Review by: Shawn Quigley
Published: May 11, 1997

It all dates back many years ago, when man was looking for a way to move around. The idea of riding around in a car is something that many of us take for granted. Electronic Arts has taken something that many of us have only dreamed about doing, and put it right on our PC’s for us to enjoy whenever we feel the urge to. That dream is to get behind the wheel of just one of the most exotic, fastest, and for the most part, out of reach cars. Need For Speed II gives you the chance to drive one of eight of these supercars.

There have been many changes since the last version in the Need For Speed series, with the majority of these changes centering around the look and feel of the game. Need For Speed II has an advanced 3D engine that brings the feel and excitement of driving these supercars around detailed landscapes. The eight cars that are part of Need For Speed II are: the McLaren F1, Ferrari F50, Ford GT90, Jaguar XJ220, Lotus GT1and Lotus Esprit V8, Italdesign Cala, and the Isdera Commendatore 112i. There is also a bonus car included in the game that can be unlocked by winning in one of the multiplayer modes (you’ll have to win to find out what it is!). All of these cars are replications of their live counterparts and can be custom configured to your liking in the game. There are options not only for changing the color of your car but there are more advanced options for changing physical characteristics such as the front downforce, rear downforce, brake bias and gear ratios. What these physical changes allow you to do is really tune the car for a particular track. If you don’t want the tail of your car to slide while turning, then you would adjust the braking bias to be more towards the front of the car, allowing the car to slide less around turns from the rear end. These characteristics take some time to learn but can be invaluable in your ability to win on one of the difficult courses.

Need For Speed II comes with six different tracks that are scattered around the world. Each track represents a different driving scenario and different driving techniques need to be used to master them. The tracks that are placed around the world are: Mediterranean, Mystic Peaks, Proving Grounds, Outback, North Country, and Pacific Spirit. The Proving Grounds is a basic track that you can use to put the petal to the floor to see how fast these cars really can go. All the other tracks offer different challenges and different landscapes. Some of the ones that take place over mountainous terrain really test your ability to drive downhill around sharp turns. There are different towns that you will drive through, all with different personalities. One of the noticeable features of Need For Speed II are some of the live items on tracks, for example you will pass by windmills that are actually turning. With the wide variety of scenery and different challenges these courses give, Need For Speed II gives a good overall driving experience.

Along with the awesome cars and the wide variety in tracks comes different modes of play. The first is the Tournament Mode. The Tournament Mode puts you up against 12 other racers on all the different tracks. After each race you earn points for the place you finished in. If you have the highest points after racing around the six tracks then you can unlock the bonus car. The other mode of racing is the Knockout Mode. In Knockout mode you race in a series of two lap races with the winner of the race progressing onto the next race. If you win all the races through the sixth race you get to race on the final track, which is the bonus track. If you win on the bonus track then the bonus track will always be available to race on. These two modes add another degree of challenge and entertainment to Need For Speed II, especially if you are always racing alone.

There are a number of settings that can be adjusted in different parts of the game. You have the ability to choose the style of simulation that you are going to race in, basically allowing you to set your skill level. If you elect to race in simulation mode then the car you are driving will act like that particular car, where as if you were to race in arcade mode it is easier to control the car since it “sticks” to the road better. There is also an option to set “Catch Up” mode on, allowing those that fall behind a chance to actually be in the race when it gets near the end. After each race there are a number of statistics that are shown to allow you to see how well you performed. You also can look at different track records to give yourself an idea as to how fast you need to go to be the king of the track!

Where the excitement really comes into play with Need For Speed II is in multiplayer mode. There are different options for playing in multiplayer. You can play via a split screen format, connect through a serial cable, connect over a modem, or over a network. The best implementation of the multiplayer mode is over a network. By connecting over an IPX network up to 8 players can go head on for a real speed rush. There are plenty of options that can be set while in a network game and they range from the type of race (either a tournament or a knockout race) to the number of laps that you want. Every player is not required to have his or her own CD since you can have remote installs of the game! During races you have the ability to taunt your opponents by sending them messages, always a nice feature.

With competition coming from 3D accelerated games, Electronic Arts has managed to use existing technology to bring a fast paced, foot to the floor, racing simulation to your desktop. Combining all that with the ability to play with up to eight players over a network, Need For Speed II is sure to keep even the most hard-core racing enthusiasts happy.