Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed

aka: NFS 5, Need for Speed V, Need for Speed: Porsche, Need for Speed: Porsche 2000, Need for Speed: Porsche 2000
Moby ID: 1398
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Description official descriptions

Need for Speed is back with more! Drive over 80 different Porsches, from the first 356 Ferdinand to the 2000 911 Turbo over multiple tracks. Some tracks have alternate paths. Others are rally tracks where you go from one end of the track to the other instead of doing circuit racing.

Two completely different single-player modes available. First, there's factory driver, which have you join Porsche as a test driver. As you complete different challenges, which can vary from doing specific manoeuvres in pre-alloted time to racing fellow drivers, you will make your way up to Ace Test Driver. Second, there's Evolution, which is the "career mode", you start with enough money to buy one 356, and start racing. As you win races, time will pass, new cars will become available, or you can peruse the used car market. Buy/repair/sell cars, win races, buy enhancement parts for your car, and make your way to the end of the modern era...

You can also play online via EARacing.com, where you can pick customized cars in your Evolution stable or choose stock cars and race up to 7 other cars simultaneously.

The graphics have been enhanced and the physics model changed to reflect a true 4-point system, and you can feel the difference between the different vehicles.

Spellings

  • 极品飞车:保时捷之旅 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Windows version)

181 People (165 developers, 16 thanks) · View all

Lead Programmer
World Rendering
Car Rendering
3-D Programming
AI Programming
Physics and Simulation
Cameras and Controllers
Tools
Audio Programmers
Communications Programming
Interface Programmers
Additional Programming
Lead Artist
Lead Track Artists
Lead Car Artist
Lead Graphical Interface Artist
Tracks
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 88% (based on 30 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 86 ratings with 7 reviews)

The Need For Speed series returns to it's roots...

The Good
The first Need For Speed was ironically the best in the series until the fifth version was published... Mainly because it had the feeling in it, and another good thing was the track design. You had enough difference so that you could drive for a long while without getting bored. Especially the segment tracks with traffic were very good.

After the first part, the quality has been going down rapidly, number three of the series hitting the rock bottom... So I had no real expectations for the fifth version, and I had even less after I heard it will be with only a Porsche license. I was expecting another game with rotten and boring gameplay.

I was wrong.

When I first drove NFS5, I was dumbfounded. The game looked good, it sounded good(the musics are awesome!!) and, most importantly the driveability is great! The game has many gaming modes and all of them are fun to play, especially the two campaigns.

Let's make a deeper look into the mechanics of the game: The graphics engine was rebuilt after number four, and it offers great graphics with a lot of detail and a good framerate. If you can play the game with best graphic options, you will be amazed. At least I was... The tracks are well designed and the sceneries look great. I was especially impressed by Normandie. The track is basically a road going through big fields. You can see to a very long distance, and it looks realistic.

The sounds are awesome. Different cars have different sounds and they sound realistic(you know, that unique sound that only Porsche's air-cooled rear engines have...). A special note on the musics: They are probably the best pieces of music in computer game world. They rise the feeling of driving into a completely new level. Especially the songs "Funky Phreakout" and "Rezidue" are absolute pearls that I listen to outside the game world.

As I mentioned, the driveability is probably the most important part of a game, and this game has it. The feeling is a successful mix between arcade and simulation. The slides are not the fastest way to go the corners, but it's damn sure the funniest. Especially with the older rear-engined 911's you have to learn the driveability. If you let the gas pedal rise, the rear end starts slipping, and it can only be corrected by pushing the pedal to the metal. Otherwise you are going to spin. The other cars are not as fun to drive as 911s, but the driving seems realistic and is still not as hard as a real car.

All this is bundled up with absolutely brilliant track and car designs. The tracks are generally fun to drive and still very challenging to master. They are really different from each other. The cars are even better, as they have very much difference, for example between the first 356 with 1100cc engine from VW Beetle and the fastest car in the game, the mighty 911 GT1.

Completing the nearly perfect design, there are the two campaign modes: The Evolution, where you compete in different cups and win money for new cars for 50 years(not literally). You can customize your cars(buy better parts for the engines, better tyres, gearboxes and more). In Factory driver you get to be a Porsche test driver and do some missions. The missions are different from one another but basically the main idea is to drive from point A into point B. It's still fun, though.

The Bad
The game would be perfect, but there are a few stupidities in it.

First of all, there are bugs in the otherwise great physics engine. Sometimes the car rolls in tight corners, which doesn't make any sense(although I've seen this happen in real life).

Another point, there's really not much to do outside the campaign modes. The single races are boring, the knockout races are not fun either and there's no real championship.

Finally, the skill level is not high enough. There should be more skill option, as currently I usually can win any race whenever I want to.

The Bottom Line
I'll admit it, the game has a few stupidities in it. But I don't really care. The game offers real entertainment for a long time. The overall design is good and the value for a car fanatic is more than just a game. After all, you get to see what the older porsches look like in virtual reality. All this is covered with excellent gameplay and even better music. Porsche Unleashed is the best published Need For Speed yet, and I think it will be for a long time.

Windows · by Zamppa (99) · 2002

The most realistic game in the Need For Speed series

The Good
Naturally, what led me to buy the game were the screenshots on the box, but it turns out the gameplay was very enjoyable too. There are two special modes, Evolution and Factory Driver, that allow the player to grow and be rewarded. A lot more games are picking up on this now to extend gameplay past the regular arcade mode.

In fact, the driving in NFSPU is more simulation than arcade compared to the previous NFS games. Some will scoff at that, but I enjoyed it. It made the Porsche driving experience more realistic, especially feeling the immense driving difference between a 356 and a 959. Old cars wobble and powerslide, and new cars growl with power. Each car is very customizable with engine/body parts and colors/decals.

The scenery on each of the ten or so tracks is nice, ranging from twisty forest paths to city speedways to snow-capped mountains. The driving controls make a fair amount of sense, and the gauge display is very customizable depending on how much or little you want on-screen.

The Bad
When you first play the evolution mode, it's a great challenge, but after a few plays, you realize you can just buy and sell used cars for profit, and keep racing races you easily run, to earn money, and it starts becoming trivial. Some of the factory driver missions take a huge amount of practice, and it can be frustrating trying to do the same spin over and over until the game decides you did it right.

The menus cannot be controlled with the arrow keys, and so you're caught shifting between mouse and keyboard when you pause the game mid-race.

There are a whole ton of 356 and 911 models in the game, but some are entirely missing from the game, like the 928, 924, and 968. Some of the missing cars are downloadable from the EA web/ftp site, but you can't drive them in factory or evolution mode.

The Bottom Line
Porsche fans will naturally eat this game up, as it covers 50 years of Porsche history in pictures, videos, and of course in the game itself. Even though it's in the Need For Speed series, and the newer cars can get quite fast, the game is more about driving than speed, and learning to appreciate the handling of each car... even the cheap little 914. Even after four years, you can still find this game new in the $10 bargain bins, which is a testament to its long-lasting playability and enjoyment.

Windows · by Andy Voss (1861) · 2006

The best Need for Speed yet, and one of the best driving games ever.

The Good
Make no mistake, this game is a masterpiece. The graphics and sounds are simply stunning. The sceneary and the cars look perfect, as real as you're going to get on a PC these days. The handling of the cars is excellent, and each car is subtley different form the next. The controls are stunning, and with a decent wheel (force-feedback preferably) this game drives better than anything else out there. For the first time in a driving game, you really feel that you're behind the wheel of a fast car.

The game has two modes. The test driver mode gives you a chance to test drive a variety of Porche's on your way to becoming chief test driver, and there are some brilliant missions to undertake, like "deliver this car to the docks in 3 minutes, and don't damage it!", or the truly excellent "take this guy out for a drive and scare the crap out of him!"

The main game is very well thought, racing Porches through the ages. You start in 1950 (the classic era) with a few bucks in your pocket. Buy yourself an old 356, and enter the first race. Do well in that race and you'll earn money which you can use to repair and upgrade your car. As you progress you can buy other cars to drive in the later races. At the end of an age, you get the chance to win a special edition Porsche. For example, at the end of the classic era, you get several laps of Monaco in a 550 Spyder - win the race and you win the car.

The Bad
There's not much wrong with this game. It does need a pretty beefy PC to play. On my 500MHz system if I use the wheel, I have to turn off the rear-view mirror or it just gets way too jerky. Racing with the keyboard is OK, but the wheel is just so damn good.

The Bottom Line
Personally, I don't like Porsches. When I first heard of this game I grumbled and complained about it as only a Yorkshireman can. But I put aside my prejudices, and have not looked back. If you don't have this game, get it. If you don't have a wheel, get one. Put to two together, and you have perfection. Trust me.

This is without doubt, the finest arcade racer there is, bar none. It's not a simulation, so I don't have to compare it with Geoff Crammond's games, and I'm glad about that. I'd be afraid it might win.

Windows · by Steve Hall (329) · 2000

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Incomplete credits? Mtik333 (29526) Nov 8, 2020

Trivia

Awards

  • PC Gamer Magazine
    • April 2005 - ranked # 28 in the 50 Best Games of All Time list* PC Player
    • (issue 01/2001) - named as "Best Racing Game in 2000".

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MAT.

Additional contributors: PCGamer77, SchumiFan, Steve Hall, Zovni, Kasey Chang, Unicorn Lynx, tarmo888, Alaka, dartg55, Victor Vance.

Game added May 3, 2000. Last modified March 14, 2024.