Martin III wrote:I've always found it funny how the Saturn version of The Need For Speed, which is considered a quite solid and enjoyable racer among the Saturn community (see
here for instance), is considered a butchered port in the 3DO community. I guess it just goes to show how awesome the 3DO version is!
It's true. Taken on it's own NFS on the Saturn is all right. If I hadn't played the heck out of the 3DO version I probably would have a fairly high opinion of the game. But it's tough to play this one when such a stronger version exists.
Saturn pros ...
-2 player mode
-3 new tracks (even though they don't fit the style of the original ones)
Saturn cons ...
-No X-Man
-Loading screens for the loading screens!
-New weak sountrack
-Graphics have been seriously degraded
-Control is no longer like a sim, instead it is arcade
-Oncoming traffic has been removed
The thing that really gets me about the last one, is that it removes a lot of the fun & challenge..
The original NFS tracks are fairly straightforward and realistic. By removing the oncoming cars, it's almost impossible to mess up. There are no wild curves to spin out on for instance. So as a result, you can pretty much just lay back and drvie all over the road w/o fear of crashing ...
I wouldn't even mind this neccesarily if the game had kept the sim control, as I could just cruise and check out the visuals (albeit far weaker in the Saturn version) but with the newer arcade style, I fly through the courses in no time at all.
I can only guess that big fans of the Sat & Psx ports of NFS never spent much time w/the 3DO original.
Most wanted - Eye of Typhoon, 3DO Magazines issues #14 & #15, Pro Stadium, Defcon 5