3 Key Areas where Need For Speed Payback falls short of 2015
Now let's make one thing clear: I absolutely love Need For Speed Payback. It is arguably up there with Underground 2 and Most Wanted games (yep, both the 2005 and controversial 2012 remake) with the most fun I have had playing a Need For Speed title. Rewind two years ago and I was playing the 2015 reboot of the franchise. Again, this was an entertaining title on but a number of reasons prevented this from becoming one of the all time greats in the series. The car list lacked variety, car customisation was disappointing, garage space was too restrictive and the police AI lacked... Intelligence. But the biggest crime of all was the horrid physics engine - there were many instances when I was cornering and I've had collisions I was never expecting to happen due to the "crabwalking" feature the game became infamous for.
Without question, I much prefer Payback over 2015. It has also scrapped the "Always dark and damp" Underground vibe for an action move theme set in a replica of Las Vegas, featuring a day and night cycle and more lively environment. With that said, some elements that made 2015 stand out have been lost in its sequel. Here are three of them:
Visuals
Personally, I think Need For Speed 2015 is one of the most visually impressive racing games ever released. I know, it is always dark and raining which means low res details can be hidden pretty well, but the lighting model works superbly to recreate the Underground atmosphere (more on that later) with a modern twist which makes it an excellent screenshot generator. Payback is also a very pretty game, but having to accommodate dynamic lighting and high res textures does take its toll on the overall lighting - It goes back to looking much like Rivals, a 5 year old game. Sorry Payback, 2015 has you beat on eye candy.
Car Building
If there is one factor preventing Payback from becoming an all time great, this is it. There are some critical flaws which make the approach to buying performance upgrades the most needlessly complicated system I have ever seen in a racing game. For starters, there is the Speedcard system which has too many stages and never guarantees you getting the part you want. To make matters worse, only a selection of cars can be upgraded to the best performance rating (399), with many of the others capped at 299. Yep, that includes the Skyline R34 GT-R.
Meanwhile, no such restrictions are in place in 2015. Assuming you have an extra garage slot and enough cash, you can buy a car and have all the parts available to max your car out from the get-go. It just shows how the lure of loot boxes can get rid of a simple mechanic that has worked so well in the past.
Nostalgia
Now, this is a very subjective point, but also very important to me. You see, when 2015 was unveiled with its teaser trailer, I was very excited because I grew up playing games from the Underground - Carbon era, and for the first time in nearly a decade, I thought Ghost Games was going to recapture that vibe. When I got the game, I knew it was flawed but I was more forgiving of those shortcomings because it took me back to the days I just beginning to discover Need For Speed and the early Fast and Furious movies the franchise was based on at the time. I was obsessed.
The theme of Payback never struck a chord with me quite as much. Yes, there was still a great emphasis on car customisation and street racing, but the idea of an action movie with the idea of getting revenge on those who crossed you was never prevalent in my past.
So where does that leave Payback? Well considering how 2015 received 6 months of post-release support, I would like to think it is still early days to say we have seen all the game has got to offer. Last month, I don't think anyone expected to see the Speedcross DLC with the Infiniti Q60 and Mini Countryman. And most importantly, the new events were a blast. That's where I like to see things heading - While I may long to relive experiences from my childhood, I do want to be surprised by new experiences I will enjoy. So far Payback is delivering on that front!
Without question, I much prefer Payback over 2015. It has also scrapped the "Always dark and damp" Underground vibe for an action move theme set in a replica of Las Vegas, featuring a day and night cycle and more lively environment. With that said, some elements that made 2015 stand out have been lost in its sequel. Here are three of them:
Visuals
Personally, I think Need For Speed 2015 is one of the most visually impressive racing games ever released. I know, it is always dark and raining which means low res details can be hidden pretty well, but the lighting model works superbly to recreate the Underground atmosphere (more on that later) with a modern twist which makes it an excellent screenshot generator. Payback is also a very pretty game, but having to accommodate dynamic lighting and high res textures does take its toll on the overall lighting - It goes back to looking much like Rivals, a 5 year old game. Sorry Payback, 2015 has you beat on eye candy.
Car Building
If there is one factor preventing Payback from becoming an all time great, this is it. There are some critical flaws which make the approach to buying performance upgrades the most needlessly complicated system I have ever seen in a racing game. For starters, there is the Speedcard system which has too many stages and never guarantees you getting the part you want. To make matters worse, only a selection of cars can be upgraded to the best performance rating (399), with many of the others capped at 299. Yep, that includes the Skyline R34 GT-R.
Meanwhile, no such restrictions are in place in 2015. Assuming you have an extra garage slot and enough cash, you can buy a car and have all the parts available to max your car out from the get-go. It just shows how the lure of loot boxes can get rid of a simple mechanic that has worked so well in the past.
Nostalgia
Now, this is a very subjective point, but also very important to me. You see, when 2015 was unveiled with its teaser trailer, I was very excited because I grew up playing games from the Underground - Carbon era, and for the first time in nearly a decade, I thought Ghost Games was going to recapture that vibe. When I got the game, I knew it was flawed but I was more forgiving of those shortcomings because it took me back to the days I just beginning to discover Need For Speed and the early Fast and Furious movies the franchise was based on at the time. I was obsessed.
The theme of Payback never struck a chord with me quite as much. Yes, there was still a great emphasis on car customisation and street racing, but the idea of an action movie with the idea of getting revenge on those who crossed you was never prevalent in my past.
So where does that leave Payback? Well considering how 2015 received 6 months of post-release support, I would like to think it is still early days to say we have seen all the game has got to offer. Last month, I don't think anyone expected to see the Speedcross DLC with the Infiniti Q60 and Mini Countryman. And most importantly, the new events were a blast. That's where I like to see things heading - While I may long to relive experiences from my childhood, I do want to be surprised by new experiences I will enjoy. So far Payback is delivering on that front!
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