by:	December 26, 2004

The latest racing title from EA Games has finally hit the shelves. The sequel to its 2003 predecessor is finally here. Need For Speed was first announced in 1994, developed on the 3D0 in 1995, and made its way to the Playstation on November 26th, 1996. Over the next few months of its release, the game was gaining quite a reputation. Being called one of the best games of 1996, EA Games insisted on putting out another installment in the upcoming franchise.

They released Need For Speed 2 on April 3rd, 1997. Though the game received worse ratings than its first predecessor, it was still loved by some of the NFS fans. The first NFS title was wanted and by almost every racing fan , that EA only spent a total of 4 months on making Need For Speed 2, thinking that it would gain much hype and be as successful as the first. But, they thought wrong. Not only did it receive poor ratings, but it got to the point where EA was thinking of ending the NFS series as is. EA thought long about it and decided to give it one more try. On August 23rd, 1998, they released Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit, hoping to be as popular and/or successful as the first.

EA’s wish came true when NFS3:HP zipped over to the stores. The reputation of the 3rd game in the franchise grew fairly fast. Many fans of the first NFS were crowding in large lines just to grab there own copy of the title. With updated graphics, sound, and great gameplay, NFS3:HP became a must-have, and fast. Gaining a good amount of reputation from the 3rd installment, EA went at it again for yet another NFS title. After another year of creating the next NFS, it was finally finished. March 10th, 1999, was the year of the NFS series for the Playstation. The fourth title in the franchise, called Need For Speed 4: High Stakes , was the top racing game of the time. Using cop pursuits and high speed chases to upgrade the gameplay, this much improved title went through the roof in sales. These titles held out on the Playstation for the next few years, while EA plans to release yet again another NFS title for the upcoming console known as the Playstation 2.

The first racing title that EA released on the Playstation 2, was called Need For Speed Underground. With amazing graphics and through the roof gameplay, this racing title was a must-have. After 2 years of planning and creating the game, EA released NFSU on November 14th, 2003, and I think it’s safe to say that they did a wonderful job. The time has come again, for EA to release another NFS title. Now they take it to the Xbox and even put in the option of playing Xbox Live. Now the real question, does it live up to its old and new predecessors and competitors?