Need For Speed NFS Unbound 2022 was just recently released and after taking the plunge to purchase a PS5, the NFS Unbound 2022 edition was on my radar. I have played all of the previous NFS editions and was hopeful the latest release would knock it out of the park. Believe it or not, the first installment of the Need for Speed game began in 1994 with that edition labeled, wait for it, “The Need for Speed”.
I have always said, I would love for Rockstar and EA to partner up to create the NFS vehicle customization, racing, drifting, etc. on top of the GTA engine to allow players to have the flexibility to get out of their vehicles and interact in other ways. With that being said, I feel there’s more of an arcade type of feel with the latest NFS releases, which in hindsight I do not care too much for that type of game play.
Is it good or not – Need For Speed NFS Unbound 2022?
With the release of Unbound, I am still on the fence whether I like the game or not. I purchased the $80 early access which gave gamers the ability to download the game 3 days in advance (November 29) and a couple of other perks that are in my honest opinion not worth the extra cash.
An exclusive license plate limited unbound driving effect, special banner artwork and stickers, 150K bank, which is in-game currency only usable in multiplayer modes. Let me tell you, that 150K gets sucked up really quick when modding a vehicle.
Story Mode vs. Multimode
Beginning in story mode is typically the route I go to familiarize myself with the controls and there’s always that ounce of hope that you will get a decent payday or unlock a vehicle, mods, etc. upon completing the story mode. That’s where the designer get you sucked into the daily grind of the game, literally a time suck! Let me tell you, the grind and time suck from this game is real. Story mode seemed to start out decent where they give you the option to select and fix up your ride only for it to be stolen. I guess that’s the foundation of the story in story mode. Trying to figure out the right race car set-up along with styling, handling, etc. to win money to unlock additional modifications, upgrading your garage to further unlock advanced performance parts to beef up your ride to win more races to earn more cash.
I am a few hours into the game spread over a couple of days, so initially my thought is, “am I going to be stuck driving this Mitsubishi Eclipse the entire damn time?” All while they tease you with driving missions with the new Nissan Z, Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, Bugatti Chiron, Nissan Skyline and a couple of others. Of course, the cars are maxed our performance wise and then you go back to your slow, boring Mitsubishi Eclipse.
Multiplayer mode I have only dabbled a bit on that side of the game, I am trying to make my way through story mode, but it is a bit challenging for someone who has zero patience. If you have patience and are willing to grind, this game will suit you very well. The graphics and overall gameplay are not bad at all, I just wish there was more interaction and less arcade-like play (i.e., crashing through trees and hitting vehicles is like hitting a building).
Update on Story Mode
I stopped being such an old man and applied some logic to beating the story mode version of the NFS Unbound. Take the conservative approach when modifying your vehicles, build them out for performance and handling before applying all of the cosmetics. It sounds simple, but you would think one would get some “cool points” by adding a body kit, etc., when in reality it does not get you anywhere.
I worked my way up to building my vehicles for different races with a main focus on a “grip” car that was mostly focused on handling. That got me further into the game than anything else. I also learned braking in the corners, when to hit the nitrous to perfect my races. In most scenarios, one crash would literally knock you out of the race, however, you are given restarts to retry the race. Once I got past the first qualifier and learned the above, I was able to breeze through qualifiers 2 and 3, respectively.
Upon completing the story mode, I jumped over to online mode and found it difficult to find anyone on the streets cruising around, despite the server saying there was 16 people on the server. I will continue to mess around in online mode to figure this out. Bottom line up front, the game is OK, the modifications of the vehicles are pretty cool and the variety of vehicles and their mods is decent. I still wish there was a GTA-like engine with the NFS concept behind it. Would make the user experience a lot more interesting.
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For more on NFS Unbound, visit: Need for Speed™ Unbound – Official Site (ea.com)
