[Review] [ENG] NFS Pro Street

EA's Need for Speed series has long been an ever-evolving franchise, one that changes up its focus, mechanics and style every couple of years. Though the game sells incredibly well, the developer/publisher doesn't like to sit still. This obviously means that the series has had its ups and downs, and unfortunately Need for Speed ProStreet isn't one of the ups.

ProStreet is a game that doesn't really seem to know what it's trying to be. It's been years since we've seen a Need for Speed title that focused solely on track racing, with the franchise branching out into open world settings with a story, cop chases and all sorts of other things to make it stand out. ProStreet, however, goes back to the track-based racing, putting the player into race after race on closed circuits, and then sending them back to a menu after each race is over.

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[Review] [ENG] NFS Undercover

EA's Need for Speed franchise has been in an odd position the last couple years. While the franchise often worked to mix up the formula from year to year a decent bit, the release of EA's own Burnout Paradise posed a bit of a conundrum for the publisher. With Burnout switching to an open world setting, it meant that it competed directly with Need for Speed in that space. Last year's Need for Speed ProStreet was a diversion for the series from recent years, going to track-based racing, plenty of tuning options and focusing entirely on the events than exploring the city or running from the cops.

ProStreet didn't turn out too well, so Black Box went back to the drawing board and returned to an open world setting with this year's Need for Speed Undercover, but that wasn't the only design change. Undercover also seems to be directed right at the casual market, both in terms of presentation and its extremely relaxed learning curve.

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[Review] [ENG] NFS UnderGround

Only a year gone and Electronic Arts is already burning rubber with another Need for Speed title. Last year the publisher released Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, a fantastic racer on the PlayStation 2, but one not quite as polished on other platforms. Since developer Black Box was responsible for the slick PS2 iteration, EA recruited them to develop the next in the franchise.

Aptly titled Need for Speed Underground, it focuses on the custom kit and import car circuit. It is most commonly, and certainly not unfairly, compared to the theme featured in the popular The Fast and the Furious movies. So, it is a definite departure from the world of exotic cars and over-the-top police chases that the series was founded on. It broadens the NFS franchise, bringing a number of things to the starting line that other arcade racers have not. More than anything, it features a robust customization mode that is intricately sewn into a lengthy franchise-style single-player experience.

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[Review] [ENG] NFS Rival

When fleeing from a pack of cops at 150mph through a forest after midnight, I found it difficult not to be excited by Need for Speed: Rivals – and then a helicopter’s searchlight pours in through the trees for an additional adrenaline kick. Those initial potent highs aren’t sustainable, though, and after a while I was left wishing for just a bit more variety and depth to keep the thrills coming beyond simply doing the same thing online. That said, I still found it an exciting, highly polished experience, which appealed to both to the racer and more casual thrill-seeker in me.

Developed by Ghost Games, Rivals feels like the natural successor to the work of previous NFS developer Criterion. (Unsurprising really consider the majority of the staff went over to the new studio.) It combines Hot Pursuit’s cops-versus-racer dynamic with the freeform gameplay of Most Wanted’s open world. In many ways it’s the best of both, although if you’ve played either of those a great deal, as I have, you may get a feeling of déja vu from Rivals.

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[Review] [ENG] NFS Carbon

After Need for Speed Underground outsold all other games in 2004, the largest independent game publisher in the world adroitly kept the series coming without a hitch. Last year's Most Wanted shipped at Microsoft's Xbox 360 launch and introduced a creative take on story-telling by using filtered customized FMV to give the familiar racer a fresh presentation. The police were back with a ferocious vengeance. And it offered a particularly North-West vibe to it.

This year's version, Need for Speed Carbon, which refers to Carbon Canyon where racers duel for territory in the city below, is a minor shake-up for the series, shifting in new features, shifting out others, while continuing the FMV-heavy story-telling from Most Wanted. Carbon, in other words, is a decent update to last year's game with improved graphics, excellent Autosculpt customization, a different progression system, and an all-around solid take on the game. It's not revolutionary, it's not brilliant, but it's good, deep racing.

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[Review] [INDO] The Sims 4

Selama seminggu terakhir aku sudah menjadi akrab dengan kehidupan virtual dari pakar culun teknologi-industri bernama Jess, yang saya berikan lebar, pinggul swishy dan seringai licik. Pada tulisan ini, dia telah menyelesaikan program keahlian tingkat 10, merasa sedih sekali dan bahagia 232 kali, WooHooed hanya sembilan kali, dan memiliki dua anak dengan suami dia bertemu di sebuah bar. Saya mengalami waktu yang sulit mengucapkan selamat tinggal padanya, diakui, jadi saya memiliki dia minum anti-penuaan ramuan. Saya menghadapi masalah ini dengan banyak Sims game, dan kali ini bahkan lebih buruk (karena banyak hal yang lebih baik). Tetapi pada saat yang sama, kurangnya The Sims 4 tentang fitur dan dunia kecil tidak membiarkan Jess menjalani hidupnya dengan penuh. Meskipun itu menyenangkan, itu adalah kekecewaan besar bahwa sekuel ini tidak menginspirasi sama faktor wow bahwa The Sims 3 lakukan ketika saya pertama kali bermain tahun lalu.

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[Review] [INDO] The Sims 3

Untuk sebagian besar dari dekade terakhir, The Sims waralaba telah mempertahankan kehadiran permanen di Top 10 tangga lagu penjualan game PC. Seringkali, ia menduduki beberapa slot pada grafik tersebut. Itu karena untuk setiap gamer hardcore yang mencemooh The Sims, ada banyak gamer yang lebih non-tradisional yang mencintai seri. Ya, banyak dari orang-orang adalah perempuan. Yang membuatnya mudah bagi beberapa orang untuk hanya menjelaskan The Sims sebagai setara dengan boneka virtual, tapi itu menyederhanakan hal. The Sims, seperti hampir semua permainan, adalah tentang hidup yang berbeda dari Anda sendiri. Beberapa orang melarikan diri dari kenyataan dengan menyelam ke MMO. Lainnya melompat langsung ke penembak. Ternyata seluruh tandan orang beralih ke The Sims. Dan dalam hal ini, The Sims 3 tidak akan mengecewakan. Dengan bab ketiga dalam seri, EA telah memperkenalkan beberapa pertumbuhan terlambat dan membuat beberapa perubahan yang berani, namun banyak potensi dunia ini berani baru masih relatif belum dimanfaatkan.

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