Need For Drive

Cars have reached a point where they can now drive themselves under ideal conditions, and the plan is to automate the entire process in the next decades. However, the actual driving is a pretty fun activity when you are not stuck in traffic, especially if you can afford a nice car. Thus, racing simulators are very popular out there, especially those that provide the players with realism.

Need For Drive is a driving simulator that allows you to experience the thrill of exploring an open map behind the wheel of a variety of cars, ranging from sports cars, to trucks and off-road vehicles. The game attempts to be a simulator of sorts when it comes to handling and the behavior of the vehicles on the road, but that’s not the case, even if you might have trouble driving for one reason or the other.

As mentioned before, there are multiple cars to choose from, depending on whether you want pure speed, a bit of drifting, or to drive a monster truck over the hills. Each vehicle handles differently, and you can tell that the developers tried their best in this regard. The tire grip is pretty neat as well, since you really have to brake in order to negotiate tougher corners.

Although the map is pretty detailed, it’s also quite small, not to mention empty. There is no traffic and nothing to hinder your driving, which feels kind of underwhelming most of the time. It would be nice to have a reason to pay more attention to the road ahead, because this way it feels like you are not putting any effort into the experience. There are no race events either, and the exploration gets rather dull after a while.

As for the graphics, they are actually quite decent, depending on how high your expectations are. Naturally, this is still a casual game, so it’s only natural that it doesn’t feature perfect car models or high-end post-processing effects. On the other hand, the repetitive map design can get on your nerves after a while, depending on how much attention you pay to your surroundings.

All things considered, Need For Drive can keep you busy for a while, but the lack of objectives, the small map and the non-existing traffic cause boredom after a few minutes. Even so, you can certainly give it a go and have a bit of fun with the game.