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Need For Speed World — Another EA Free-To-Play
EA is coming out with another NFS. The beauty of this one is that it’s free. That’s right. Absolutely free. EA has is experimenting with free-to-play games. Before this one, it released Battlefield: Heroes. It got Best of 2009 from IGN. I’ve played a few of these free-to-play games, and I loved them. Combat Arms was my first one, and it was brilliant. Battlefield Heroes was a great game as well. For those of you who don’t know how these free-to-play games work, here’s how it goes:
Usually you have to register on the site
download the game
install
Play.
Yep, that’s it. However, there is a catch. Usually you can’t get special weapons or you can’t customize your character quite as much if you put a few bucks in the game. Meaning, if you charge your account, you can buy special weapons or equipment that could aid you in your game. EA hasn’t released information on how they are going to profit off NFSW, but I imagine that you won’t be able to get certain cars, gadgets, or little add-ons without throwing in a few greenbacks.
Photo from IGN. Game in early testing stages.
One of the few cars obtainable in this game. Porche
As you can see for yourself, the game looks great. And remember, it’s a free game. Free games don’t look this good, until now. EA is planning to include ~250 cars with around 50-100 when the game launches. The maps are from previous games including: Carbon, Most Wanted, and EA also plans to include maps from the other NFS games.
Onto gameplay. It’s fairly straightforward. It has a minimalistic hud and simple controls. It’s more arcadey than a real simulation. You can have nitro boosts and power-ups. EA also said that they would include other modes like in Pursuit, where you had cops. Yes, you will be able to play as a cop. Customization options are adequate, paint jobs, wheels, etc. When you launch the game, you are landed into a massive world. Just a press of the button has you matched up with 7 other players. Now all that’s left is to pick a game mode and your set. The racing is seamless.
Oh and one more thing, it’s PC only.
The game still has a ways to go, but so far it’s looking promising. What are your thoughts? Put them in the comments. Do you think this will be a hit or miss? Leave it in the comments.
-TJ