Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed
Developer(s)	EA Canada (PC) Eden Studios (PS) Pocketeers (GBA)
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts DSI Games/Zoo Digital (GBA)
Series	Need for Speed
Platform(s)	PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance
Release date(s)	January 22, 2000 (PlayStation)[1] January 22, 2000 (Microsoft Windows)[2] December 15, 2003 (Game Boy Advance)[1]
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single player and multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone)
System requirements Minimum: 200MHz MMX 32 MB RAM Win 95/98 4MB PCI or AGP video card 150 MB hard drive space 4x CD-ROM drive Recommended: 300 MHz Pentium Processor 64 MB RAM 8 MB 3D graphics card (3Dfx or Direct3D) DirectX 9c 8x CD-ROM drive

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, released as Need for Speed: Porsche 2000 in Europe, and Need for Speed: Porsche in Germany and Latin America, is a racing video game, developed by Electronic Arts Canada and published by Electronic Arts, and is a part of the Need for Speed (NFS) series. Unlike other NFS titles, Porsche Unleashed centers around racing Porsche sports cars, with models ranging from 1950 to 2000. The game is noted for its extensive information regarding Porsche and its cars. Unlike the previous four Need for Speed games, Porsche Unleashed was not released in Japan.

Gameplay

A screenshot of the game (Windows version), depicting the exclusive use of Porsche cars on a track set on Corsica. The car displayed is a 930, in front of it is a factory mode 911 Carrera RS 2.7.

Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed gives the player the opportunity to race Porsche cars throughout a range of tracks located in Europe. The cars were studied in detail in terms of driving mechanics in order to create a realistic simulation. The premise of the game remains largely the same compared to previous games in the series: driving and racing sports cars. However, the game only offers Porsches. The handling of the cars was improved, and the player can customize their cars drawing from an in-depth catalog of different Porsche-parts. Although the game retains the police chases from Hot Pursuit and High Stakes, the feature is relatively minor and is only seen in the Factory Driver mode (see Modes).

In terms of game concept, Porsche Unleashed is often hailed for the unusual effort of focusing on a single car brand, thus allowing greater depth and acting as a platform of information on the Porsche brand. Apart from the vast number of cars and spare parts, the game also features many historical videos and pictures of Porsche vehicles, as well as written information.

Modes

As in previous Need for Speed games, Porsche Unleashed includes two standard modes that had been featured in previous Need for Speed games: Quick Race and Multiplayer. The Quick Race mode is increasingly flexible, allowing players to customize and play single player races, by selecting the number of laps and opponents and directly customizing their cars (to a certain extent) as well as toggling a knockout match for circuit-based tracks (where the last racer to complete each lap is eliminated until one remains, winning); the multiplayer mode allowed players to join or host races with up to 15 others.

New additions in the game include Evolution and Factory Driver modes, which are essentially career-based modes, each presenting the player with different challenges. Evolution mode is a set of tournaments, wherein the player is required to purchase and upgrade cars to drive for specific races, unlocking them for access in the Quick Race mode (selling them, however, would lock them again); race tracks will also be unlocked through wins. As the player wins in tournaments, the time goes by and the new cars appear. The second mode, Factory Driver, places the player in the position of a test driver for Porsche, performing various stunts and deliveries in order to advance through the mode and acquire several cosmetically customized Porsches.

Online play is the real strength of PU, where a loyal and very active community flourished. Despite the disconnection of the original EA servers in late 2003 the community continues to thrive through the private development of the IPLounge, together with a scoring system known as Porsche Unleashed Records Lists (PURL), which continues to serve a worldwide racing community.

Locations

This game features many different tracks, all set in Europe such as Corsica, Autobahn, Côte d'Azur and Schwarzwald. At the beginning of the game, four locations are available: Côte d'Azur, a Monte Carlo circuit, Normandie and the Pyrénées. Players unlock more tracks as they progress in the Evolution mode.

PlayStation version

While largely identical to the PC version, a number of changes were made for the PlayStation release. It features a wheel-style interface. In Evolution mode, the music and graphics adapt to the era (the Classic era for example contains a monochrome interface with oldies music). Apart from changing the paint job, cars cannot be customized. Several additional cars were added which are not available in the PC retail version: 356 No. 1, 924, 928, 959, 911 Carrera RS (964), 968, and road versions of the 911 GT2 (993) and 911 GT3 (996). The 935/78 was replaced by the 917K in the distinctive Gulf Oil paint scheme.

Need for Speed: Top Speed

An additional online-only conversion of Porsche Unleashed, dubbed Need for Speed: Top Speed, was released in response to both the release of MacGillivray Freeman's 2002 IMAX film, Top Speed, and the Porsche Cayenne. The game features three existing tracks from Porsche Unleashed and three Porsche vehicles: the 911 (996) Turbo, the 959 and the Cayenne Turbo.

Access to Need for Speed: Top Speed was bundled alongside the Windows version of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed release information at MobyGames. URL retrieved on June 21, 2006.
2. ^ Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed at GameSpot. URL retrieved on June 21, 2006.
3. ^ Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 advertising blurbs at MobyGames. URL retrieved on September 21, 2006.

External links

• Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed at MobyGames