My Review of Need for Speed Rivals (Contains Spoilers)

In my opinion Need for Speed Rivals, the underrated game of the Need for Speed franchise, gets a solid four point five out of five. The first thing I love about the games is the story line. Many people say that there is a lack of storyline, but I for one could easily understand the plot of the game, and the plot was an oldie but a goodie. The game starts off with the main character Zephyr. Who rises to fame after outrunning a cop but after wrecking a  cop car and injuring the cop in the process he officially declared the police force as his enemy. 

 Tensions continue to rise and now the police force has been replaced by the VRT. The VRT do not play by the same rules as the cops. The sole purpose of the VRT is to chase and use brute force to stop the racers. Eventually a new racer called F8 joins the scene and eventually Zephyr discovers that F8 is really a cop using a Ferrari Enzo to destroy other racers in the name of racing. So in response Zephyr steals a cop car (an Agera RS) and proceeds to find and destroy every cop car he encounters. 

This brings the attention of the media and calls Zephyr as a type of Robin Hood character. After completing some speedlists you get to the second final chapter where Zephyr announces one final race to end the rivalry between the cops and racers. We as the players complete the race and at the end Zephyr crashes into a roadblock and goes flying. Everyone assumes Zephyr is dead but in reality he gains consciousness and drives off. I still can not forget the final word of that cutscene: “They say speeding kills, but if you’re not speeding then you’re not living”. 

 Even at the intro of the game there were some fire lines that really got me excited for the game I purchased. Such as “I’m the reality show, the fifteen minutes you will never have.” or “you’re asleep, I’m awake”. These little quotes just embody the theme of the story along with the graphics. The graphics show serious and thrilling games involving high technology. 

Even the events themselves have these hologram digital arrows that glitch a little and have that modern digital impact. Though the map is small it is scenic, from the busy city to the rural mountains and even a construction zone, rest assured you will get a mesmerizing experience while running away from the cops. It is even more fun that you can switch and join the cops. In the last chapter, the cop arrests Zephyr and gets fired for using brute force and decides to become a racer and challenges all other racers and that is how the story ends. 

The selection of cars that are in the game are amazing. You can choose from muscle cars like a Ford Mustang with that classic american V8 to the most exotic and ultra rare hypercars like the legendary Bugatti or Hennessy with their incredible speed and refined engine allowing you to enter high speeds in a few seconds and cars in between which gives the players plenty of options to choose from.  The various events like intercepter, hot pursuit (my favorite), and a genuine race always keep me excited and awake, and when I am bored I can always join online and play with other people. Overall, I could not find a better racing game filled to the brim with action, suspense, and heart wrenching fear of getting busted.