Need for Speed: High Stakes

Need for Speed: High Stakes
Developer(s) EA Canada (PS)
EA Seattle (PC)
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Producer(s) Tony Parkes
Programmer(s) Daniel Teh
Composer(s) Rom Di Prisco
Saki Kaskas
Crispin Hands
Series Need for Speed
Platform(s) PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)

PlayStation[1]

  • NA: March 1, 1999
  • JP: June 17, 1999
  • EU: 1999

Microsoft Windows[2]

  • NA: June 1, 1999
  • EU: 1999
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Need for Speed: High Stakes, released as Need for Speed: Road Challenge in Europe and Brazil and Over Drivin' IV in Japan, is a 1999 racing video game released by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation. A version of the game was released for Microsoft Windows-based computers a few months later.

It is the fourth game in the Need for Speed series, once again featuring a host of exotic sport cars and tracks located in Western Europe and North America. High Stakes is particularly notable within the series for being the first installment to include a vehicle damage model and a genre-standard "career" system.

Gameplay

High Stakes builds upon the previous Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. The standard races and police pursuits are bolstered by a new type of race (High Stakes) and two new pursuit modes (Getaway and Time Trap). The now-standard career system was introduced, with its scenarios and budget balancing. Vehicle physics are also improved, chiefly with the introduction of a damage model that affects both the appearance and performance of a given vehicle.

Tournament and Special Event/Career Mode

The career system of this entry consists of two modes: "Tournament", straightforward series of races with certain cars; and "Special Event", similar to Tournament, but with various conditions such as with night driving or with a fully upgraded car. As you complete races, you acquire credits which are used to buy new cars for new events and to upgrade old cars to make events a little easier. Completing races also unlocks the tracks for single race purposes, and completing Tournament events unlocks the Special Event events. Beating all events of Tournament or Special Events will unlock one of two secret cars to purchase; the player also gets a free sample at the same time.

The PC version is somewhat different, starting with having everything under a clear "Career Mode". All events are split into "tiers", a selection of 1 to 5 individual competitions. Usually, one of those competitions is a "High Stakes" race, where the player bets their current car.

High Stakes

In High Stakes, two racers bet their cars on a duel; the winner of the race keeps their car and gains the loser's. The player or players must own more than one car to participate in a High Stakes race.

On the PlayStation version, it is a special multiplayer mode, which requires two memory cards inserted; the loser's car is deleted immediately after the race to prevent reloading the save file to potentially save the car. On the PC version, High Stakes races are only found in the Career Mode, and the cars anted are of similar performance to the player's vehicle.

Getaway and Time Trap

A police pursuit in High Stakes, PC version. The new car damage is evident, with slight wear and tear visible on the player's car and the pursuing police vehicle.

In addition to the "Classic" mode, which plays similarly to the previous Hot Pursuit, High Stakes introduces "Getaway" and "Time Trap" modes. In Getaway, the speeder must evade the police or the police must catch the speeder within the time limit. If the speeder has not been arrested when time is up, the player has the option to quit to the Race Results menu or to continue play for as long as possible. In Time Trap, the speeder must complete a race or the police must arrest all racers (ten in the PS version) within the time limit. The police can set up spike strips and road blocks, and even call for backup.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(PS) 84.38%[3]
(PC) 83.08%[4]
Metacritic(PS) 86/100[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame(PC) [6]
(PS) [7]
EGM8.63/10[8]
Famitsu30/40[9]
GameFan82%[10]
Game Informer8.75/10[11]
GamePro(PS) [12]
(PC) [13]
Game RevolutionA−[14]
GameSpot(PS) 8.7/10[15]
(PC) 8.6/10[16]
IGN(PS) 8.8/10[17]
(PC) 7.5/10[18]
OPM (US)[19]
OPM (UK)8/10[20]
PC Gamer (US)82%[21]
The Cincinnati Enquirer[22]

Need for Speed: High Stakes received positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation version 84.38% and 86/100,[3][5] and GameRankings gave the PC version 83.08%.[4] In Japan, Famitsu gave the PS version a score of 30 out of 40.[9] In the UK, Official UK PlayStation Magazine gave the same version eight out of ten and said that it was fun, but that it could not compete with R4: Ridge Racer Type 4.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Need for Speed: High Stakes Release Information for PlayStation". GameFAQs. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Need for Speed: High Stakes Release Information for PC". GameFAQs. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Need for Speed: High Stakes for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Need for Speed: High Stakes for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Need for Speed: High Stakes for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  6. ↑ Wigmore, Glenn. "Need for Speed: High Stakes (PC) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  7. ↑ The Jaded Critic. "Need for Speed: High Stakes (PS) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Need for Speed: High Stakes (PS)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 1999.
  9. 1 2 "プレイステーション - オーバードライビンIV". Famitsu. 915: 20. June 30, 2006.
  10. ↑ "REVIEW for Need for Speed: High Stakes (PS)". GameFan. March 29, 1999.
  11. ↑ McNamara, Andy; Anderson, Paul; Reiner, Andrew (April 15, 1999). "Need for Speed: High Stakes (PS)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 20, 2000. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  12. ↑ Air Hendrix (1999). "Need for Speed High Stakes Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 13, 2005. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  13. ↑ Chick, Tom (July 31, 1999). "Need for Speed: High Stakes Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on August 11, 2004. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Sean (April 1999). "Need for Speed: High Stakes Review (PS)". Game Revolution. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  15. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (March 31, 1999). "Need for Speed: High Stakes Review (PS)". GameSpot. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ Chin, Elliott (July 9, 1999). "Need for Speed: High Stakes Review (PC)". GameSpot. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  17. ↑ Perry, Douglass C. (March 24, 1999). "Need for Speed 4: High Stakes [sic] (PS)". IGN. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  18. ↑ Lopez, Vincent (June 29, 1999). "Need for Speed 4: High Stakes [sic] (PC)". IGN. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Need for Speed: High Stakes". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. 1999.
  20. 1 2 "Need for Speed: Road Challenge". Official UK PlayStation Magazine. Future Publishing (46). June 1999.
  21. ↑ Mahood, Andy (September 1999). "Need for Speed: High Stakes". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  22. ↑ Bottorff, James (1999). "High Stakes passes with flying colors". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
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