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The Need for Speed series has been a huge success for Electronic Arts over the years
with no end in sight. And it's kind of hard to believe the series actually originated
back on the ill-fated 3DO, towards the end of 1994.
Armed with a Road & Track license, the game features plenty of high quality photographs
and full motion video, like a digital magazine of sorts. In addition to all of the wonderful
car ***, The Need for Speed has 8 licensed sports cars, from Italian exotics to the iconic
911, Japanese Sports cars, and even some American Muscle.
Despite being a small company at the time, Electronic Arts spared no expense and it’s
awesome to see so many licensed cars from so many different companies, which was a rarity
at the time.
Even more impressive is how well it takes advantage of the 3DO hardware. The 3DO itself
was quite impressive for a home console released in 1993, and The Need for Speed shows off
the type of performance possible in the hands of ambitious programmers.
Being a 1994 CD-rom release, The Need for Speed has a cheesy FMV antagonist named X-Man.
Before, between, and after races you are treated to a clip of X-Man encouraging you, congratulating
you, or even berating you. I can’t imagine this ever being cool, but it gives the game
some awesome 90’s flare.
Moving on, the heart of the game is a one-on-one race against X-Man. From the menu screen,
you highlight different areas and then use the shoulder buttons to select different race
options. You can select your own ride, as well as X-Man’s whip, and then you’re
off.
Completing the three races doesn’t unlock any new vehicles or tracks, but there is an
arbitrary points system rewarding points for… I actually have no idea as it’s never explained
in the manual. But the points really don’t matter, as winning yields little more than
humble X-Man videos.
What The Need for Speed is really about is driving. Again, for being such an early 3D
racing game, Electronic Arts did a phenomenal job in the handling department. Each car feels
somewhat unique with different levels of responsiveness as well as over and under steer characteristics.
The controls certainly aren’t perfect, and the game has a sluggish feel to it, but they
work within the confines of the courses and make for a rather pleasant, engaging, and
enjoyable driving experience.
In my opinion, this is what The Need for Speed is all about, blasting through country back
roads and highways in rather lengthy environments. It isn’t for everyone, but its an impressive
title for the little 3DO, and I like it quite a bit.
After the success of The Need for Speed, the game was ported to DOS, twice, as well as
the PlayStation, which was then picking up some serious steam. But instead of looking
at these versions, today’s Face/Off features another obscure port, the Sega Saturn.
Rather than simply porting the game to the new home consoles, Electronic Arts actually
tweaked and massaged the game, and I’m very surprised at how different this Sega Saturn
version is compared to the 3DO original.
The first thing you’ll notice is the menu system has been completely overhauled. Gone
is the confusing picture based menu from the 3DO version, and in its place is something
a bit more traditional.
If you so choose, you can play Saturn The Need for Speed just like the 3DO version,
racing one-on-one on the three sprawling courses.
Right away however, you’ll notice the game feels totally different. The cars in this
game reach higher top speeds, significantly quicker, resulting in drastically different
race times. Taking Alpine for example, using the same Testarossa, the Saturn track can
be completed in 12 minutes or less, compared to 17 minutes in the 3DO version.
In addition to the arcade-style speed, the Saturn version contains a much, much, smoother
frame rate, rarely dipping below 30, compared to a sluggish 15 for the 3DO, further increasing
the sensation of speed.
However, Electronic Arts also tweaked the controls. The sluggish feeling has been mostly
removed, and everything feels rather zippy. Unfortunately, any attempt at realism was
also thrown out the window, replaced with some extremely dumbed down steering. The amount
of understeer in this game is pretty insane, and frequent scrapes with the wall are all
but assured.
Despite making all the cars faster, the brakes seem untouched, and scrubbing speed for the
entry into a turn never quite feels right. An emergency brake was added, but doesn't
really solve the problem.
In the end, I give the 3DO version the edge in terms of controls. The superior steering
mechanics make slow turns much more manageable, and something about constantly scraping the
wall in the Saturn version doesn’t sit well with me. Point for, the 3DO.
By now, you’ve probably noticed the Saturn version looks for more crisp than the 3DO
version. This is mostly due to the video output capabilities of each system. The 3DO outputs
480i over S-Video, while the Saturn offers pristine 240p RGB over scart.
Still, if you can look past the video output quality of each respective console, there
are some other graphical differences besides the frame rate. The 3DO version uses a 3D
skybox for the sky, rather than the flat sprite layer found in the Saturn version. The 3DO
version also has a transparency effects, like the shadow beneath the car, compared the black
box found in the Saturn version. The 3DO also has some transparent smoke effects, which
are again solid in the Saturn version.
While the 3DO has a couple of advantages for sure, there is little doubt the Saturn version
reigns supreme. The smooth frame rate, combined with the much faster speeds, really elevate
this past the original game. The background objects are also smoother, lacking some of
the jerkiness found in the original. Granted, as it was released 2 years later on superior
hardware, it should look superior, but I’m surprised Electronic Arts was able to squeeze
twice the performance out of the Saturn. I find it both admirable, and impressive. Point
goes to the Saturn.
Finally, let’s take a look at all of the additional stuff crammed into the Need for
Speed for the Sega Saturn. First, there are three additional tracks. On the track select
screen, these look like race tracks, but they play more like generic loops of scenery. They
are nice additions for sure, but don’t match the beauty and flow of the original courses.
Next, there is a full race mode, allowing you to race against 7 opponents. While one-on-one
is nice, the ability to race against a whole field of cars adds a lot to the racing, giving
you more opportunities to execute passes. There is even a tournament mode, acting as
a championship of sorts.
The Saturn version even has unlockables like an extra track and car, which gives you incentive
to explore all the game has to offer. Instead of points. The Saturn even has 2-player, if
you're into that sort of thing.
Next, there is also a full rock soundtrack that streams during the racing. While the
engine notes are great in both versions, I do appreciate having a solid soundtrack play
while I’m tearing down the highway.
Unfortunately, with the addition of new courses and a full soundtrack, the Saturn version
scraps most of the FMV sequences, meaning our old friend X-Man has been removed from
the game. The FMV craze was mostly over in 1996, and Electronic Arts decided to use those
extra bits elsewhere.
For this reason, I find The Need for Speed on the 3DO to be a far more charming game.
There is something really awesome about watching b-grade acting between races, and the playful
banter does a great job capturing some of videogames’ lighter moments from the mid-90’s.
It’s also cool the sky reacts more realistically in the 3DO version, and the cars have real
shadows and transparent smoke, despite being released 2 years earlier. The HUD showing
off your speed and revs is also less obstructive, making left turns less annoying. The 3DO version
also includes three different difficulties, which is strangely lacking in the Saturn port.
And of course, I prefer the controls, specifically the steering, found in 3DO The Need for Speed.
But there is little doubt the Saturn version is better overall. There is just a higher
level of polish here. The game feels much more fleshed out, from a more logical menu
systems, twice the tracks, more modes, unlockable content, an actual soundtrack, fewer graphical
oddities, and a frame rate that holds up much better 20 years later.
Some might even prefer the arcade-style controls, which are more responsive, despite having
a ton of understeer. The increased speed of the game overall makes Saturn The Need for
Speed a ton more exciting to play. Other gameplay tweaks include the ability to get some air,
as well as more frequent cops which are more challenging to evade.
Don’t get me wrong, the 3DO version of The Need for Speed was a revolutionary title,
and laid the groundwork for one of the most successful racing franchises of all time.
The game deserves respect, and is a blast to play. But the Saturn game takes all of
that awesomeness, and cranks it to 11. Match point goes to the Sega Saturn.