If you are a fan of racing games, from childhood you must have been familiar with the Need for Speed Franchise. Over years they have conquered the racing games genre for Windows and consoles. EA recently launched Need for Speed: No Limits at Google Play store and for Windows PC. But, is the game good enough to beat other popular smart phone racing genre legends like Asphalt or Real Racing? Let’s find out.
Gameplay
NFS: No Limits is brought by the developers of Real Racing 3, which is maybe the most realistic racing game available on the Google Play store. You will get a total of 30 cars, each coming with their own set of upgrades and customizable parts. A few basic cars will be given to you at the very beginning. The high-end cars are unlocked after you start winning the races.
There are few types of races, each with their unique varieties.
- Standard races, which you have to start and finish.
- Timed races, which you have to finish within a specific time.
The best thing is, a race is mostly 30 seconds long, so players who don’t have a lot of time in getting glued to their device will find this interesting. But if you are an addict to racing games, this is kind of a con. Once a race is finished, you have to click through the multiple reward screens and wait for the next race to start.
However, the controls of this game are maybe the most minimalistic I’ve ever seen. There are no brake or accelerator pedals and also surprisingly no steering wheels. To turn your car, you will need to tap on the left and right of your screen and swipe it to boost the speed. Drifting is simpler, all you need is to swipe down. The acceleration of your car is always in full power, making it easier to navigate the roads.
Although no brakes or no acceleration means no efforts, which at a point of time may get a bit monotonous. The handling of cars is also somewhat similar. No matter whether you upgrade or modify your cars, the only difference you will find is the speed, nothing else.
Graphics and Story
Well, the developers put a lot of effort to make this game beautiful. Like any other NFS games, this one also has realistic looking smoke, reflections, and other racing aspects. On my device, I never found any dropped framerate. Still, based on all other games which I played, Real Racing 3 still remains the top on my list when it comes to graphics.
Just like another NFS game, at the very beginning, you will be introduced to some characters who will stay out of the way in most of the game. Honestly speaking, a racing game does not need any storyline. People just want to race. The background characters just add a little bit of flavor to the monotonous racing and hence, NFS: No Limits did a perfect job of balancing both.
There have to be Some Limitations
I was pretty stunned at how EA managed to get me addicted to a racing game that is free to play. That is when I hit the wall. In the beginning, you can level up quickly, and each time you level up, your gas gets refilled. However, a time will come when you stop leveling up quickly and have to wait for a lot of time until your gas gets refilled. Or, you can refill it with 30 gold, and purchase more gold with real money.
Other than this, the game presents great graphics, a simple storyline, and addictive gameplay. Overall, for car buffs who are looking for a free to play the game, this one has pretty good aspects than many other racing games available at play store.
