Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed – Mazda RX-7 [PlayStation 1]

Mazda RX-7
Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed [PlayStation 1] PS1 / PSX Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8wZKON07iXUswoQ28MmIVqNkOUj_uOMQ
Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed is a 1994 racing video game, released on the 3DO and ported to MS-DOS, Windows, PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It is the first installment released in the Need for Speed series. The premise of the game involves racing in sport cars, including several exotic models and Japanese imports.

The game was noted for its realism and audio and video commentaries. Electronic Arts teamed up with automotive magazine Road & Track to match vehicle behavior, including the mimicking of the sounds made by the vehicles’ gear control levers. The game also contained precise vehicle data with spoken commentary, several “magazine style” images of each car interior and exterior and short video clips highlighting the vehicles set to music.

The Need For Speed was later released in Japan as Over Drivin’, with two versions with Nissan as the sponsor and the lineup of cars changed to popular Nissan models. The PS1 version was released as Over Drivin’ Skyline Memorial whilst the Saturn version was released as Over Drivin’ GT-R.

The game features both closed circuits and three point-to-point tracks, each divided into three stages. The Saturn and PlayStation versions include an additional three tracks. Traffic vehicles appear in races. Police pursuits are also a key gameplay mechanic, with the player ticketed or arrested if a police car succeeds in catching up with them. Players are arrested if they receive a third police ticket (or a second ticket in the Sega Saturn version). Completing the tournaments (or entering a cheat) unlocks the “rally” mode, where car dynamics are changed to make for a faster ‘arcade’ experience, as well as the “Warrior PTO E/2”, a fictional jet-powered sports car.

Except for the aforementioned Warrior, each car in the game comes with detailed specifications, history, audio commentaries and real-life videos, which would also be featured in subsequent games in the series, though this was omitted in later games. A replay feature allowed the player to view a saved race. Multiple camera views, playback speed and video navigation are offered.
Multiplayer consists of a two-player head-to-head racing mode, which requires computers connected via modem.

There are a total of six courses in the game (three in the 3DO version): City, Coastal, Alpine, Rusty Springs, Autumn Valley and Vertigo. Each is a distinctive environment. City, Coastal and Alpine have three sections each, while the others are circuit races.

There is an extra track in the game, named Lost Vegas, which can be unlocked by winning all of the tracks above in tournament mode. A flag in the bottom right corner of the track’s image indicates a victory in the menu to help the player keep track of the progress.

Cars List: Acura NSX, Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, Dodge Viper RT-10, Ferrari 512TR, Lamborghini Diablo VT, Mazda RX-7, Porsche 911 Carrera, Toyota Supra, Warrior PTO E/2