Need for Speed (NFS): The Run is the 18th title in the NFS franchise. The game can best be described as an illegal cross country race from San Francisco to New York, which you must win in order to get your life back. There are stops at Las Vegas, Denver and Detroit, among other locations.

As usual there are no rules and it’s like a ‘no holds barred’ wrestling match where everything goes. You play the character of Jack Rourke, who is in trouble for his involvement with the mob and who is promised his life back if he can win a high stakes cross-country race.

The game is the first in the NFS series to use real locations and it gives you a feel for both the beautiful American landscape and the urban locale as well. The game uses a total of 300kms of racing track making it the biggest NFS game yet.

There are a number of interestingly different driving options available with different types of races which keep your interest alive in the game. There are also performance and visual upgrades available for your vehicle. However, you are advised not to think too much about the storyline which is weak, to put it mildly.

The assortment of vehicles includes sports cars, which are a dream to drive as well as muscle cars which are harder to steer. But as in all car racing games, balancing your speed with control is the key to success.

You are allowed to change cars only at gas stations and where the story permits and this may leave you with an unsuitable car for a particular event. There is no easy way to go back to an earlier event which offered a gas station and change your option so if you are riding the wrong vehicle for the event you are stuck with it.

For each event to be completed successfully you have to attain certain objectives, e.g., in certain events you have to pass a specified number of opponents in order to proceed to the next level. Similarly, in other events known as battle races you may be required to overtake a particular opponent and you also have to overcome other difficulties. The police try to stop you by putting roadblocks and doing speed checks, but you have the advantage of knowing about these in advance so these do not pose much of a problem. In addition, there are environmental hazards such as avalanches but again, they are not much of a challenge.

There are also a number of challenges available which you can compete in to earn medals. These allow you to unlock new cars which can be used in the cross-country event.

Putting your driving skills to the test against time as well as other opponents is exciting and provides a thrill which you expect from an NFS game. But there are negative points to the game also. If you crash or go too far off road, you are automatically reset to the last checkpoint. These resets may take a few seconds which break the momentum of the game. Loading times generally are on the higher side. On-foot sequences have been added for the first time in an NFS game but these have proved to be a disappointment.

All in all, NFS: The Run is a mixed bag. It fails to realise its true potential and the pre-release hype, but you have to take the good with the ordinary. It has its moments where you will find yourself getting really involved, while on other occasions it gets quite predictable and you are likely to lose interest.

How you rate this game may depend on your choice and preference for this particular genre. Racing fans, especially NFS fans, would not want to miss this game while others may regard it as passable.  — Sohail Saleem