Need for Speed: The Run

Unlike most major racing franchises, the Forzas and Grand Turismos of the world, Need for Speed games tend to rely on something beyond the simple act of driving very fast to win hearts. No, a Need for Speed game needs an angle. Something that gives it that edge over your standard racer. There have been exceptions of late - both NFS: Shift and Shift 2: Unleashed removed the aging Pimp My Ride stylings from previous outings, and ironically they exceeded expectations. But those were exceptions to the rule. Need for Speed: The Run takes us back to more familiar ground - a big, boisterous, in-your-face production which places as much emphasis on narrative and scene-setting as it does on the racing itself. Which is a bit of a problem. Because while the actual driving in The Run has merit, the creative package tying it all together is threadbare and forgettable.

You are forgiven if you too were swept up in the excitement of early footage and game details that trickled out of EA Black Box's studios. Even now the concept itself holds much promise. A man on the run, a cross country race for his life - I had visions of an epic journey through the heart of North America, some kind of adventure where a man goes to search for his soul and finds himself. There were hints that there would be on-foot sections too, and by this point I was just about comatose with anticipation - would this be the Need for Speed / Grand Theft Auto crossover I've dreamed about? As it turns out, no. Not in the slightest.

Instead what we get is a very polished Hollywood recreation of arcade classic Outrun. If, like me, you had romanticized visions of the classic Cannonball Race vibe, where a huge convoy of expensive cars set out on a grand expedition, prepare to be disappointed. The Run takes the experience of traversing the breadth of the USA and chops it up into neat little bite sized, single-serving chunks. What could have been a truly memorable narrative turns out to be a series of races balanced precariously on this weak substructure of bad storytelling and cheap cop-out Quick Time Events.

For a game so clearly centered on its story, the plot carrying The Run is quite a limp affair. Our boy Jack, or Steve, or whatever his name is, has pissed off the wrong people. Waking up with your hands tied to the steering wheel of a car about to be crushed in a trash compactor is never a good way to start the day, but our lad makes quick work of the situation (thanks Quick Time Event, I owe you one) and is soon on the run. On the subject, I'm not sure that it's a great idea to have the gamers first interactive experience within a game to be in the form of a QTE segment. EA DICE did it with Battlefield 3, and I don't know, I just don't feel it's a good way to kick things off. If I wanted an interactive movie I would have dusted off the old Laserdisc player and a copy of Dragon's Lair.

Sadly that is the extent of the much vaunted on-foot sections: lengthy cut-scenes interspersed with QTE's. Running from the cops, climbing fences, or grappling with a rabid dog, it all comes down to a rolling animation with occasional input from your side to keep things moving. Thankfully these glorified cut-scenes soon make way for the main attraction here - the racing itself. To repay the massive debts which got Jack in the whole trash compactor debacle, our hero signs up for a grueling dash from San Francisco to New York, competing with hundreds of other drivers for top honors and a hefty prize cheque.

The initial feeling when you set out on The Run is one of childlike optimism: am I really going to compete with all of these other guys across the whole of the USA, fighting tooth and nail for each position gained, getting to know my rivals and maybe making a few allies along the way? As you can guess, this optimism was misplaced. It's all very linear, scripted and unconvincing, as far as your progression through the race is concerned. Instead, The Run is divided into different segments, usually between major cities or landmarks along the route, which are broken up further into the individual race events - a diverse mix of straight out races, checkpoint sprints against the clock, and other variations on similar themes.

Clearly arcade-styled, the racing is terrifyingly fast, intense and over in a matter of minutes - each self contained event feels like a jolt of electricity which comes in hard and dissipates fast. This ambiance shattering stop-start element to the game's structure doesn't help with The Run's aspirations of being a cinematic masterpiece, but for instant gratification and quick, all-out thrills you can't do much better. I found the handling to be a bit fiddly, with some cars feeling terribly sluggish, handling like a horse cart at high speed. In fact, with many of the cars, when you are reaching top speed it's close to impossible to be in complete control. If a Porsche 911 Turbo really does handle like this at high velocity, it's a wonder that all their owners aren't very dead by now.

Handling issues are made worse by some strange game design choices. There are major inconsistencies with the invisible "out of bounds" barrier which triggers a reset - sometimes you can veer quite far into the roadside vegetation, other times anything more than a wheel into the shrubs and you're done for. As is now en vogue, there is a rewind feature here too, but instead of letting you rewind the race to a point before you did something stupid, here you are treated to a lengthy loading screen and then plonked back at a previous checkpoint. It may sound trivial, but it's not ideal. When vehicle wrecks happen as often as they do here, you need either a well implemented rewind feature, or quick loading screens to restart the race. NFS: The Run has neither.

These issues point to a lack of polish, something which big name EA releases aren't often accused of. But while there could have been more time spent on these in-game concerns, other aspects of The Run have been masterfully handled, polished to a shine. Watching the Frostbite 2.0 engine work its magic at high speed is a real treat, with some really stunning environments and authentically modeled vehicles. Of course this is nowhere near the level of fidelity that we've seen with Forza 4, but the cars look the part, and they smash to pieces in a very believable fashion. Clever sound editing also does wonders to build atmosphere within the races, working towards a climax at the finish line, you can actually feel the anxiety swelling as the battle for first place heats up. It's these elements which add to that addictive Need for Speed rush that we know and love.

It's a pity then that this rush is over far too quickly. Like the shooters of today, the campaign element of NFS: The Run takes just a couple of hours to complete. There are Challenge Mode races to unlock, and these do boost the longevity somewhat, but they are an afterthought compared to the main story. When a game is so obviously focused on its campaign, it's almost inexcusable for it to be over in one sitting. We forgive the Modern Warfares and Battlefields of this, because we know what delights await us online once the credits roll for the story. But NFS: The Run gets no such clemency - there is very little to recommend about the online modes available here. The Run online isn't bad, but there are better racers out there for the multiplayer-minded. EA's Autolog feature is as usual a pleasant addition, but hardly stands up to the comprehensive community aspects which Forza 4 brought to the party.

No, the online game feels more like an automatic add-on than a focal point. What Need for Speed: The Run really wants to be is a Fast & The Furious movie, with all the cinematic trimmings - a guilty pleasure for gamers just aching to be absorbed into this gripping tale, to be swept away in the moment. Where Black Box has succeeded is to make each race feel like a visceral, sensory overload of speed, panic and roaring engines. For some that will be enough to make this an essential purchase, and to be honest, I did have moments of true enjoyment here and there. But with its weak narrative, a QTE dependency problem, vacuous characters and a lifespan that burns out far too quickly, Need for Speed: The Run is an intense but disappointing end to the back-to-back run of Need for Speed hits we've had of late.

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