓
Curious what you think of the chases if it weren't for rear ending. Im super casual nfs player and didn't know about this. Thought the chases were the hardest in any racing game
My biggest issue with this game is the lack of postgame content. There's nothing to do in SP after the credits roll, and the week system feels super restrictive. Heat letting you choose b/w day/night was awesome and I miss having that option. Some challenge series type thing would also be a really nice way to flesh out your opponents' personalities beyond shitty one liners
One thing I didn’t like about the story was how they tried to justify the crimes they do by “expressing themselves” and the dialogue which to me was really mediocre and could’ve been easily remedied. I kind of wished that they kinda gave us a choice between accepting jaz back or not and how passive our character was, the story apart from those things was ok though
Yellow boost is burst shot NOS. Blue boost is Burn NOS. What i love to equip in my vehicles is the Grip Nitrous Bonus and Drift Nitrous Bonus Auxiliary Parts. Really helps in online races
I really like how you mentioned how generic the city was because I felt the same. I may have also missed it but I feel no one has critiqued the actually races/tracks in any review. For me personally it’s the biggest downside to Unbound. Everything feels great (excluding drifting) but when it comes to the races themselves, they feel quite generic. Wide turn, sharp turn, boost boost, do it again. If I compare with need for speed 2015s races. They were miles better. You’d sharp turn into a tight alley way over a small jump, the hook turn around a building, then boost on a straight then dip into another turn straight into a sewer then back up into a construction yard then up a hill and onto a windy road up a mountain. Maybe it was the gymkana influence but man I miss races like that. Unbound is mostly wide uninspired generic roads and when you get to S+ it’s basically highways. Maybe it’s personal preference but I really wish there were more variety and creativity with the races.
I remember watching videos of the game, I had no idea what was going on with the nitrous gauge, but playing the tutorial I just got it.
The city, the online, and the fact that they seem to have removed some customization from existing cars (at least they added some to certain cars) are all just ehhhhhhhh
I love the art style and the handling. One thing I definitely miss is the endgame of Heat. The story ending, but having this unique way of grinding for the best parts before you could max out a car was a seriously under-appreciated part of that game IMO. There’s really nothing to do in singleplayer after the story is done in unbound. Overall, I prefer it to heat.
Imo its the greatest nfs game in years its the game i wanted since prostreet. You guys should except the “golden-era” of NFS is long gone. Unbound is a great game.
📝📝📝
Thanks Bladed 🙏🏾🫡 Big fan
holy shit
As a most wanted 2005 enjoyer, most wanted 2005 still have THE BEST pursuit system, EVER
the yellow boosting is kind of just a more developed version of the drafting in midnight club, though i prefer how midnight club handled it with the additional abilities you get like zone, rampage (or whatever its called) and roar
How is the customizing in the painting aspect? because i spend way to much hours in the paint shop trying to make my car look awesome. i dont mind the art. just seems really busy but will have to see when its cheaper and play it. city does seem a bit.. dead. i do love how u dont seem to be Forced having to do offroad and stuff because i HATE that about racing games. i just want to race and drift.
Customizing is money. Since you just want to race and drift, you’d have a blast with the game.
Just try to toggle with the tuning options, their default settings makes drifting a bitch.
Car tier system changed from heat is actually liked but only one issue is bothered me
one point i got ferrari 488 gtb by doing collective which is S Class
But in week 1 and 2 even i got the s class car it doesnt unlocks s class event until week 3
I agree with most of the points you made in the vid Blade. I tried the trial, since i rarely buy a game when it's new (usually wait a year or so). And the game as in the mechanics is amazing. I really wanted to love it. But after 8 or so hours of my trial I found myself going back to heat. And the reason is the map. I don't feel a thing for Lakeshore. I don't remember anything in that world. I'm not saying that Heat had an amazing world, but for me it felt way more polished. It was energetic with full of neon lights, the city felt amazing and (for me most importantly) the canyons were really good to drive in. Lakeshore did not give me anything that'd make me remember it. So i'm really hoping that for once EA doesn't shut down a studio at first sight and the *NEW* Criterion team can work on another installment and build on what Heat started and now Unbound continue to build upon.
And here's hoping they don't take a step back and want to make it more like Forza Horizon. If they do that i fear there will be no arcade racing game series for me left.
The evolution of modern NFS has just been a roller coaster of inconsistencies and clashing design choices. Every new entry seems to have a handful of really good improvements and interesting ideas, but gets bogged down by bullshit.
They improved the cop chases... but they made them spawn on top of you constantly.
They improved the driving... but the entire game has 2 event varieties.
They improved progression... but now you don't earn enough to fully explore customization.
They let you create a character... but made them a goody two shoes pushover.
I still enjoyed the game, but fuck, this stuff is frustrating.
They should add bodykits from the older games for the cars that are in unbound from the older games. 180sx, Corvette zo6, the eclipse, rsx, 69 charger, skyline, 350z etc. THEY SHOWED US THEY CAN DO THAT with the legend cars they added in heat
There are two minor things could of made this game better, 1 the ability to reset the story so you can start from scratch and 2 the ability to customize the controls(M&K and Controller).
I hadn't played a racing game for a good while, so Unbound was a welcome distraction. I played through on challenging and enjoyed it immensely. For some reason it gave me a Jet Set Radio vibe: cell shaded characters, and some wicked music.
Cough* auto *cough modolista
@@marcusstokes-pu3op Never heard of it. 👀
Turn ya neck bone at a 90 degree angle and look at it.
@@marcusstokes-pu3op I just looked it up. An arcade racer on PS2, right?
Ye
Great review. I haven't gotten the chance to play it since I don't have a ps5 but the main reason I don't listen to other game reviewers is because 1. They try to compare it to other games coming out that are not in the genre (still not sure why this was being compared to NBA 2k23) and 2 they have really strict quotas to get a review out so they base everything off the first hour or 2
I actually think that the gray-ish look is intentional and thanks to the effects of the cars everyone is mad about were made to fill the blank gray look to not look empty cuz in reality you can imagen these effects but not replicate them.
In that case I believe that the effects are just an illusion that your character thinks when drifting,jumping etc.
i really live NFS unbound, my only critisism is the city, i miss the neon lights and street lights everywhere, i love the effects and the parts outside the city, but i feel like the city is so forgettable, comparing heat with unbound i would say that heat is the better game for driving around for fun and taking photos imo and unbound better at another department, and i love the difference even though slight, and im going to be changing to pc and i have to choose between heat or unbound to buy and i kinda prefer Heat even with its flaws, so i will be buying heat instead of unbound
I've played payback recently. The city is the singular best part of the map. Almost the entirety of the rest of the map gives horizon 1 feel with the invisible walls. I think the whole map of unbound is pretty solid but the city definitely needs work. I get that Chicago is so boring and grey (as a Chicagoan) but we're in a game. It's a fantasized version of Chicago that could've been spiced up more
There should be a snow update, that might help
Man I absolutely LOVE the art in this one. I saw a little gameplay on another one of your videos and wanted to learn more about the game specifically because of the art
Not to mention the soundtrack of the older NFS games really helped with the atmosphere compared to whatever tf we get now
Yeah some of the songs are terrible
This soundtrack does the same thing
The Super Grip buff that the Burst Nitrous had just made the skill-gap in this game incredibly high lol. The average players would used it to only speed up while the higher skill ones used it to have better turns and 90 degree drift at 200mph.
The part where you says that games mean to be a escape from real life is so accurate. I enjoy more a ps2 game about ninjas than any other game after swapping my pc gpu.
So many reviews I see for this game just say "please just remaster underground 2" and I totally agree. All these years later and I still boot up the old fat ps2 to play it occasionally.
I haven't played an NFS game since the 2015 reboot, so I went into this one blind too. I like Unbound well enough, I just have to turn the music off. I tried keeping the music on to get into the "feel" of the game, but I just find most of it annoying. Phonk fits better.
I also wish there were more tracks, feels like by week 3 you've driven everything more than once and it starts to get stale.
I really like the art style, and having effects that fit your car's color is super satisfying.
The handling is fine. 100% grip or drift works for me, everything else feels a bit unpredictable. Like at 80% drift I'll try to initiate with a brake tap but end up plowing straight through the corner instead.
The story is pretty good for a racing game. Rydell is a real one, by far my favorite character. I want to just buy him a beer and shoot the shit. For everyone else... the humor and mannerisms are about 10 years too young for me.
I don't remember the last time you made a review. Wow.
Cool!
He made a 2 hour long tier list video on all NFS games
Holy ish, an actual review! Too often there is a rushed feeling in reviews, gotta be 1st ya know. In that rush nuances get overlooked, appreciate you Bladed.
If you’re on Xbox then they have a free trial for the game, that let’s you play up to 10 hours of the story. Also the “Palace Edition” that gives you access to all the Palace branded clothing and cars is going for less than 45 I believe if you have EA Play. I definitely recommend playing the trial first as I did yo see if you like, and if that helps there’s the best edition on the game on sale for less than 50 bucks. I honestly recommend the game. I made a street racing playlist of songs from the first 3 The Fast and The Furious movies, NFS Underground 1 and 2, and Midnight Club Dub edition… I can’t explain the nostalgia I get from playing those songs while playing this game. It’s definitely a step in the right direction for me, I’d give this game a 8 out of 10.
I just really wish they’d give us a cockpit camera option idk why it’s not in the game
Speaking of Bladed playing video games, will CarTaku return back to VTubing, now that the genre has gone semi-mainstream?
You missed NFS The Run where you travel cross country and the detail of Mother Nature’s wrath you drive through, specially in the Rockies. It was so much fun to fight other cars, police, and Mother Nature at the same time! If you haven’t played it I recommend this classic NFS game (2011)
Nice vidéo, btw in which server are you TOF?
I wish there was a good focus on racing away from the city. Like hear me out, my dream map is like a good mix of payback, 2015, and heat just like a bundled mesh of everything I love
For the flashy city I would love paybacks design of LVG but with more complexity, from underground, to midground, and above ground. Underground being around closed off railroad tracks, abandon and non functional sewers. Mid ground consisting of active railroad tracks, suspended train tracks above water, underground freeways. if we were to throw in some rally even something like the LA Sewers would be phenomenal to race around. Above ground would be more streets, bridges, freeways that take you around the city to admire its diamond lights and wonders, Dark wide ally ways turned into car meets, overpasses and underpasses, new spots that just show off the area around them and so on
ALSO BRING BACK AUDI
I agree with most of your points in the video. One thing I would add about Unbound tho is that I kinda found the race structure kinda getting repetitive by the end but that's just a minor nitpick didn't really ruin the game experience for me. Also personally found the soundtrack a mixed bag, overall I like it, there were a lot of bangers like The Door, Cryptic Speech, Palace, and The God Hour, but at the same time there are a few songs that straight up suck imo like Mmaso and Azo Toke.
Also P.S. this is one of the first videos I've seen of yours and you're goated for using Scarlet Nexus music as the bgm, that game has one of my favorite osts of all time and was my personal most underrated game of 2021.
Really loved your Review :D Would love to see more of your oppinions to Racing games, like more of a in depth look what you did here :D
I Personally really love the first Crew Game, sure some Events are Pure Trash (collecting Boxes under a time limit) but for as cheap as it is now with all DLCs i would love to see a review of yours on TC1 ^^ It really has its own Problems definetly but i really love the story of TC1 (in my oppinion its a million times better than the BS they did to TC2)
This is my favorite NFS in a long time. I hated the art style before I played it but once I started playing it grew on me very quickly.
I’ve been waiting for this review, very in depth and hits everywhere I want to know
I appreciate nfs devs going for an arcade turn as the franchise was originally supposed to be not some forza ultra realistic looking bullshit that some of the games became. I feel the same way I felt when I played blur for the first time the arcade physics gave me something new. (There were alot of diff arcade games during that time but the one that stood out to me was blur)
Note: Blur isnt a good example.
i agree, we're living in a time where arcade racers are very very niche cause Forza Horizon exist
The only problem I have with the car list is cause majority are the same cars they've used in payback and heat...and majority of the new cars they have added to unbound are just convertible versions of the same old cars which and its the same thing with heat where you have an abundance of cars but only a few are worth upgrading in each brand...like you have a lot of porsches in the game but there is only like 2 that are worth upgrading I really hope theyve balanced out all the cars so they can all be upgraded to the same level
They completely forgot one use case :
What about the old school player who prefers to use a nitro gauge that get refilled by driving risky but never depletes if it's not used?
This nitro gauge which also refills relatively fast but gets depleted very slowly if it's upgraded to the max?
I really enjoyed myself when racing in this game, but I have a few issues with this entry. The cops were too annoying when I was trying to go anywhere, and they just appear in front of you. Then my cars would just tailspin too fast sometimes.
Hey Bladed Angel. How R U? Commented On The Midnight Club Earlier, Coming Here Now. Great Video. Thank U. Just To Comment Is... This Video Is Great. I Had No Idea How the Nitrous Was Complex Like That Until U Mentioned It Here. Can U Do A Tutorial Vid? My Experience has been. i did the intro with The Countash. After That i started With the 69 Mustang. On Challenging... I Was Stuck On That Mode For About 3 Weeks Until I Did 2 Things. 1 - I Won A Lotus Elige 04, & I Had To Turn The Difficulty Down A Notch, After That It's been smooth Sailing. During The Past 2 & 1/2 Weeks I... Finally Got A C8. After I Won the 100,000 Qualifier I Just Got A Sick Drop Top Aventador. Even On The Lower Difficulty I'm Still Not Guaranteed A 1st Place Every Time. The Competiton is Stiff, & Relentless. & Those Tracks Can Be Very Tricky. I See Your A NFS VET Though. maybe that helps. I Was Into Midnight Club in 2005. But Great Video. Salute.
I agree with every single one of your points except for Lakeshore. It gives me a sort of MC:LA vibe in the downtown areas. Plus, there’s two racetracks and one of them is an oval. And I fucking love oval racing.
I’ve watched a some streams of the game.
I can’t remember the last time I actually was interested in a NFS game, I’ll wait for a steam sale though.
whenever i try to play the steam version, all i see is a loading screen
I wish they included more fitment tuning options like track width, individual front and back ride height and just better ride height adjustment overall, because even on the lowest option the gap between the wheel and the fender on some cars is an absolute crime.
What game is that at 8:51?
What console can you get this game on?
Ya know what I'd want for a new NFS to be good?
Ditch the open world.
Honestly, I would prefer to just have a campaign and compensate for the lack of the open world with crazier tracks. The special story missions in payback come to mind, like the one where all the main characters get caught off guard and need to get away from the police or the other mission that was shown alot in the promos where you ambush a convoy and rob a supercar.
higher chance Codemasters would do that, and i VERY welcome it
I just want 80-00s cars that people can afford or have irl similar to underground car list and bring back drifting like underground2 canyon drifting like carbon and drag racing like either of the early ones just racing with a short ass campaign and no pink slips or challenges to unlock certain cars and vinyls like carbon just if underground combined with most wanted and carbon I’d be playing it every week maybe even certain events for unique upgrades like underground 1 and total drift score to unlock more cars just combine it all
Have you played Inertial Drift? That’s game is an underrated masterpiece.
I may be imagining it but is that Honkai Impact background music in... the background?
17:11 honestly I kinda wanna copy the classic handling style from like carbon or most wanted. Loved that handling system way more
i thought honkai was running on my background during the earlier part of your video lol
Something you didn't mention that i feel keeps this behind heat is the tier system.
Let me use the car I upgrade in the race I want. If I lose whatever.
If I win by a mile. Whatever it just means, I upgraded the car correctly.
Heat had a level system, but it didn't stop you from racing or freely upgrading
I personally really enjoyed the singleplayer mode, but the online mode ist just uncomplete. The only things to do are these playlists and there are no cops, heat lvl. etc.. This makes it a lot harder to have an enjoyable online experience, in Heat, the online mode and also the mix of the online and singleplayer mode felt a lot more fun to me.
Will you return with Mustang Chan for some streams?
Finally someone who played the game properly! The NOS system is so satisfying in this game, I’m having a blast!
Nice this video change my hole sperspectiv to this game now im just waiting for the new nfs game so i can pick this one up for like 5 to 7 bucks at a sale cant wait to play it
I got an issue with the where the game crashes as soon as I try to open it. I don't know how to fix it. I have tried many ways to fix it but it just doesn't work. I hope it gets patched.
Get a refund in the mean time, that's frustrating...is it cause of Hardware specs?
@@BladedAngel Well I was able to get it to run one time and it ran fine but it crashed after I selected the starter car so it can't be specs.
I always thought online or rather co-op NFS game to play with friends would be a nice idea like it was in NFS World, do yall agree with that as well?
have you ever done a video about gran turismo 7?
Nice review. Really good! Thanks a lot. Makes me want to give it a try.
Bro finally someone who has their own opinions with reasons and evidence for them. most of the reviews I see are people going with the crowd not seeing the game for what it is and only seeing it for what other people say, half the time when i ask people why it's bad they say something like " the art style is bad" but if EA didn't change the style they would have complained that EA is lazy (They are but still) and don't take any risks. I agree it could have been better like say the side character depth, almost all of them are either egotistical and loud or shy and weird. I liked the story (thats just my opinion and most people disagree), but I think everyone can agree that the tracks and progression was grindy and repetitive.
Nice background music btw angel
(Scarlet nexus)
"None can free our minds but ourselves" nice quote.
I am very new to need for speed (I only played hot pursuit and barely of payback) I think a solution to the map problem is to either inject life into the city like lakeshore or choose a new country to set nfs since the us cannot be the only place with illegal street racing
Having color in a city is a definite must, so if it's quite grey, would be really easy to lose interest fast. Great video, Bladed!!