Game Title: Need for Speed: The Run
Game Genre: Racing
Console(s): Xbox 360
Publisher: Electronic Arts, Sega (Japan only)
Developer: Black Box
Date Released: November 15, 2011
Retail Price: £17.99 / $28.14
Age Rating:: PG 13
Players: 1
Co-Op: N/A
Achievements: 42 achievements worth 1200 points
Xbox Live Compatable: Yes
Online Multiplayer: 2-8
Xbox System Link: N/a
HDTV Support: Yes, 720p, 1080p, 1080i
Previous Edition: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

Visuals & Graphics..
The graphics in Need for Speed: The Run are all powered by the Frostbite 2 game engine, the same engine used in Battlefield 3. With the game running on Frostbite 2, it has potential for amazing graphics, but this isn't fully achieved. Sometimes the graphics feel unfinished, and it isn't as if they haven't had enough time with there being three other Need for Speed games between the games announcement and release.
Visuals & Graphics Rating: 7.5/10

Achievement Difficulty..
Achievements that are available with Need for Speed: The Run are gained through campaign, challenge and multiplayer modes. In campaign you are able to earn them through completing stages. The same happens in challenge mode with you earning gold medals in sets of races. In multiplayer, you are able to unlock achievements from completing 15 races, to becoming stage leader. All of these achievements are able to be unlocked with practise of the maps you race on
Achievement Difficulty Rating: 8/10

Story Mode / Campaign Difficulty..
The story mode in The Run was quite a let down. It was short and didn't exactly make sense. You play as Jack, a racer who has run into hard times. At the start of the game he almost dies but escapes death. He then enters a cross country race with at prize of $25 million. Chicago mobsters then chase him cross country, destroying oil refineries, gunning him down on a crowded freeway and getting a chopper to kill bystanders and cops along the way. This all adds to a boring and repetitive campaign that isn't the best from a Need for Speed game.
Story Mode / Campaign Difficulty Rating: 4/10

Game Depth & Navigation Details..
Like with many racing games, they have a fairly one way track, with occasional shortcuts to save a few seconds. This is quite good with there being no way to get lost in the race. This is no different with Need for Speed: The Run. The game depth however is a different story. It doesn't go deep enough into Jack's story leaving the gamer confused.
Storyline Depth & Navigation Details Rating: 7/10

Value For Money..
Unlike many previous Need for Speed games, there is no free-roam capability, so really after finishing campaign and the challenge series all there is is the multiplayer, which can get boring at times. If there was some sort of free-roam mode it would have been great to be able to roam around San Francisco, New York and the Rockies.
Value For Money Rating: 3/10

Ratings Round-Up..
Visuals & Graphics: 7.5/10
Achievement Difficulty: 8/10
Story Mode / Campaign Difficulty: 4/10
Game Depth & Navigation Details: 7/10
Value For Money: 3/10

Overall Rating: 29.5/50




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Ive played it, and I do think it was a good game. Not huge on racing games though.

I played it and loved the only down fall was with it is that it was way to easy to complete

i find this game a bit average on certain aspects compaired to the other nfs which i found dissapointing

I think Hot Pursuit was a better game.

I found even Carbon and/or Most Wanted better than this "game" from the same "creator".

But I guess they need to look at other types of games, or the game will be the same every year and people will complain, just like COD and Madden

They do, but for every good game series I've seen, EA somehow busts the series.

I hated this game. Would be a good game but the graphics are poor to me. I like the overall concept of the game but other than that I would rate it as being a game I would not have to play again.

Haven't played the game yet, but a lot of people say that it's pretty easy and you can complete it in a few hours.

Is this game worth the money?

i Played This Game and i enjoyed it, it's a Challenging game.

Did not really care for this game that much. It was too easy to race in. I did like the visuals but that was pretty much all that would have scored high for me.

It is an easy game to play but I did rather enjoy it. I think that it is a decent game.

This game is a real passion to me, wonder why it is so underrated here.
Anyways, good review.

Great review, I haven't played it but it does look pretty cool even though it hasn't received a very good rating. Thanks for sharing this review!

I agree with you about the story. I was rather disappointed with it as well, previous Need for Speed stories were much better than this. I still found it to be okay overall though.

I remember writing this review. Since writing it I actually traded Need for Speed with a friend for another game.

Which game did you trade it for?

I have never liked a NFS as much as underground one. That was by far one of the only racing games I have ever enjoyed to no life it. This was a great review though. Keep up the good work :)

Traded it for Battlefield 2, I've played Battlefield 3 and thought why not get Battlefield 3.

I played this game and it was awesome but not good as NFS most wanted.
i think there is no match for most wanted. the story is quite different and most wanted got many reviews.

I remember it, playing this one was so much fun, i played it about 5 hours once. Well this game and Most Wanted are my favorite in all the NFS series.