We go all the way back to the Windows 98 and PlayStation 1 days in this retrospective, as I take a fresh look at one of my favourite racing games growing up more than two decades later. Enjoy! :)
. Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
@@LindenAshbyMK soz, this is a long one... HS has a lot more pace than SA with the cars being faster, even in feel. SA would cheat a bit with the game blurring the screen for the sense of speed but then you'd grind to a hault from a motorbike or truck randomly popping in while doing 5 mph. You only felt that in HS if you hit part of the scenery but you'd comically somersault in the air as a result and HS has practically no pop-in. Distant cars would appear as small smudges waay off into the distance before rendering in and would continue on a projected course making them relatively easy to negate even at triple digits in a Lambo compared to SA which has taxis materialising out of nowhere just a few feet in front at max attack in a Super GT and would abruptly switch lanes randomly with no warning. Essentially, Approach wise, HS would encourage you to focus on pace and road position with you only needing to slow down slightly on tighter bends; just mash the throttle and aim for the apex. The better you nail it, the more speed you'll carry. SA, even in races, has you more dependant on the brakes and more mindful of your surroundings and the slightly stilted controls makes it harder to hit apexes. Clip a gutter and you'll be amazed at how many sparks you'll see coming off the side of the car as you tip uselessly like a cow. It's also not how fast you can drive your car in SA, it's how fast you dare to as you don't know what lies ahead until it renders in. Think I'm being unfair? Try flying a Hydra in the countryside at low altitude and prepare to foot the hospital bill. Those trees are a bane of my existence... The cars were pretty glued to the road on cornering with the console version of HS and SA and if you broke traction with oversteer you would slow down pretty quick in both games but where you have more control with the slide in HS, once you reached a certain angle of oversteer in SA that's it. You'd spin. HS on PC has you oversteering on most corners with the car sliding out more the harder you turn but you barely felt like you were losing traction and you barely needed to countersteer. It felt more like an arcade game compared to it's PS1 counterpart. To me, it felt like the back of the car was tied to your racing line with a rubber band. Body roll is also a major difference, SA would see you driving on 2 wheels easy in a 4x4 from heavy cornering while cornering a BMW M5 in HS on console would have slight body roll but no slip and you could never roll any cars without hitting something first. It would just drive round like it was on rails. HS on PC had similar body roll to SA but, again, you could never lift a tyre off the deck unless your trajectory was altered in some way by a solid stationary object. Comparing the F50 to the Turismo, the F50 has practically no slip with the cornering feeling smooth and consistent. Want to corner a little tighter? Let off the accelerator or even a quick jab on the brake. Just don't jab it too hard or you'll spin. It takes the game a bit to register your inputs so countersteering is slightly delayed to give the cars more of a solid feel. SA has this mechanic but it's quicker making the cars feel more snappy and the body roll helps to contribute to the car's behaviour. The Turismo is pretty tricky by comparison, you have to feather the throttle as mashing the accelerator and punching it into the apex hoping it to grip will only get you soo far before the tail decides it wants to switch sides with the front. It's hard to tell if it's the framerate and slow processing power as well or if it's the slightly janky physics engine of SA but the wheels randomly bounce up mid turn and the car seemingly stutters ever so slightly with hard cornering which can upset the car's handling and make the cars feel really uneasy. The turismo has you treating the controls like the car is made of glass. HS on console and PC has a tyre bounce mechanic to add realism but it doesn't affect handling at all. AI in both games is vastly different with SA's AI being fixated on the racing line while you're smashing through dense foliage on a straight trajectory for checkpoints in the forest races. Just watch for trees, rivers and cliffs. Tight circuit races is where the AI shows it's tendency to be aloof with pile-ups being commonplace when the contenders are tightly packed. Any hard turns has the AI mindlessly smashing into the outside of the track. You can at least predict the AI to be rather dim witted in SA compared to HS where the ammount of time your competitors use the brakes is directly scaled with the difficulty level but even in easy mode these AI seem to have inhuman levels of control. If the guy in front runs wide through the corner and you decude to squeeze into the gap you'll still be hard pressed to gain ground as the AI can infuriatingly carry the same speed he would have staying on the racing line and can hover back into position like nothing had ever happened, slamming the door on you in some cases leaving you cursing at them as they glitch their way around the circuit. The only time the AI hits anything is if you have traffic turned on or if you give them a helping hand into the foliage otherwise, if your competitor is even slightly faster than you, there is no point racing against them. It's easier to save up for either a better car or upgrades to give you an edge. You're also hard pressed to cheat in tournaments as it doesn't matter if you have a much better car than the rest of the grid, you'll still have that one competitor that has a car evenly matched to yours. You can leave the rest of the field for dead, lapping cars with authority in a 2 lap race but you'll still have this one guy nipping at your heels the entire way, waiting for you to make a mistake. It depends on your taste, really. Both games are great for nostalgia with HS on PC having the smoother feeing inputs while SA and HS on PS1 feels more dated and wooden. Hope this helps :)
Glad to see pre-Underground NFS getting some well deserved recognition. The Blackbox games were good but that led to pretty much the entire NFS community to act as though everything before 2003 dont exist or something
TL;DL - Popular long running franchises fanbases like Sonic, Pokémon, Need for speed and so on creates a massive divide into different types of gameplay styles and creates circle jerking for some certain types of games in the series and thus creating some of the most obnoxious and asinine fans that you can run across to for a fucking video game that serves only entertaining purposes. If you like the game, Good for you! If you don't like the game, Also good for you! Different people, different views for video games. The reason why I don't interact with the NFS community anymore (Most of the time) due to the massive amount of fantards endlessly praising there beloved Underground/most wanted 2005 but as soon you fairly criticize the game they so loved they will call you every name of the book that they know and dismissed you as a "Fake fan" which is fucking stupid to me. I'm so tired of the endless bitching of the newer games that the old fans never buy and repeat the same lines of "This game is trash, we need a Most Wanted 2005/Underground remaster or a remake!" despite the fact that video game development now a days takes so much time and costing so much money to make in order to live up to the "standards" of this era of video games. Plus those game engines now are very difficult to port into modern hardware that it's the best ideal to recreate the engine from scratch. Makes matters worse is that it's all up to the developers decisions on what kind of game they want and it's borderline impossible to please everyone. The NFS fanbase reminds me of the Sonic fanbase so much and how insanely unpleasant to deal with from a fan that only likes a certain type of game in the entire franchise (Sonic 1/2/3, Adventure 1&2, Colors and Generation) and dismiss all of them for being "Terrible" without even giving them a shot or looking at it. Same goes with Pokémon with gen 1 fans and there endlessly bitching and circle jerking about mostly about the monsters designs and nothing else which NEWS FLASH: Every generation of Pokémon have good and bad design Pokémon from Generation 1 - Generation 9. And I mean nothing else. Fuck the Story/Region/Music/Graphics/Gameplay of the later games that at least try to do something different and TRY to improve for the franchise! *Long rant for Mainline modern Pokémon games at this time:* Lately for the mainline Switch games for me is lacking and so messy that I didn't waste a single cent for Sword/Shield, BD/SP, and Scarlet/Violet because most of the RPG games on the switch besides the online and team building is much more better (Digimon, Dragon Quest, Fire emblem, Persona, xenoblade etc) RPG as a whole and (kind of cheating here) Breath of the wild and Tears of the Kingdom for the Zelda series offer so much content, story (Even though it's the weakest aspect of it but there is so many side stories going on that it makes up for it), Dynamic gameplay and the cel-shaded graphics don't date the game not one bit... Meanwhile the graphics of Scarlet/Violet looks still half-assed compared to previous installments and games on the Switch, tons of glitches that might destroy your save data and a world that just doesn't look fun to traverse too because how shallow the dialogue/world building is and the story is just so barebones and shallow it can be summed up in just a few paragraph. "Young Protagonist moved into a new region, Pick a starter Pokémon and having to deal with a boring rival throughout the game, stop the main villain's for word domination that is tied to the box art legendary in some way, defeat the villain's for good and proceed to beat the elite 4 and the champion of that region, Beat the champion and win the game and maybe some post game content which OH YEAH you have to pay for now making the game nearly $100 for a complete package. The end." That's mostly how it goes but the core aspect of the story is all the same with little to no twists at all. Currently the OG Black/White is the only mainline game (That I know of and played) you don't have to beat the champion at all to beat the game which really surprised me a bit because no longer it's a requirement to become the champion, you can be other things than becoming the champion of the region with own different goals and beliefs which I so desperately love to see in the mainline Pokémon games. Maybe Scarlet and Violet have that for my judging a book by it's cover but then I realize that I am 23 years old and have to spend $65 dollars (Tax included!) on a game that I am not all that interested in at all. My taste in RPG's have grown massively over the years and sadly Pokémon is falling way behind to be in the world for me. The reason why I am so critical about Pokémon is a few things, I want the franchise to get better than this mediocre state that is in because it was way much more than "It's a Pokémon game." Which always fucking baffles me when people say that and *It's the highest grossing franchise in the world making billions for the name alone.* There is no excuses on why the new Pokémon game is wide as a lake but deep as a puddle. It seems everyone blames it on either GameFreak, Nintendo or The Pokémon company itself which is funny because they are all working together to deliver a product at their same time as a TEAM. If one side is failing then everyone is for not supporting that side that they are associated with. They only want one thing at the end of the day, *Money.* This team knows that Pokémon sells even if you put a name on a cardboard box for $20 it will still sell well. The team that is associated with Pokémon knew that the games are lacking for the switch compared to many other games and still decide to send it and lied about it... Still gets away with it because it will sell millions anyway. It just send a message for everyone who is associated with the games to say "Hey we like this shit no matter what the quality this games are!" and they don't even have to try anymore. I can't blame that team to do the bare minimum effort since they are still going to get paid no matter what. The people who paid for those games have nothing to blame but themselves completely for the poor state of the franchise right now. But it's not my battle to be fighting along with at all and what I gain from this is jack-shit. Pokémon will always be remember to me as going into another world filled with mysterious creatures that is connected to normal humans like us and even thrown in some wacky tales like being a ranger or transported into a only Pokémon filled world. Take every moment in that world too see the best and worst side of it and what can you do to adapt to the world. It's a damn shame because the recent release of the mainline Pokémon games just feels like a clay world with just slideshow scenery that is just been staged with no thought put into it at all. I didn't grow out of Pokémon, I simply lost interest in it. *Pokémon modern mainline games rant over.* So that long-ass tangent out of the way I am going to wrap it all up. Play whatever you enjoy and don't think about any other people own opinions about the game to ruin your enjoyment out of the game. If you think Sonic 06 is the greatest sonic game ever and play it often, go for it. Same with Need for Speed Most Wanted 2005 and Pokémon Sword and Shield. Nobody is going to go in your house and try to kill you over something you like/dislike for a fucking video game. That's way too dumb to risk going to prison over a virtual video game. There have been times that people really tried to kill each other (or the worse case, succeeded for murdering someone) for a video game but that's VERY slim chance it will happen to you and usually from what I herd it happens on an online match who is playing the same game to strangers. I have yet to see someone killed by someone because they said "Final Fantasy 7 isn't all that good." Plenty of death threats sure but 99.9% of them are just blind rage and never will happen to someone because they know it's fucking stupid to kill someone because "Wahh! He's talking shit about my favorite game!" and just so childish. Block, Report and move on. People like that are everywhere sadly and they are not emotionally mature enough to even handle basic criticism and it's best to just ignore them. If you made it this far then holy shit, we need to get some donuts and ice-cream one day and hang out at a bar or somewhere casual you like. Cheers!
Yes, it's really sad when many think that NFS is only from Underground onwards and should only have the elements introduced in that game (tuning, nitro, story movie style); and the origins of this franchise and the interesting elements that are no longer seen in today's games are forgotten (original music, vehicle and track showcases, varied circuits in their locations), which ironically was the version of Underground that discarded those elements... I have played Underground and it is an interesting game, but its fanbase has given it too much overrated fame and they have forgotten what NFS originally was and could still be.
Late 90s - Early 00s video game music was on another level, like it was actually music rather than just soundtracks. individual music producers enlisted to create a song or more for the games. so much better than the games today that are either trying to make an 'original' ST that's just some bland orchestra or paying out to big labels for hit tunes (like in FIFA or Forza). Maybe I'm biased because I'm a DJ/Producer myself that loves club music (not Americanised EDM pls), but the tracks helped these games have their own unique style and flair. NFS, Ridge Racer (omg), Tekken, even Ape Escape had some jungle tracks and unique programming. I feel like the music was a reflection of the actual games themselves. Instead of trying to be "the best" in it's category they each just focused on making something new and interesting. Instead of trying to emulate scores like Halo or trying to get the latest hit songs, just trying something fresh. I'd rather have a game/music that's rough around the edges but fun than polished plastic.
I absolutely agree and I was playing knee for speed high stakes earlier on my Vida. Just sitting there listening to the menu music thinking how cool it was how good it sounded?!?! Completely original, and 100% unique, the 90s going into the early 2000s were the best !
True. NFS 3 and 4 had a memorable score with some killer ambient tracks like Callista that got even reused in Mass Effect 2 and NFS 2015. Rather then to pick what "fellow kids" listen to these days, the OST is part of the personality of the game, hence having a distinguished flavor.
.... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
That’s why Midnight Club 2 is one of my favorite games, most of the soundtrack consisted of underground artists (excluding Felix Da Housecat and Thomas Bangalter), and introduced me to a whole new world of music I would’ve never bothered to check out if it weren’t for that game, thanks to that game, I now listen to house, trance, and techno, and it also contributed to Midnight Club 2’s unique dark-futuristic atmosphere, don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed Need For Speed’s rock and metal tracks, but Midnight Club 2’s music really made it feel different from most racing games at that time mainly only using rock, metal, and breakbeat.
It's also worth mentioning that they had the narrator Egon Hoegen (also the narrator in the traffic education TV series "Der 7. Sinn" - The Seventh Sense) to present the cars (until NFS Hot Pursuit 2). It's like Forza Motorsport 4 a decade later with Jeremy Clarkson in the "Autovista" mode.
“Imagine being a kid with no access to the internet in the late 90s but being able to see the inside of a McLaren F1.” That was me. That’s why my username is what it is. that’s why cars are such a huge part of my life 20+ years later.
Me too! I spent a lot of time looking in those showcases on NFS2, 3 and Highs Stakes as a little kid. You forget how little access we had to that type of information back then! The cars felt like they were untouchable deity's back in those days with a lot of mystique surrounding them.
Same feeling. And I can tell you, personally, in the real world, a big part of my driving skills and reflexes came from driving racing games in my childhood, started with Need For Speed 2 SE. Of course High Stakes is my preferred one but this is just to confirm what you said. Also no need to confirm that the soundtracks of the saga in that era influenced my musical taste, to this day ! To all "Vintage Need For Speed" fans, take care buddies 😊
Man, that soudtrack! Playing on Win 98, 14’’ beige monitor, beige keyboard, and beige speakers pumping those 90’s Dn’B. And finaly… that smell of ozone that old PC used to have.
For the amount of content this delivered, this is still the best one to me. It was the complete opposite of what EA does nowadays, giving you the career mode with vehicle upgrades and setup, the regular Arcade Touranament or Knockout, localized Hot Pursuit (if you pay attention during the races, the police change depending on the country the track is set in), weather and time of day options for the tracks (plus the options of running them backwards or mirrored), unlockable vehicles and tracks and, at the time, downloadable vehicles to extend the roster, presentations for basically everything in the game (the cars had their own slideshows and narration, but so did the tracks and they were presented with the same enthusiasm along with a cool 3D version of the route), that slick menu, the MUSIC (Saki Kaskas was THE GOAT). By the time you were done with the Career, you had access to everything from NFS III plus what you got in IV and some extra race-track courses. And the damage model wasn't just for the cars, the physics was at work on a lot of the tracks, from the stuff you hit on the side of the road (that phone booth on Durham Road made me into the IRL driver I am today, as I never wanted to hear that sound of crunching metal and shattered glass again in my life) to the surfaces alongside it (the grass and mid being flicked at the screen, the gravel, getting your windshield chipped when following another car onto a gravel section on Dolphin Cove). Driving in a snow-storm did cause a loss of traction, but it wasn't the same as driving in rain. And on the same track, if you ran across ice-portions, or outright snow it would change again. Brilliant... It was deceptively comparative to NFS III, as only the vehicle and track design was similar, whereas the driving experience was much more impactful in IV. Where NFS III encouraged you to find all of the craziest shortcuts and jump them, High Stakes encouraged a clean, precise driving style, preserving your vehicle for the duration of the race (especially those 8 lappers, oh man..). During a night race, even something as mundane as having a headlight knocked out made the entire thing more difficult, and that's without any weather involved. Suddenly, those jumps you would have eagerly taken in Arcade Mode become strategic points to use in case of a pinch, but are otherwise avoided with judicious use of the brakes. It was amazing and I spent so much time playing it as a kid that the CD-ROM it had come on eventually wore out and I was never able to re-install it. I liked Porsche Unleashed too, but although the game-engine in that one had evolved from NFS IV, it somehow never felt like it ever had the same weight to it. Damaging a car felt more akin to punching into a plastic ball or an empty water bottle, and although you experienced consequences for doing so, they were never so visually jarring as grinding into a barrier or hearing your sub-frame dragging in a corner. To this day, even stuff like Burnout has yet to match the feeling of it, the sensation that you want to be as good a driver as possible to avoid your car ever reaching such a state. And if you played a long race as best you could, and ended it with those dents or a shot suspension, then you KNEW that had been a good one, fighting the AI tooth-and-nail for that 1st place..... Damn me, I miss it.. Thanks for making this review, if only to see the comments section full of people who never forgot this masterpiece. And if any EA employee ends up here by mistake, please, take notes and learn from your ancestors. THIS was how you made a great game.
This is exactly the kind of highest quality content I'd expect from the great Age of Noob. I'm so mad about what happened to your original channel! I really hope the situation reverts back soon as you deserve nothing but the best. Besides that, wherever you go, we'll follow. Cheers!
If you have a Logitech G25 wheel, then the best NFS game by far is Pro Street on PS3. It even supports the H shifter, which for the time was very rare for consoles.
The CLK GTR was in the previous Need for Speed 3 while the F1 was in Need for Speed 2 (albeit in its short tailed road-going version) so to me this was kind of a convergence of both those games.
My favourite NFS of all time. I remember when i was younger and my dad bought an original copy of NFSHS because he really liked racing games back then, and one time i decided to play only for curiosity and, OH MAN, i was so shocked by the amount of passion and love that this game has. An amazing car list with some of my favourite cars like the F50, the F1 GTR, the Z8, the CLK-GTR, the Skyline R34, the 360 Spider and many more others, beautiful racing tracks, a harsh level of competition for both racers and cops, an extensive amount of mechanic customization, realistic driving, simply excellent. I strongly recommend you to try this at least only one time and see how much detail was put into this.
As a player who has witnessed all the releases of the series my favorite NFS games are NFS4 High Stakes, NFS1 SE, NFS5 Porsche Unleashed and NFS Most Wanted. In my opinion NFS4 High Stakes is definitely the pinnacle of the series. By the way we have a small community of players (Retro Racing Point server) that still play classic NFS games online.
My first exposure to "arcade" racing games with real cars. I will never ever forget High Stakes. Its soundtrack was and still is pretty underrated too.
Great video that takes you back in time to relive old days for 20 mins. As a person who can be easily distracted, I did not even notice the passage of time while watching this well-detailed and captivating game review.
I loved how watching this video made me feel, it reminded me of the few good childhood memories I had….growing up as a kid wasn’t a very good life experience for me, but video games were the exception….gaming in the 90s early 2000’s brought some much needed joy in my early life….i don’t know what could’ve happened to me if it weren’t for video games and gaming/pc technology in general….it filled me with so much interest that it allowed for me to have an escape from my shitty reality that was my life back then….yet somehow watching a video like this at age 39(about to turn 40) brings me so much joy and nostalgia for those early days……just when i thought everything in my past looked so gloomy and dark, i see a bright shinning light at the end of this dark dreadful looking tunnel….I feel this strong desire to walk towards the light and when I get to the end…I see the source of the light….it’s a 📺 and in front of that 📺 sits a little kid….a little boy to be exact….yet despite that dreadfully dark looking setting, I could still see a genuine bright smile radiating from that little kids face…A very delightful but not very common joyful moment in my adolescent experience…A time where I felt forever internally blissed and peacefully content in the pursuit of happiness…if only for a moment in time…for forever is not really for ever….but just a figure of imagination….just a little kids dream and want….the desire to please everyone and everything, in order to overcome whatever life throws at you…..
14:54 "You wouldn't play this mode for hours on end" Me who grew up playing this game through elementary school and never touched the career mode, only running from the cops for hours on end: >.> "yeah hahaha, who would do that"
I too remember spending many hours goofing off in that mode while in elementary school. There were a fixed number of police cars patrolling on each track, and if you were playing as police, I recall how you could press, I think it was the "J" key, and switch between taking control of each one. This kinda blew my mind as a kid for some reason. Haha
Another thing I liked a lot in Need for Speed High Stakes is that it also had a somewhat large modding community and people would upload cars with a very high poly count in comparison with the original where, in the PC they gave an extreme difference in visual quality, even looking better than newer games of the time. That, adding to the visual damage and the damage costs, made me love this game a lot.
Thank you for the amazing video, I feel literally the same way about this game. I still consider to this day one of the best racing games I've ever played, the carreer mode was great, the high stake races where you would bet your car against the opponents car felt thrilling to say the least, and even when losing it felt like it was my fault. Its sad that whenever I talk about old games with my friends and mention High Stakes, it feels like most of them didnt even knew there were other NFS games before the Fast and Furious inspired titles haha the Undergrounds (which are cool as well).
whoa this is beautiful. I love how the older physics allow the cars to be so expressive. and the lighting has great atmosphere. the level of detail of everything is so low while being so rich. I've never played this title, but I need to now.
NFS4 also is one of my favorites. Attention to detail in the early NFS games was phenomenal, I remember from the first NFS you could distinctively hear the metallic gear lever tick when you drove the Ferrari.
Good to see NFS4 getting some love. I played so much NFS3 on my first PC with a voodoo1 card and rushed out and bought 4 when I had saved up enough, only to find that my PC wasn't fast enough to play it properly. Still great memories of those games, the tracks combined with the music had such a great atmosphere.
This game was the reason I became a PC gamer. Playing it on PS1 then on PC w/60fps was unreal. Like a totally different game. PC version was miles better.
@@Nitro192192 I prefer the driving for the ps1. Actually the pc porche Game has the same driving model. It's a semi arcade/ semi simulation. The good thing is that you can lost traction in the rear and make good powerslides. In the other games all cars had a lot of grip in corner soo breaking and steering can be done at the same time.
@@pepe2011pley yup, ps1 version was miles better for me, cars not looking like toys proportionally speaking, and the feeling and driving was way better too, pc was too much arcade-ish
@@GamenoobYTwas the PC version built by fans, not by EA themselves? Maybe I read something wrong long time before, but I had exactly that impression when I tried it on PC, after playing the PS1 version.
I rented NFS 3: Hot Pursuit so many times, just to do cop/racing versus with my brother and friends. This video is bringing some wicked nostalgia back. I don't think I played a lot of High Stakes though, hard to say. That said, I love both sim and arcade racing games and NFS did the mix of them very well. I think Burnout is my all time favourite NFS game however. The cars felt amazing and flipping your opponents into oncoming traffic was so satisfying and the replay system was ground breaking. Good times. 😅 Great video as always!
the ps1 version also heavily reduced in terms of racing tracks, and the entire career can be completed in a few hours, unlike the PC version it was my first racing game in my life, and the most loved. since then I have loved racing so much. thanks for the vid :)
WOW 🤯 I have played it a million times on PSOne/2/3, but I have never seen it this good and polished before😮. So much more detail than any PlayStation!
I also played PS1 only, tried PC version some years ago, didn't like it, it looked like cartoon, but I think I will give it a try again. PS1 version is amazing, still play it sometimes
This is definitely one of my favorite NFS games by far. I really love how with the police chases you can change the police chatter to be base on the region that you are in. Small things like that we don’t see since games have been about open world vs. multiple tracks. Mentioning about how this games give an insight on the car, this is why I also liked NFS Hot Pursuit 2010. Maybe an unpopular opinion but I want another game that where it is about the cars not the customization like the later games have become.
@@bjornfallqvist1196It's only in PS1 version, done through track settings before the race. Can't do that on PC. PC version has British cops on UK tracks, US cops on all the others, and old NFS3 cop voices on tracks ported from NFS3
i did like this game, and of course the later Porsche Unleased as well. My first racing game was the NFS II SE or the first game, but I'm sure that i played with both (i was born at 1989). This fourth NFS was a really good one, with the upgradeable cars and the damaging system, i liked the tracks in those time. It brings back many nice memories from my childhood 🙂
True review about this game. I was one of those who experienced this game as the first 3d game on my brand new pc back in 1999 and most loved till these days . I was impressed so much playing it on vodoo banshee. The music is another subject of awesomeness . You forgot about the rocks hitting windshield . Thank you for that awesome review man!
High Stakes is the best game in the series for me. Maybe it's the nostalgia but I love that Saki Kas Kas and Rom De Prisco soundtracks. They had better tracks way back in the 90s than games have today. Also the 3d in car camera and car slide shows absolutely my favorite as well. If anything I'd wish EA remasters the true OG NFS from old times. NFS2-3-4 remaster under one title...
Always nice to see the pre-Underground NFSs get some love! I wish you didn't crop out my watermark at 12:37 but other than that this was an amazing video :)
I've assembled a couple of Windows 98 rigs this year alone. Neither one escaped the ritual of having the first installed games being NFS 4 and Carmageddon Carpocalypse. An absolute gem this High Stakes was, and my personal favourite ! Regarding the "high stakes" meaning, you could add an "advice bubble" in the described video section where you could tell people that this game keeps its saves in the gamefolder and you could simply make a backup of those saves before any pink slip race, so the younger generation who wants to try it wouldn't get frustrated after losing a hard earned car after a silly mistake. Cheers mate ! A very beautiful video indeed, with very nice words !
Absolutely awesome review! I really enjoyed watching this. Need For Speed IV: High Stakes is one of my favorite games of all time and my first racing game that I ever owned. The atmosphere and passion that went into the games of this era are untouched imo and it really ignited my passion for cars. My love of the E39 M5 started because of this game (I own one in real life now). I still play Callista and the other songs from the soundtrack in my M5. The nostalgia is so strong!
Subscribed solely for this underappreciated game being covered. (and your thorough and comforting commentary) Underground was the first NFS I ever owned, but this was the first one I ever played as a little kid. My uncle had this on his old desktop and getting to mess around with it when I visited was a magical experience. Beautiful how this generational leap in a game franchise matched up with one in my family :) Thanks for this video! I'm checking out your Limbo video next
Truly an underrated gem, remember playing it as a kid with my PS1, it's overall vibe and feel is nothing short of amazing and even other worldly, but it adds so much charm to it, visually, audibly, and functionally beautiful
What a beautiful video. I actually have NFS High Stakes emulated on my phone. Even with the plethora of racing games in the market, NFS high stakes and hot pursuit 2 are my go to racing games. The way of controlling each car; simplicity of upgrading cars to stages 1, 2, and 3; the really nice layout of the tracks; and the day/night and variable weather conditions were what made me made these games stand out for me. All in different tracks from real life ones we see. These games were really a salute to creativity, esp during the years they came out.
I'll never know why, but Scholastic of all people would sell the old Need for Speed games in schools in the 90's and that's how I got into the series. (Looking back it was before Steam, so maybe companies used to sell PC games anyway they could?) These games were so much fun. The physics felt great as well and the technical requirements weren't too high for PCs.
For me still the best NFS game. I loved every minute. I remember playing it on my friends PC because thay had better PC. It was amasing to see the the glasses braking on the car and driving down from the hill in the snow. Good old memories.
probably my favorite car game of all time. I think the maps were amazing. each environment felt unique and could have its own separate video. stunning scenery.
Fantastic video. I have actually been playing Gran Turismo 1 on my PC for last week with my racing simulation setup. It's actually incredible fun and I am enjoying myself way more than I expected! Old racing games were brilliant. i'm so glad to see them get some recognition. I started with NFS Road and Track on DOS, and I'm still playing racing games through FH5. I love touching base with history and reminding ourselves where we came from. It's why i'm playing GT1 even though I never owned a Playstation (only at friends or relatives' houses!) I'm looking forward for what you're doing on this channel. I don't know if you've subbed to Raycevick, but he does this kind of content too, and he makes brilliant videos. I think his video essays may be some good inspiration for you for this channel.
Thanks for sharing! And I do watch Raycevick, he does amazing content and I love his narrative voice as well. Pretty sure I watched more than half of his videos. :)
Finally, somebody has made a really good video about good old NFS:HS. One of the greatest Need For Speeds we had and for some reason forgotten. Thank you 👍
I have a window XP computer that I use for personal use. It's not used for any online activity. I have a bunch of older games that I use it for. Need for Speed High Stakes is just one of them.
Brilliant video describing this masterpiece. It needed appreciation like this after so many years. I think I spent years playing the career mode. It was so overwhelming that in the end when you win vs the CLK GTR you feel like you’ve become a master in martial arts or something 😂.
I played and completed everything in need for speed high stakes back when I was like 14 years old and I am happy to say that I am thoroughly enjoying it. Again, thanks to adrenaline and my PlayStation Vita!!! In my opinion, it was one of the best need for speed games ever made and I would say that also for the game that came before it, need for speed, three hot pursuit !! These games were absolutely amazing back in the day, and I am surprised at how well, need for speed, high stakes hold up!?
Im so glad this game was my First Ever Videogame I played when I was like 4 years old. I grew up with Need for Speed after that. I cant put into words how awesome that game is to this day. I still love this game till this day 18 years later.
The PS1 version has a great feature that's not mentioned here: 2 player split-screen Hot Pursuit mode, with the capability of either or both players to play as cops. Playing with a friend, both as cops, and coordinating with him to do PIT maneuvers against the hardest racers made this the most memorable NFS for me. You had to be sure to stop the racers and leave them no escape route, there are no abstract health bars to drain down that plagued the pursuits of all the following NFS games. It was immersive, tactical and the best co-op mode I've seen in any racing game by far, still unsurpassed.
I haven't played reaching game since the 2000's.. But watching this makes me want to buy and play Need for Speed 4.. I didn't even realize most modern racing games had lost career modes of vehicle showcases.. Wow.. What a loss
7:02 Looking Rocky Pass at night is an amazing pleasure. I still believe Route Adonf at night, with fireworks in the background is one of my favorite scenarios ever created.
Sorry to hear about the channel woes. I think you make really good videos my dude so i've subscribed - look forward to them when they pop up in my feed
Brilliant video! I agree with pretty much everything said here, except the bit about Underground making NFS mainstream. NFS was already mainstream since NFS II. The only reason Underground surged in popularity was because of Fast and Furious. Underground was a good game indeed, but not a great NFS (and don't even get me started on Most Wanted). High Stakes is both, along with all 6 of the first gen games. And funnily enough, I played High Sakes AFTER both Underground 1 and 2 - so no one can say I'm just nostalgic - and I still say High Stakes is better than both. Not only was it revolutionary, it had A LOT of little tidbits that made it great, such as the car showcases, official manufacturer paint colours, switchable headlights (low AND high beams!), the composed soundtracks, the magnificent race track design, the stunning weather effects.... and almost all of them were ditched from Underground onwards. These are things that made you feel a fascination for the cars and the locations and made the game an experience, one very special to me. And I always enjoy whenever a RUclipsr reviews these games and doesn't dismiss them in favour of Underground or Most Wanted.
Really wish I had this game for my PC back in the day. My dad bought a multi game pack that had NFS: Porsche Unleashed, and NFS:3 Hot Pursuit. Looking at this now, it looks like a combination of the two games while appearing more polished. Looks like its using the game engine and details of NFS:PU while having the theme of NFS3.
I remember playing NFS II on Win 98 on my dad's computer and I wore that game out. When I got older I got NFS hot pursuit 2 on PS2 and I played that till the wheels fell off. I loved the little cutscenes and background info on the cars, I learned a lot about cars and it was something in particular that taught me a ton about cars and made me an even bigger fan as a kid. In retrospect, the NFS Underground games were probably the car enthusiast response to Gran Turismo with all the mods and stuff
Great video, but you forgot to mention one very important feature of this gem: split screen mode! As a father I find it very important option to play with my kids sitting together in front of one screen/TV and have fun. That way this is something one can do together with another person. And this is quite a different experience than an option to play through a computer network (LAN or internet). So remember about split screen in racing games. 🙂
I had the PS1 version of this game. I think one of the things I absolutely loved about it was the requirement to pay to fix your car, the progression from 2 'cheap' cars to start with then to finish with the McLaren and Merc actual racing cars on proper race tracks etc. It felt incredible and the soundtrack I loved, I still think back to the Overseer songs and such of the time, it was great. The game looks even better for PC with more content, I'm definitely going to put this in my list of games to play when I get my next PC for romming/emulating.
15:00 I'm gonna stop you right there. I played hot pursuit mode ad nauseam. I would hop into my black Porsche 911 and do laps around the map dodging cops and hitting jumps. Stakes didn't matter, it was just fun to see how long you could last. And I was one of the fortunate few who did have a Voodoo to run this on, and it looked fantastic. This game was a gem, thank you for putting a bit more shine on the tires for it.
My NFS history started with this game and ended in 2006 with Carbon. Took a very long break and now got back into the series with 2017s Payback and oh boy things have changed.
I still have my original copy of Need for Speed: High Stakes on PS1. I LOVED that game as a kid. A lot of my time was spent just staring at that papaya-orange McLaren F1 GTR long tail.
I rember spending so many hours with that game. The fact it contained all the tracks from NFS 3 Hot Persuit, plus new once did blow me out of the socket back then as a kid.
Finally! Someone sharing my thoughts! Need For Speed High Stakes was my very first Need For Speed game and it was an excellent game! The graphics, the career mode, the handling, the physics and the cars! All was awesome! There should be a remaster or something.
This was one of the first computer games I ever played. I still love cars to this day because of this game. It's so interesting to see your different perspective, because I mostly played the hot pursuit mode. I never made it very far in the career.
To this day for me NFS 4 is still the best one of the franchise by some margin. Nothing even comes remotely close. The hours i spent with my sister on our family computer chasing down racers with the police cars were insane fun. Even today at the age of 37 and her at 34, we still play it occasionally at family gatherings and my nieces watch us play in complete silence and awe. And the soundtrack is nothing short of a masterpiece. As one might notice from my username, my all-time favorite track is from that game. Still actively listening to those tracks in my car every single day.
Just found your channel, loved the work on this! Though i do think that NFS High Stakes/Road Challenge is still severely underappreciated for the advancement of NFS as a whole! Another fun part about this game: in the Hot Pursuit mode the voice accents of the police changed depending on the region: US/UK and European. It was a small addition, but it was really fun to notice the stereotypical "American" Cop voice vs a British cop!
Track variations included a reverse mode, a mirrored move (left turns become right turns and vice versa), day or night, and weather (rain on some tracks, snow on others). As for money, once the first high stakes (race for pink slip) was unlocked, you could repeat it and sell the car you won to quickly earn money. In addition, since the game handicapped based on players car, and since there was no rubber banding (the AI pretty much run the same lap times depending on car, event, series, ...), you could use a stock car to win a level 3 car. Which car you could win would change every few seconds in a fixed pattern so by starting a race at a particular time, you could effectively chose the color and level of the car you would win. High Stakes was the first Need For Speed with online play. One of the cool online modes was knockout mode, a series of races where the last place player would drive a dump truck, usually backwards, to block the remaining players. With a full 8 player lobby, the last race was 6 dump trucks to block the last two racers.
@@GamenoobYT Good times indeed! Spent many hours with several mods for Midtown Madness 2 in multiplayer as well. That's similar to how I got into Age of Empires: saw and played it on my cousin's PC. Then I bought the game so I could play it on my friend's PC. So I owned AoE before I had my own PC :)
I forgot to mention, that the savedata\db\... folder can be backed up and restored to reset career mode back to a prior state, in case a race was lost, such as a high stakes event where you lose a car. Generally, after each event, players would click on back, then exit, the back up the ...\db\... folder then start the game again for the next event, to create a set of saves (usually zip files) one for each event. Some of the tracks share common parts, such as Hometown + Country Woods, Redrock Ridge + Lost Canyons, ... . After completing 10 career series, an 11th series appeared.
We go all the way back to the Windows 98 and PlayStation 1 days in this retrospective, as I take a fresh look at one of my favourite racing games growing up more than two decades later. Enjoy! :)
I've never played it, but I really enjoy driving "feel" of Motorhead , GTA VC and GTA SA. How does HS compare to these in terms of driving "feel" ?
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Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
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@@LindenAshbyMK soz, this is a long one...
HS has a lot more pace than SA with the cars being faster, even in feel. SA would cheat a bit with the game blurring the screen for the sense of speed but then you'd grind to a hault from a motorbike or truck randomly popping in while doing 5 mph. You only felt that in HS if you hit part of the scenery but you'd comically somersault in the air as a result and HS has practically no pop-in. Distant cars would appear as small smudges waay off into the distance before rendering in and would continue on a projected course making them relatively easy to negate even at triple digits in a Lambo compared to SA which has taxis materialising out of nowhere just a few feet in front at max attack in a Super GT and would abruptly switch lanes randomly with no warning.
Essentially, Approach wise, HS would encourage you to focus on pace and road position with you only needing to slow down slightly on tighter bends; just mash the throttle and aim for the apex. The better you nail it, the more speed you'll carry. SA, even in races, has you more dependant on the brakes and more mindful of your surroundings and the slightly stilted controls makes it harder to hit apexes. Clip a gutter and you'll be amazed at how many sparks you'll see coming off the side of the car as you tip uselessly like a cow. It's also not how fast you can drive your car in SA, it's how fast you dare to as you don't know what lies ahead until it renders in. Think I'm being unfair? Try flying a Hydra in the countryside at low altitude and prepare to foot the hospital bill. Those trees are a bane of my existence...
The cars were pretty glued to the road on cornering with the console version of HS and SA and if you broke traction with oversteer you would slow down pretty quick in both games but where you have more control with the slide in HS, once you reached a certain angle of oversteer in SA that's it. You'd spin. HS on PC has you oversteering on most corners with the car sliding out more the harder you turn but you barely felt like you were losing traction and you barely needed to countersteer. It felt more like an arcade game compared to it's PS1 counterpart. To me, it felt like the back of the car was tied to your racing line with a rubber band.
Body roll is also a major difference, SA would see you driving on 2 wheels easy in a 4x4 from heavy cornering while cornering a BMW M5 in HS on console would have slight body roll but no slip and you could never roll any cars without hitting something first. It would just drive round like it was on rails. HS on PC had similar body roll to SA but, again, you could never lift a tyre off the deck unless your trajectory was altered in some way by a solid stationary object.
Comparing the F50 to the Turismo, the F50 has practically no slip with the cornering feeling smooth and consistent. Want to corner a little tighter? Let off the accelerator or even a quick jab on the brake. Just don't jab it too hard or you'll spin. It takes the game a bit to register your inputs so countersteering is slightly delayed to give the cars more of a solid feel. SA has this mechanic but it's quicker making the cars feel more snappy and the body roll helps to contribute to the car's behaviour. The Turismo is pretty tricky by comparison, you have to feather the throttle as mashing the accelerator and punching it into the apex hoping it to grip will only get you soo far before the tail decides it wants to switch sides with the front. It's hard to tell if it's the framerate and slow processing power as well or if it's the slightly janky physics engine of SA but the wheels randomly bounce up mid turn and the car seemingly stutters ever so slightly with hard cornering which can upset the car's handling and make the cars feel really uneasy. The turismo has you treating the controls like the car is made of glass. HS on console and PC has a tyre bounce mechanic to add realism but it doesn't affect handling at all.
AI in both games is vastly different with SA's AI being fixated on the racing line while you're smashing through dense foliage on a straight trajectory for checkpoints in the forest races. Just watch for trees, rivers and cliffs. Tight circuit races is where the AI shows it's tendency to be aloof with pile-ups being commonplace when the contenders are tightly packed. Any hard turns has the AI mindlessly smashing into the outside of the track. You can at least predict the AI to be rather dim witted in SA compared to HS where the ammount of time your competitors use the brakes is directly scaled with the difficulty level but even in easy mode these AI seem to have inhuman levels of control. If the guy in front runs wide through the corner and you decude to squeeze into the gap you'll still be hard pressed to gain ground as the AI can infuriatingly carry the same speed he would have staying on the racing line and can hover back into position like nothing had ever happened, slamming the door on you in some cases leaving you cursing at them as they glitch their way around the circuit. The only time the AI hits anything is if you have traffic turned on or if you give them a helping hand into the foliage otherwise, if your competitor is even slightly faster than you, there is no point racing against them. It's easier to save up for either a better car or upgrades to give you an edge. You're also hard pressed to cheat in tournaments as it doesn't matter if you have a much better car than the rest of the grid, you'll still have that one competitor that has a car evenly matched to yours. You can leave the rest of the field for dead, lapping cars with authority in a 2 lap race but you'll still have this one guy nipping at your heels the entire way, waiting for you to make a mistake.
It depends on your taste, really. Both games are great for nostalgia with HS on PC having the smoother feeing inputs while SA and HS on PS1 feels more dated and wooden.
Hope this helps :)
@@aaronjones7364 Wow, thanks mate, I appreciate the effort
@@LindenAshbyMK i hope that nade sense :S
Glad to see pre-Underground NFS getting some well deserved recognition.
The Blackbox games were good but that led to pretty much the entire NFS community to act as though everything before 2003 dont exist or something
TL;DL - Popular long running franchises fanbases like Sonic, Pokémon, Need for speed and so on creates a massive divide into different types of gameplay styles and creates circle jerking for some certain types of games in the series and thus creating some of the most obnoxious and asinine fans that you can run across to for a fucking video game that serves only entertaining purposes. If you like the game, Good for you! If you don't like the game, Also good for you! Different people, different views for video games.
The reason why I don't interact with the NFS community anymore (Most of the time) due to the massive amount of fantards endlessly praising there beloved Underground/most wanted 2005 but as soon you fairly criticize the game they so loved they will call you every name of the book that they know and dismissed you as a "Fake fan" which is fucking stupid to me. I'm so tired of the endless bitching of the newer games that the old fans never buy and repeat the same lines of "This game is trash, we need a Most Wanted 2005/Underground remaster or a remake!" despite the fact that video game development now a days takes so much time and costing so much money to make in order to live up to the "standards" of this era of video games. Plus those game engines now are very difficult to port into modern hardware that it's the best ideal to recreate the engine from scratch. Makes matters worse is that it's all up to the developers decisions on what kind of game they want and it's borderline impossible to please everyone.
The NFS fanbase reminds me of the Sonic fanbase so much and how insanely unpleasant to deal with from a fan that only likes a certain type of game in the entire franchise (Sonic 1/2/3, Adventure 1&2, Colors and Generation) and dismiss all of them for being "Terrible" without even giving them a shot or looking at it. Same goes with Pokémon with gen 1 fans and there endlessly bitching and circle jerking about mostly about the monsters designs and nothing else which NEWS FLASH: Every generation of Pokémon have good and bad design Pokémon from Generation 1 - Generation 9. And I mean nothing else. Fuck the Story/Region/Music/Graphics/Gameplay of the later games that at least try to do something different and TRY to improve for the franchise!
*Long rant for Mainline modern Pokémon games at this time:* Lately for the mainline Switch games for me is lacking and so messy that I didn't waste a single cent for Sword/Shield, BD/SP, and Scarlet/Violet because most of the RPG games on the switch besides the online and team building is much more better (Digimon, Dragon Quest, Fire emblem, Persona, xenoblade etc) RPG as a whole and (kind of cheating here) Breath of the wild and Tears of the Kingdom for the Zelda series offer so much content, story (Even though it's the weakest aspect of it but there is so many side stories going on that it makes up for it), Dynamic gameplay and the cel-shaded graphics don't date the game not one bit... Meanwhile the graphics of Scarlet/Violet looks still half-assed compared to previous installments and games on the Switch, tons of glitches that might destroy your save data and a world that just doesn't look fun to traverse too because how shallow the dialogue/world building is and the story is just so barebones and shallow it can be summed up in just a few paragraph. "Young Protagonist moved into a new region, Pick a starter Pokémon and having to deal with a boring rival throughout the game, stop the main villain's for word domination that is tied to the box art legendary in some way, defeat the villain's for good and proceed to beat the elite 4 and the champion of that region, Beat the champion and win the game and maybe some post game content which OH YEAH you have to pay for now making the game nearly $100 for a complete package. The end." That's mostly how it goes but the core aspect of the story is all the same with little to no twists at all. Currently the OG Black/White is the only mainline game (That I know of and played) you don't have to beat the champion at all to beat the game which really surprised me a bit because no longer it's a requirement to become the champion, you can be other things than becoming the champion of the region with own different goals and beliefs which I so desperately love to see in the mainline Pokémon games. Maybe Scarlet and Violet have that for my judging a book by it's cover but then I realize that I am 23 years old and have to spend $65 dollars (Tax included!) on a game that I am not all that interested in at all. My taste in RPG's have grown massively over the years and sadly Pokémon is falling way behind to be in the world for me. The reason why I am so critical about Pokémon is a few things, I want the franchise to get better than this mediocre state that is in because it was way much more than "It's a Pokémon game." Which always fucking baffles me when people say that and *It's the highest grossing franchise in the world making billions for the name alone.* There is no excuses on why the new Pokémon game is wide as a lake but deep as a puddle. It seems everyone blames it on either GameFreak, Nintendo or The Pokémon company itself which is funny because they are all working together to deliver a product at their same time as a TEAM. If one side is failing then everyone is for not supporting that side that they are associated with. They only want one thing at the end of the day, *Money.* This team knows that Pokémon sells even if you put a name on a cardboard box for $20 it will still sell well. The team that is associated with Pokémon knew that the games are lacking for the switch compared to many other games and still decide to send it and lied about it... Still gets away with it because it will sell millions anyway.
It just send a message for everyone who is associated with the games to say "Hey we like this shit no matter what the quality this games are!" and they don't even have to try anymore. I can't blame that team to do the bare minimum effort since they are still going to get paid no matter what. The people who paid for those games have nothing to blame but themselves completely for the poor state of the franchise right now. But it's not my battle to be fighting along with at all and what I gain from this is jack-shit. Pokémon will always be remember to me as going into another world filled with mysterious creatures that is connected to normal humans like us and even thrown in some wacky tales like being a ranger or transported into a only Pokémon filled world. Take every moment in that world too see the best and worst side of it and what can you do to adapt to the world. It's a damn shame because the recent release of the mainline Pokémon games just feels like a clay world with just slideshow scenery that is just been staged with no thought put into it at all. I didn't grow out of Pokémon, I simply lost interest in it. *Pokémon modern mainline games rant over.*
So that long-ass tangent out of the way I am going to wrap it all up. Play whatever you enjoy and don't think about any other people own opinions about the game to ruin your enjoyment out of the game. If you think Sonic 06 is the greatest sonic game ever and play it often, go for it. Same with Need for Speed Most Wanted 2005 and Pokémon Sword and Shield. Nobody is going to go in your house and try to kill you over something you like/dislike for a fucking video game. That's way too dumb to risk going to prison over a virtual video game. There have been times that people really tried to kill each other (or the worse case, succeeded for murdering someone) for a video game but that's VERY slim chance it will happen to you and usually from what I herd it happens on an online match who is playing the same game to strangers. I have yet to see someone killed by someone because they said "Final Fantasy 7 isn't all that good." Plenty of death threats sure but 99.9% of them are just blind rage and never will happen to someone because they know it's fucking stupid to kill someone because "Wahh! He's talking shit about my favorite game!" and just so childish. Block, Report and move on. People like that are everywhere sadly and they are not emotionally mature enough to even handle basic criticism and it's best to just ignore them. If you made it this far then holy shit, we need to get some donuts and ice-cream one day and hang out at a bar or somewhere casual you like. Cheers!
You owe me some ice cream my friend.. :) Jokes aside, I do agree with quite a few of the points you made 👍🏻
Up to nfs 5, maybe 6... But (was it hot pursuit? ) underground etc and aftercare not that good
Yes, it's really sad when many think that NFS is only from Underground onwards and should only have the elements introduced in that game (tuning, nitro, story movie style); and the origins of this franchise and the interesting elements that are no longer seen in today's games are forgotten (original music, vehicle and track showcases, varied circuits in their locations), which ironically was the version of Underground that discarded those elements...
I have played Underground and it is an interesting game, but its fanbase has given it too much overrated fame and they have forgotten what NFS originally was and could still be.
I like each era of NFS. Need for Speed 2015's the only one I disregard.
Late 90s - Early 00s video game music was on another level, like it was actually music rather than just soundtracks. individual music producers enlisted to create a song or more for the games. so much better than the games today that are either trying to make an 'original' ST that's just some bland orchestra or paying out to big labels for hit tunes (like in FIFA or Forza). Maybe I'm biased because I'm a DJ/Producer myself that loves club music (not Americanised EDM pls), but the tracks helped these games have their own unique style and flair. NFS, Ridge Racer (omg), Tekken, even Ape Escape had some jungle tracks and unique programming. I feel like the music was a reflection of the actual games themselves. Instead of trying to be "the best" in it's category they each just focused on making something new and interesting. Instead of trying to emulate scores like Halo or trying to get the latest hit songs, just trying something fresh. I'd rather have a game/music that's rough around the edges but fun than polished plastic.
I absolutely agree and I was playing knee for speed high stakes earlier on my Vida. Just sitting there listening to the menu music thinking how cool it was how good it sounded?!?!
Completely original, and 100% unique, the 90s going into the early 2000s were the best !
Totally agree with you
True.
NFS 3 and 4 had a memorable score with some killer ambient tracks like Callista that got even reused in Mass Effect 2 and NFS 2015.
Rather then to pick what "fellow kids" listen to these days, the OST is part of the personality of the game, hence having a distinguished flavor.
....
Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
That’s why Midnight Club 2 is one of my favorite games, most of the soundtrack consisted of underground artists (excluding Felix Da Housecat and Thomas Bangalter), and introduced me to a whole new world of music I would’ve never bothered to check out if it weren’t for that game, thanks to that game, I now listen to house, trance, and techno, and it also contributed to Midnight Club 2’s unique dark-futuristic atmosphere, don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed Need For Speed’s rock and metal tracks, but Midnight Club 2’s music really made it feel different from most racing games at that time mainly only using rock, metal, and breakbeat.
Fun fact, in Germany, "NFS High Stakes" was named "NFS Brennender Asphalt" which literally translates to NFS Burning Tarmac.^^
Why has nobody told me this before! thats crazy!
It's also worth mentioning that they had the narrator Egon Hoegen (also the narrator in the traffic education TV series "Der 7. Sinn" - The Seventh Sense) to present the cars (until NFS Hot Pursuit 2).
It's like Forza Motorsport 4 a decade later with Jeremy Clarkson in the "Autovista" mode.
I still have my NFS High Stakes disc! Rom d Prisco and Saki Kaskas delivered some of the best ambient/electronic music theme in video game history!
RIP Legend
Still have mine.
Callista is the perfect track for night cruising. Rest in peace Saki Kaskas!
“Imagine being a kid with no access to the internet in the late 90s but being able to see the inside of a McLaren F1.”
That was me. That’s why my username is what it is. that’s why cars are such a huge part of my life 20+ years later.
Me too! I spent a lot of time looking in those showcases on NFS2, 3 and Highs Stakes as a little kid. You forget how little access we had to that type of information back then! The cars felt like they were untouchable deity's back in those days with a lot of mystique surrounding them.
Same feeling. And I can tell you, personally, in the real world, a big part of my driving skills and reflexes came from driving racing games in my childhood, started with Need For Speed 2 SE. Of course High Stakes is my preferred one but this is just to confirm what you said.
Also no need to confirm that the soundtracks of the saga in that era influenced my musical taste, to this day !
To all "Vintage Need For Speed" fans, take care buddies 😊
Love the F1, short body or longtail
Same, the showcase video from NFSII for the XJ220 is burned into my memory and cars are still a passion 20 years later
Yea ok, but do you actually own one?
Man, that soudtrack! Playing on Win 98, 14’’ beige monitor, beige keyboard, and beige speakers pumping those 90’s Dn’B. And finaly… that smell of ozone that old PC used to have.
nostalgia hit me so hard by reading your description lol
Wow we all lived the same lives
For the amount of content this delivered, this is still the best one to me. It was the complete opposite of what EA does nowadays, giving you the career mode with vehicle upgrades and setup, the regular Arcade Touranament or Knockout, localized Hot Pursuit (if you pay attention during the races, the police change depending on the country the track is set in), weather and time of day options for the tracks (plus the options of running them backwards or mirrored), unlockable vehicles and tracks and, at the time, downloadable vehicles to extend the roster, presentations for basically everything in the game (the cars had their own slideshows and narration, but so did the tracks and they were presented with the same enthusiasm along with a cool 3D version of the route), that slick menu, the MUSIC (Saki Kaskas was THE GOAT).
By the time you were done with the Career, you had access to everything from NFS III plus what you got in IV and some extra race-track courses.
And the damage model wasn't just for the cars, the physics was at work on a lot of the tracks, from the stuff you hit on the side of the road (that phone booth on Durham Road made me into the IRL driver I am today, as I never wanted to hear that sound of crunching metal and shattered glass again in my life) to the surfaces alongside it (the grass and mid being flicked at the screen, the gravel, getting your windshield chipped when following another car onto a gravel section on Dolphin Cove).
Driving in a snow-storm did cause a loss of traction, but it wasn't the same as driving in rain. And on the same track, if you ran across ice-portions, or outright snow it would change again. Brilliant...
It was deceptively comparative to NFS III, as only the vehicle and track design was similar, whereas the driving experience was much more impactful in IV.
Where NFS III encouraged you to find all of the craziest shortcuts and jump them, High Stakes encouraged a clean, precise driving style, preserving your vehicle for the duration of the race (especially those 8 lappers, oh man..). During a night race, even something as mundane as having a headlight knocked out made the entire thing more difficult, and that's without any weather involved. Suddenly, those jumps you would have eagerly taken in Arcade Mode become strategic points to use in case of a pinch, but are otherwise avoided with judicious use of the brakes.
It was amazing and I spent so much time playing it as a kid that the CD-ROM it had come on eventually wore out and I was never able to re-install it. I liked Porsche Unleashed too, but although the game-engine in that one had evolved from NFS IV, it somehow never felt like it ever had the same weight to it. Damaging a car felt more akin to punching into a plastic ball or an empty water bottle, and although you experienced consequences for doing so, they were never so visually jarring as grinding into a barrier or hearing your sub-frame dragging in a corner. To this day, even stuff like Burnout has yet to match the feeling of it, the sensation that you want to be as good a driver as possible to avoid your car ever reaching such a state.
And if you played a long race as best you could, and ended it with those dents or a shot suspension, then you KNEW that had been a good one, fighting the AI tooth-and-nail for that 1st place.....
Damn me, I miss it.. Thanks for making this review, if only to see the comments section full of people who never forgot this masterpiece. And if any EA employee ends up here by mistake, please, take notes and learn from your ancestors. THIS was how you made a great game.
So... you're telling me this game from 1999 had a more entertaining damage system than most racing games since then
This is exactly the kind of highest quality content I'd expect from the great Age of Noob.
I'm so mad about what happened to your original channel! I really hope the situation reverts back soon as you deserve nothing but the best. Besides that, wherever you go, we'll follow. Cheers!
Good to see you here as well my friend. Thank you for the support as usual. :)
If you have a Logitech G25 wheel, then the best NFS game by far is Pro Street on PS3. It even supports the H shifter, which for the time was very rare for consoles.
The very first Need for Speed I played on the PS1 as a kid, the game that introduced me to the Legendary McLaren F1 and Mercedes CLK GTR.
The CLK GTR was in the previous Need for Speed 3 while the F1 was in Need for Speed 2 (albeit in its short tailed road-going version) so to me this was kind of a convergence of both those games.
I am one of the OGs to finish the entire Career mode with ALL gold trophies before Underground was a thing. Dang proud of it!
My favourite NFS of all time. I remember when i was younger and my dad bought an original copy of NFSHS because he really liked racing games back then, and one time i decided to play only for curiosity and, OH MAN, i was so shocked by the amount of passion and love that this game has. An amazing car list with some of my favourite cars like the F50, the F1 GTR, the Z8, the CLK-GTR, the Skyline R34, the 360 Spider and many more others, beautiful racing tracks, a harsh level of competition for both racers and cops, an extensive amount of mechanic customization, realistic driving, simply excellent.
I strongly recommend you to try this at least only one time and see how much detail was put into this.
It was z3, or in PC version z8 also?
As a player who has witnessed all the releases of the series my favorite NFS games are NFS4 High Stakes, NFS1 SE, NFS5 Porsche Unleashed and NFS Most Wanted.
In my opinion NFS4 High Stakes is definitely the pinnacle of the series.
By the way we have a small community of players (Retro Racing Point server) that still play classic NFS games online.
If I google your community of retro racing gamers, will I easily find how to get in touch with you guys?
My first exposure to "arcade" racing games with real cars.
I will never ever forget High Stakes.
Its soundtrack was and still is pretty underrated too.
Great video that takes you back in time to relive old days for 20 mins. As a person who can be easily distracted, I did not even notice the passage of time while watching this well-detailed and captivating game review.
I loved how watching this video made me feel, it reminded me of the few good childhood memories I had….growing up as a kid wasn’t a very good life experience for me, but video games were the exception….gaming in the 90s early 2000’s brought some much needed joy in my early life….i don’t know what could’ve happened to me if it weren’t for video games and gaming/pc technology in general….it filled me with so much interest that it allowed for me to have an escape from my shitty reality that was my life back then….yet somehow watching a video like this at age 39(about to turn 40) brings me so much joy and nostalgia for those early days……just when i thought everything in my past looked so gloomy and dark, i see a bright shinning light at the end of this dark dreadful looking tunnel….I feel this strong desire to walk towards the light and when I get to the end…I see the source of the light….it’s a 📺 and in front of that 📺 sits a little kid….a little boy to be exact….yet despite that dreadfully dark looking setting, I could still see a genuine bright smile radiating from that little kids face…A very delightful but not very common joyful moment in my adolescent experience…A time where I felt forever internally blissed and peacefully content in the pursuit of happiness…if only for a moment in time…for forever is not really for ever….but just a figure of imagination….just a little kids dream and want….the desire to please everyone and everything, in order to overcome whatever life throws at you…..
The damage system is literally better than GTA 5, from 16 years later.
Anything is better than gta 5
Wow, this was a throwback to my childhood. I played this game as a kid with my brothers on the same PC. Love the music and audio from thr game
6:30 I deeply agree with everything you said about the car dealership in old nfs... it felt like having internet. Wholesomeness
Underground was the joke that NFS 4 pre-emptively made fun of in its intro.
haha, good catch :))
14:54 "You wouldn't play this mode for hours on end"
Me who grew up playing this game through elementary school and never touched the career mode, only running from the cops for hours on end: >.> "yeah hahaha, who would do that"
I too remember spending many hours goofing off in that mode while in elementary school. There were a fixed number of police cars patrolling on each track, and if you were playing as police, I recall how you could press, I think it was the "J" key, and switch between taking control of each one. This kinda blew my mind as a kid for some reason. Haha
Oh yeah, me as well, whether I was chasing or running, it was pretty much the only mode I played.
Another thing I liked a lot in Need for Speed High Stakes is that it also had a somewhat large modding community and people would upload cars with a very high poly count in comparison with the original where, in the PC they gave an extreme difference in visual quality, even looking better than newer games of the time. That, adding to the visual damage and the damage costs, made me love this game a lot.
Thank you for the amazing video, I feel literally the same way about this game. I still consider to this day one of the best racing games I've ever played, the carreer mode was great, the high stake races where you would bet your car against the opponents car felt thrilling to say the least, and even when losing it felt like it was my fault. Its sad that whenever I talk about old games with my friends and mention High Stakes, it feels like most of them didnt even knew there were other NFS games before the Fast and Furious inspired titles haha the Undergrounds (which are cool as well).
whoa this is beautiful.
I love how the older physics allow the cars to be so expressive. and the lighting has great atmosphere.
the level of detail of everything is so low while being so rich.
I've never played this title, but I need to now.
Check out unmodded video material first. A lot of footage here is graphics modded/shadered.
NFS4 also is one of my favorites.
Attention to detail in the early NFS games was phenomenal, I remember from the first NFS you could distinctively hear the metallic gear lever tick when you drove the Ferrari.
Good to see NFS4 getting some love. I played so much NFS3 on my first PC with a voodoo1 card and rushed out and bought 4 when I had saved up enough, only to find that my PC wasn't fast enough to play it properly. Still great memories of those games, the tracks combined with the music had such a great atmosphere.
6:41 Callista by Saki Kaskas. One of the best and defining music tracks of the game. Even featured in Mass Effect 2!
May the legend RIP!
One of my favorite games on ps1! I never realized how different and technological the PC version was
Indeed, the difference was between consoles and PC was much larger back then :)
This game was the reason I became a PC gamer. Playing it on PS1 then on PC w/60fps was unreal. Like a totally different game. PC version was miles better.
@@Nitro192192 I prefer the driving for the ps1. Actually the pc porche Game has the same driving model. It's a semi arcade/ semi simulation. The good thing is that you can lost traction in the rear and make good powerslides. In the other games all cars had a lot of grip in corner soo breaking and steering can be done at the same time.
@@pepe2011pley yup, ps1 version was miles better for me, cars not looking like toys proportionally speaking, and the feeling and driving was way better too, pc was too much arcade-ish
@@GamenoobYTwas the PC version built by fans, not by EA themselves? Maybe I read something wrong long time before, but I had exactly that impression when I tried it on PC, after playing the PS1 version.
I rented NFS 3: Hot Pursuit so many times, just to do cop/racing versus with my brother and friends. This video is bringing some wicked nostalgia back. I don't think I played a lot of High Stakes though, hard to say. That said, I love both sim and arcade racing games and NFS did the mix of them very well. I think Burnout is my all time favourite NFS game however. The cars felt amazing and flipping your opponents into oncoming traffic was so satisfying and the replay system was ground breaking. Good times. 😅
Great video as always!
the ps1 version also heavily reduced in terms of racing tracks, and the entire career can be completed in a few hours, unlike the PC version
it was my first racing game in my life, and the most loved. since then I have loved racing so much. thanks for the vid :)
WOW 🤯 I have played it a million times on PSOne/2/3, but I have never seen it this good and polished before😮. So much more detail than any PlayStation!
I also played PS1 only, tried PC version some years ago, didn't like it, it looked like cartoon, but I think I will give it a try again. PS1 version is amazing, still play it sometimes
The final tournament of champions was so hard, I could never beat it on gold
The background music from Mass effect 2 is magnificent.
It's actually from Need for Speed itself. :) Mass Effect took some of the original music composed for NFS.
@@GamenoobYT nice
This is definitely one of my favorite NFS games by far. I really love how with the police chases you can change the police chatter to be base on the region that you are in. Small things like that we don’t see since games have been about open world vs. multiple tracks. Mentioning about how this games give an insight on the car, this is why I also liked NFS Hot Pursuit 2010. Maybe an unpopular opinion but I want another game that where it is about the cars not the customization like the later games have become.
In some of the newer games I made my car just one color. No patterns.
How do you change the chatter?
@@bjornfallqvist1196It's only in PS1 version, done through track settings before the race. Can't do that on PC. PC version has British cops on UK tracks, US cops on all the others, and old NFS3 cop voices on tracks ported from NFS3
i did like this game, and of course the later Porsche Unleased as well. My first racing game was the NFS II SE or the first game, but I'm sure that i played with both (i was born at 1989). This fourth NFS was a really good one, with the upgradeable cars and the damaging system, i liked the tracks in those time. It brings back many nice memories from my childhood 🙂
True review about this game. I was one of those who experienced this game as the first 3d game on my brand new pc back in 1999 and most loved till these days . I was impressed so much playing it on vodoo banshee. The music is another subject of awesomeness . You forgot about the rocks hitting windshield . Thank you for that awesome review man!
as a retro creator myself between need for speed 4 and R4 they are both my favorite racing games of all time! great video!
Thank you :)
@@GamenoobYT no thank you for uploading such a amazing video 💛
High Stakes is the best game in the series for me. Maybe it's the nostalgia but I love that Saki Kas Kas and Rom De Prisco soundtracks. They had better tracks way back in the 90s than games have today. Also the 3d in car camera and car slide shows absolutely my favorite as well. If anything I'd wish EA remasters the true OG NFS from old times. NFS2-3-4 remaster under one title...
Always nice to see the pre-Underground NFSs get some love!
I wish you didn't crop out my watermark at 12:37 but other than that this was an amazing video :)
You stole my Fez.
😂😂😂
@@MorleyGames1what's a "FEZ"?
NFS is seriously overdue to feature locations beyond the USA theme.
This game was basically my entire childhood. So glad to see a video on it! We were so spoiled with this game back in the day.
I've assembled a couple of Windows 98 rigs this year alone.
Neither one escaped the ritual of having the first installed games being NFS 4 and Carmageddon Carpocalypse.
An absolute gem this High Stakes was, and my personal favourite !
Regarding the "high stakes" meaning, you could add an "advice bubble" in the described video section where you could tell people that this game keeps its saves in the gamefolder and you could simply make a backup of those saves before any pink slip race, so the younger generation who wants to try it wouldn't get frustrated after losing a hard earned car after a silly mistake.
Cheers mate !
A very beautiful video indeed, with very nice words !
Absolutely awesome review! I really enjoyed watching this.
Need For Speed IV: High Stakes is one of my favorite games of all time and my first racing game that I ever owned. The atmosphere and passion that went into the games of this era are untouched imo and it really ignited my passion for cars. My love of the E39 M5 started because of this game (I own one in real life now). I still play Callista and the other songs from the soundtrack in my M5. The nostalgia is so strong!
love how you said 'from 1999' instead of 'from 24 years ago'
it will keep the video relative in the future without updating the title 😂
24 years ago also makes me feel very old man :D
@@GamenoobYT Yeah for some this is their Age and For Some It is their Pension haha
This game on PC played a pivotal role in my childhood. I still go back every now and then to replay it and/or listen to the sound track.
High Stakes probably has to be my favourite NfS game :D
Yeah for me it's High Stakes, then Most Wanted, then Underground, then Underground 2, then Carbon. :)
Subscribed solely for this underappreciated game being covered. (and your thorough and comforting commentary)
Underground was the first NFS I ever owned, but this was the first one I ever played as a little kid.
My uncle had this on his old desktop and getting to mess around with it when I visited was a magical experience.
Beautiful how this generational leap in a game franchise matched up with one in my family :)
Thanks for this video!
I'm checking out your Limbo video next
Playing High Stakes on PS1 with my childhood friend in the early 00's are some of my fondest gaming memories.
Truly an underrated gem, remember playing it as a kid with my PS1, it's overall vibe and feel is nothing short of amazing and even other worldly, but it adds so much charm to it, visually, audibly, and functionally beautiful
I was looking for something to watch while eating. Glad I found this! Thank you!
Easier to eat and watch retrospectives than follow analytical AoE videos for sure :)
What a beautiful video. I actually have NFS High Stakes emulated on my phone. Even with the plethora of racing games in the market, NFS high stakes and hot pursuit 2 are my go to racing games. The way of controlling each car; simplicity of upgrading cars to stages 1, 2, and 3; the really nice layout of the tracks; and the day/night and variable weather conditions were what made me made these games stand out for me. All in different tracks from real life ones we see. These games were really a salute to creativity, esp during the years they came out.
my 1st NFS
Awesome production value my friend. I can't wait to see more content from you, but also if it's a passion project, make sure you take a rest
Will do - thanks Speedy!
I'll never know why, but Scholastic of all people would sell the old Need for Speed games in schools in the 90's and that's how I got into the series. (Looking back it was before Steam, so maybe companies used to sell PC games anyway they could?) These games were so much fun. The physics felt great as well and the technical requirements weren't too high for PCs.
For me still the best NFS game. I loved every minute. I remember playing it on my friends PC because thay had better PC. It was amasing to see the the glasses braking on the car and driving down from the hill in the snow. Good old memories.
probably my favorite car game of all time. I think the maps were amazing. each environment felt unique and could have its own separate video. stunning scenery.
I love “engaging in spirited encounters with my opponents” 😂
Hey we have to do it somewhere. :)
Fantastic video. I have actually been playing Gran Turismo 1 on my PC for last week with my racing simulation setup. It's actually incredible fun and I am enjoying myself way more than I expected! Old racing games were brilliant. i'm so glad to see them get some recognition.
I started with NFS Road and Track on DOS, and I'm still playing racing games through FH5. I love touching base with history and reminding ourselves where we came from. It's why i'm playing GT1 even though I never owned a Playstation (only at friends or relatives' houses!)
I'm looking forward for what you're doing on this channel. I don't know if you've subbed to Raycevick, but he does this kind of content too, and he makes brilliant videos. I think his video essays may be some good inspiration for you for this channel.
Thanks for sharing! And I do watch Raycevick, he does amazing content and I love his narrative voice as well. Pretty sure I watched more than half of his videos. :)
Finally, somebody has made a really good video about good old NFS:HS. One of the greatest Need For Speeds we had and for some reason forgotten. Thank you 👍
I have a window XP computer that I use for personal use. It's not used for any online activity. I have a bunch of older games that I use it for. Need for Speed High Stakes is just one of them.
Brilliant video describing this masterpiece. It needed appreciation like this after so many years.
I think I spent years playing the career mode. It was so overwhelming that in the end when you win vs the CLK GTR you feel like you’ve become a master in martial arts or something 😂.
I played and completed everything in need for speed high stakes back when I was like 14 years old and I am happy to say that I am thoroughly enjoying it. Again, thanks to adrenaline and my PlayStation Vita!!!
In my opinion, it was one of the best need for speed games ever made and I would say that also for the game that came before it, need for speed, three hot pursuit !!
These games were absolutely amazing back in the day, and I am surprised at how well, need for speed, high stakes hold up!?
Great watch on the way to work, amazing work!
Thanks Jack - I appreciate the sub as well! 👍🏻
Im so glad this game was my First Ever Videogame I played when I was like 4 years old. I grew up with Need for Speed after that. I cant put into words how awesome that game is to this day. I still love this game till this day 18 years later.
The PS1 version has a great feature that's not mentioned here: 2 player split-screen Hot Pursuit mode, with the capability of either or both players to play as cops. Playing with a friend, both as cops, and coordinating with him to do PIT maneuvers against the hardest racers made this the most memorable NFS for me. You had to be sure to stop the racers and leave them no escape route, there are no abstract health bars to drain down that plagued the pursuits of all the following NFS games. It was immersive, tactical and the best co-op mode I've seen in any racing game by far, still unsurpassed.
PC version also has split screen mode. :)
@@mitternacht4062 Oh wow! And can you play Hot Pursuit with both players as cops?
great video mate! loved every second
Cheers! :)
Love people covering retro NFS. you earned yourself a sub.
I haven't played reaching game since the 2000's.. But watching this makes me want to buy and play Need for Speed 4..
I didn't even realize most modern racing games had lost career modes of vehicle showcases.. Wow.. What a loss
7:02 Looking Rocky Pass at night is an amazing pleasure. I still believe Route Adonf at night, with fireworks in the background is one of my favorite scenarios ever created.
This was the NFS that got me into NFS. the soundtrack, graphics (at the time), the fun factor; Awesome 👌
Sorry to hear about the channel woes. I think you make really good videos my dude so i've subscribed - look forward to them when they pop up in my feed
Thank you for the support Kieran - I appreciate it!
Brilliant video! I agree with pretty much everything said here, except the bit about Underground making NFS mainstream. NFS was already mainstream since NFS II. The only reason Underground surged in popularity was because of Fast and Furious. Underground was a good game indeed, but not a great NFS (and don't even get me started on Most Wanted). High Stakes is both, along with all 6 of the first gen games. And funnily enough, I played High Sakes AFTER both Underground 1 and 2 - so no one can say I'm just nostalgic - and I still say High Stakes is better than both. Not only was it revolutionary, it had A LOT of little tidbits that made it great, such as the car showcases, official manufacturer paint colours, switchable headlights (low AND high beams!), the composed soundtracks, the magnificent race track design, the stunning weather effects.... and almost all of them were ditched from Underground onwards. These are things that made you feel a fascination for the cars and the locations and made the game an experience, one very special to me. And I always enjoy whenever a RUclipsr reviews these games and doesn't dismiss them in favour of Underground or Most Wanted.
Really wish I had this game for my PC back in the day. My dad bought a multi game pack that had NFS: Porsche Unleashed, and NFS:3 Hot Pursuit. Looking at this now, it looks like a combination of the two games while appearing more polished. Looks like its using the game engine and details of NFS:PU while having the theme of NFS3.
Thank You! It brings joy to my heart. The HS IV is the first racing game I've ever play in my life.
I remember playing NFS II on Win 98 on my dad's computer and I wore that game out. When I got older I got NFS hot pursuit 2 on PS2 and I played that till the wheels fell off. I loved the little cutscenes and background info on the cars, I learned a lot about cars and it was something in particular that taught me a ton about cars and made me an even bigger fan as a kid. In retrospect, the NFS Underground games were probably the car enthusiast response to Gran Turismo with all the mods and stuff
Great video, but you forgot to mention one very important feature of this gem: split screen mode! As a father I find it very important option to play with my kids sitting together in front of one screen/TV and have fun. That way this is something one can do together with another person. And this is quite a different experience than an option to play through a computer network (LAN or internet). So remember about split screen in racing games. 🙂
I had the PS1 version of this game. I think one of the things I absolutely loved about it was the requirement to pay to fix your car, the progression from 2 'cheap' cars to start with then to finish with the McLaren and Merc actual racing cars on proper race tracks etc. It felt incredible and the soundtrack I loved, I still think back to the Overseer songs and such of the time, it was great. The game looks even better for PC with more content, I'm definitely going to put this in my list of games to play when I get my next PC for romming/emulating.
15:00 I'm gonna stop you right there. I played hot pursuit mode ad nauseam. I would hop into my black Porsche 911 and do laps around the map dodging cops and hitting jumps. Stakes didn't matter, it was just fun to see how long you could last. And I was one of the fortunate few who did have a Voodoo to run this on, and it looked fantastic. This game was a gem, thank you for putting a bit more shine on the tires for it.
This was my first PS1 game :')
My NFS history started with this game and ended in 2006 with Carbon. Took a very long break and now got back into the series with 2017s Payback and oh boy things have changed.
I still have my original copy of Need for Speed: High Stakes on PS1. I LOVED that game as a kid. A lot of my time was spent just staring at that papaya-orange McLaren F1 GTR long tail.
I rember spending so many hours with that game. The fact it contained all the tracks from NFS 3 Hot Persuit, plus new once did blow me out of the socket back then as a kid.
Finally! Someone sharing my thoughts!
Need For Speed High Stakes was my very first Need For Speed game and it was an excellent game! The graphics, the career mode, the handling, the physics and the cars! All was awesome! There should be a remaster or something.
This was one of the first computer games I ever played. I still love cars to this day because of this game. It's so interesting to see your different perspective, because I mostly played the hot pursuit mode. I never made it very far in the career.
I was so amazed by the damage in NFS 4 and 5 and so disappointed by the lack of it in later games.
To this day for me NFS 4 is still the best one of the franchise by some margin. Nothing even comes remotely close. The hours i spent with my sister on our family computer chasing down racers with the police cars were insane fun. Even today at the age of 37 and her at 34, we still play it occasionally at family gatherings and my nieces watch us play in complete silence and awe. And the soundtrack is nothing short of a masterpiece. As one might notice from my username, my all-time favorite track is from that game. Still actively listening to those tracks in my car every single day.
This was the game that got me into racing games as a kid. It was mind-blowingly good at the time.
Epic video, this game needs more love fr. Btw, what mods are you using? Like graphics-wise of course.
It's called the "Stock Expansion" that makes the game run on modern Windows and packages everything together.
@@GamenoobYT Thanks brother, keep up the good work, you deserve more subs.
@@mcfcxx9849 Cheers. :)
Just found your channel, loved the work on this! Though i do think that NFS High Stakes/Road Challenge is still severely underappreciated for the advancement of NFS as a whole!
Another fun part about this game: in the Hot Pursuit mode the voice accents of the police changed depending on the region: US/UK and European. It was a small addition, but it was really fun to notice the stereotypical "American" Cop voice vs a British cop!
Wow I didn't know that detail - thanks for sharing!
Track variations included a reverse mode, a mirrored move (left turns become right turns and vice versa), day or night, and weather (rain on some tracks, snow on others). As for money, once the first high stakes (race for pink slip) was unlocked, you could repeat it and sell the car you won to quickly earn money. In addition, since the game handicapped based on players car, and since there was no rubber banding (the AI pretty much run the same lap times depending on car, event, series, ...), you could use a stock car to win a level 3 car. Which car you could win would change every few seconds in a fixed pattern so by starting a race at a particular time, you could effectively chose the color and level of the car you would win. High Stakes was the first Need For Speed with online play. One of the cool online modes was knockout mode, a series of races where the last place player would drive a dump truck, usually backwards, to block the remaining players. With a full 8 player lobby, the last race was 6 dump trucks to block the last two racers.
I love those tire marks on the roads that stayed there for whole race, unlike now disappearing after 10 seconds
Great overview. Never played Need for Speed games much myself but it was clearly a successful series.
Shout-out to Midtown Madness!
Midtown Madness was one of those games I used to play on my cousin's PC. Good times. :)
@@GamenoobYT Good times indeed! Spent many hours with several mods for Midtown Madness 2 in multiplayer as well.
That's similar to how I got into Age of Empires: saw and played it on my cousin's PC. Then I bought the game so I could play it on my friend's PC. So I owned AoE before I had my own PC :)
Nice one. I do miss a new "good" Need for Speed.
Same here...
The pc version with a decent graphics card was a joy!!!
This and Porsche Unleashed were my favorite. Helped jump start my car enthusiasts journey. Plus the love for Porsches.
I forgot to mention, that the savedata\db\... folder can be backed up and restored to reset career mode back to a prior state, in case a race was lost, such as a high stakes event where you lose a car. Generally, after each event, players would click on back, then exit, the back up the ...\db\... folder then start the game again for the next event, to create a set of saves (usually zip files) one for each event. Some of the tracks share common parts, such as Hometown + Country Woods, Redrock Ridge + Lost Canyons, ... . After completing 10 career series, an 11th series appeared.
9'57" That smash at the corner made me furious back then. 😅😂
High stakes and hot pursuit 3 are probably my all time favorite nfs games. I can listen to the sound track for ever. And I do!