Driving away from the stuff that made it great

Need For Speed Prostreet will be received in two very different ways by gamers. The first, and probably most common, reaction will be devastation at what has happened to the franchise.

For ProStreet has a complete lack of police cars, civilian traffic, neon-lit city streets and glitzy, over-the-top cars - in fact, all the things that made Need For Speed games so popular in the first place.

Many will come to the conclusion that by turning away from illegal street racing to the world of legal meets, NFS has been neutered, like a randy tom-cat in his prime.

But there will also be those who see that NFS ProStreet is simply keeping up with the times. Illegal street racing is a dying practice. The future, whether we like it or not, is organised events that reward skill in different disciplines rather than dodging the fuzz.

Recent movements in the motoring scene mean the previous emphasis on exaggerated style has been replaced with the desire to build cars where performance is key. As a result, events where owners can demonstrate how well their cars have been enhanced are getting more popular.

If you've been to any of these shows in real life, then you'll know that ProStreet recreates them very authentically, rewarding you for creating a neatly-performing 'whip' as well as driving it skilfully in a competition situation.

A real-life enthusiasm for motoring events will give you a tolerance for the game that others won't have. Sadly, whatever your approach, ProStreet is fundamentally flawed. The thing is, a game inspired by shows held on old airfields or empty desert roads is unavoidably dull.

Effectively, instead of being given the run of a detailed, atmospheric metropolis, we have to stay in the car park and drive around cones.

NFS's new direction reflects what real-life tuners are doing, sure, but the implementation lacks the excitement an NFS game should have. Why subtract the fantasy and danger when NFS did it better than any other game on the market?

The knife is further twisted by the heavy, unresponsive handling in Grip Races set to chronic understeer and drifting that's inexplicably been ruined by steering that bears little relation to where you want to go. Drifting was such a fun part of NFS Underground 2 and NFS Carbon that this seems particularly ridiculous.

That said, ProStreet is by no means unplayable. Drag races are consistently enjoyable and the career mode is substantial, if repetitive.

Meanwhile, being able to tailor several different motors specific to particular events presents far greater opportunity to use the wealth of cars on offer, and build them with a focus that previous NFSs lacked.

But the bottom line is that, if you want another Carbon or Most Wanted, you'll be disappointed. Well done, EA, for trying to be authentic and bravely targeting a niche audience... but the rest of us are bored.

1. Appeals to car show fans.
2. Handling is heavy.
3. Drift racing sucks!
4. Tracks are boring

Illegal street racing makes for a fun game. Auto testing on a runway doesn't...