Play Need for Speed Now
The recent release of online racing MMO, Need for Speed World came as a
something of a surprise to most in the industry - at first, we?d believed it to
be a simple text-based browser game without any actual 'racing' components of
note. It wasn't until we saw the first screenshots that we realised just how
wrong we?d been.
It goes without saying that this is a spectacular looking game; though not as
impressive as its retail counterparts, NFSW is leagues ahead of the competition
within the online racing MMO world, and at only 700MB, it?s surprisingly
light-weight, too. Oh, and in case you weren?t aware - it?s completely free to
play.
Okay, okay, so maybe that?s not entirely true. It?s mostly free to play, in the
way that all F2P releases are mostly free to play: you can play it for free, but
if you want to make a lot of progress in a short amount of time, you?re going to
need to track down that credit card.
But don?t worry, it?s not a pay-to-win title; with few aesthetic exceptions,
everything that can be purchased with a credit card in NFSW can be purchased
with in-game currency, too, which is earned by racing against other players
online and winning.
Completing a race, either online or in one of the many available single-player
modes, will reward you with experience required to increase in level and unlock
new cars, parts and improvements, alongside earning cash that will let you
purchase these improvements. Boost, the online currency system in NFSW, allows
you to enhance your winnings, thereby offering speedier progression without any
game-breaking balance concerns.
Joining multiplayer games is achieved by either joining a game via matchmaking
or by entering into the 'Free Roam' mode - a persistent, online world filled
with thousands of other players. In Free Roam mode, you can challenge other
players directly, among a decent selection of other offerings to the tune of
multiple racing modes and collaborative group-based play.
In summary, NFSW isn?t doing a lot that hasn?t been done before. The inclusion
of Free Roam mode borders on innovative, but is in many ways a wasted
opportunity, in that there is a lot of room for potential that hasn?t, at the
time of writing, been realised. That said, this won?t be an issue for fans of
the series or those looking for a fun, free racing MMO with loads of upgradable
awesome and skill-based progression.
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