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Launched last November 5 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the twenty-second chapter of the famous EA racing saga, the best-selling ever in the genre, managed to convince critics and the public only in part, obtaining mostly positive opinions but in some cases very contrasting with each other.

Promoted with a more than decent 7,8 on our pages, the title of the Swedish Ghost Games represents a sort of reboot after the sabbatical following the launch of Rivals (2013), a real relaunch work that, in the intentions of the developers, should have offered the best ingredients of the most popular chapters such as Most Wanted and above all Underground, with a return to in-depth tuning and nighttime clandestine racing. Despite the flaws highlighted in our analysis, Need for Speed has generally managed to hit the target, offering the right atmosphere, a very remarkable technical sector, an overall pleasant story and a solid arcade gameplay, improved with subsequent updates that have made it less intrusive the infamous "elastic effect" of artificial intelligence. About four months after the debut on the market, the circle closes with the launch of the PC version, which brings with it some very interesting news, as well as an improved technical background. For more intimate details on the game's modalities and infrastructure of the title, we refer you to the review above; here we will deepen the specifics of the new iteration, which we have whipped with our driving position.

Sixty frames per second, manual shifting and steering wheel support: here is Need for Speed for PC

Like in the arcade

One of the most anticipated novelties of Need for Speed for PC is the support for the steering wheels, offering compatibility with some of the most popular and popular peripherals signed by Logitech, Fanatec and Thrustmaster. After having tested it thoroughly with our TX Ferrari 458 Italia Edition, we can only reward the choice of Ghost Games, which has embellished its creature with the flavor of a solid and compelling 90s dining room cabinet. Although Need for Speed natively supports the 900 ° rotation of the TX, while exploiting them only in part, the first suggestion we would like to give is to set the peripheral to 270 °, a much smaller angle but absolutely congenial to the gritty driving model of the Swedish title.

In fact, this setting not only helps to brush fast curves, but also guarantees controlled drifting with maximum effectiveness. After all, the experience points to adrenaline and not to realism. The solidity and refinement of the force feedback are not those of Assetto Corsa, but still offer a greater involvement than the simple pad, also returning a certain difference between the "Drift" and "Grip" settings and between some categories of cars. Unfortunately there is no menu for the advanced settings of the device and you have to rely on the manufacturer's application, moreover the compatibility is not 100%, since the keys on the interface are indicated with the Xbox ones, generating a bit of confusion in the player who has to get used to multiple commands. The other big news of this version is the manual gearbox, introduced at the specific request of the community. The management of the gears with the aluminum fins of the TX is perfect and further increases the involvement, however the need to continuously answer the phone and above all to drift with the handbrake complicates the situation a little, especially during drifting and in the closest chases with the police. The manual gearbox would seem to favor the player in the initial stages, nevertheless once they reach the central part of the story the competitions become increasingly demanding and stimulating, also in light of the reduction of the aforementioned elastic effect.

Magic Nights

Beyond the support for the steering wheels and the manual gearbox, which will soon be introduced also on consoles, the gameplay of the PC version of Need for Speed is embellished above all by the sixty frames per second, which amplify the sense of speed and precision of the model. guide.

With our test setup and maximum detail the fluidity is practically granitic, except for some drops of around fifty-five frames per second experienced in specific areas of the map, such as the Los Sol district.

Keeping in mind that due to some problems with Windows 10 we have not yet tested the Nvidia 364.47 drivers, related to the launch of Need for Speed and The Division, we can certainly underline the good optimization work done by the guys at Ghost Games. The charm of Ventura Bay, a fictional metropolis inspired by Los Angeles, increases considerably thanks to the renewed fluidity and the technical improvements implemented, where it is above all the refinement of details and effects to enhance the spectacular night views. The view over the city from the Crescent Mountains offers a truly breathtaking panorama, as it is impressive to whiz from the Cross Roads neighborhood to Shoreline Front in the Royal Park area. The night lighting is simply sublime, and it is enough to dwell on the reflections of the neon that stand out on the puddles in the Beckenholl district to perceive the valuable work done by the Swedish graphic designers. Also splendid are the volumetric effects of the fumes and the rendering of the rain, which delicately caresses the soft light emitted by the street lamps and the realistic liveries of the cars. With the right equipment it is possible to enjoy this show even in 4K resolution, for an even more realistic and satisfying result. Among the graphic settings that you can put your hand to, beyond the inevitable V-sync, we find the quality of the textures, the motion blur, the quality of the shadows, the details of the effects, the geometric details, the anti-aliasing filter (FXAA and TAA ) and environmental occlusion, with the double solution HBAO and SSAO. Overall good scalability. We close our technical analysis with a hint of the audio quality, sumptuous to say the least if enjoyed with a dedicated card: with our Xonar DX the samples offer a delightful timbre and three-dimensionality, embellishing the incisiveness of the engines. Since the servers are currently populated only by journalists and developers, we cannot unbalance the robustness of the netcode, however during our online tests we did not experience any critical issues.

PC System Requirements

Test Setup

OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i7-4790 3,60 GHz
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics card: MSI Geforce GTX 980

Minimum requirements

SO: Windows 7 a 64 bit o superiore
Processor: Intel Core i3-4130 or equivalent with 4 hardware threads
Memory: 6 GB of RAM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB, AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB, or equivalent DX11 compatible GPU with 2GB of memory

Recommended Requirements

SO: Windows 7 a 64 bit o superiore
Processor: Intel Core i5-4690 or equivalent with 4 hardware threads
Memory: 8 GB of RAM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB, AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB, or equivalent GPU

Comment

Digital Delivery Origin Price 59,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

8.0

Readers (44)

7.9

Your vote

More beautiful to look at and engaging thanks to the compatibility with the steering wheels and above all to the solid sixty frames per second, the PC version of Need for Speed is undoubtedly the best on the square, also being able to count since the launch on the finishing work done on the console code and about the free Icons and Legends DLCs. While presenting some flaws, especially on the variety side, if you appreciate arcade racing games you can certainly give the latest effort of the Ghost Games a chance: in addition to being pleasant to play, it offers a visual spectacle of considerable depth.