Publishing giant Electronic Arts did a masterful job milking The Fast and the Furious films by applying the underground racing theme to its Need for Speed franchise. With that being said, the seedy characters and nighttime only events got old. To avoid killing the franchise, developer Black Box tore the game series apart for Need for Speed ProStreet, the most ambitious NFS ever conceived. One part illegal street racing and one part Gran Turismo, this game demands attention.

At first glance, ProStreet resembles the aforementioned Gran Turismo as well as Forza Motorsport 2, a simulation based racer stuck on linear tracks. This time around, gamers won't struggle through cheesy cut scenes and get involved with a bunch of scumbags. Instead, they'll focus on creating a fully customizable ride that'll inspire fear in drivers stupid enough to share the track.

All of that sounds good, but it doesn't separate the game from its competitors. Bottom line, people will buy ProStreet for two reasons (aside from it being a Need for Speed game): the stylish, unique presentation and the physics. In designing the game, Black Box ditched street racing in favor of race weekends where the world's most skilled and crazy drivers meet to see who becomes the street king. Players compete in a series of challenges in the hopes of beating masters of various disciplines, including raw speed contests, drifting, drag racing and gripping. The idea is to make it believable, to get away from ridiculous storylines and focus on where racing's headed.

Physics stand out as the next selling point. The developers want to create the most intense and horrific crashes ever seen, and based on an early demo, they may achieve that goal. Each car is composed of individually modeled parts, all of which fly off and get damaged in real time. Smack into a wall and expect to scrape more than just paint. Hit another car head on and watch as glass shatters, the hood pops up and the front of the car accordions. It looks amazing, but don't drool for too long. Damage influences performance, and cars will sputter and die after too much punishment.

In creating a custom car, players should also focus on intimidating their opponents, or at least that's what Black Box hopes they do. It wants to reveal a car's raw power and violence, how it connects to the road as well as the ability to use it at a weapon, throwing it into opponents. To that end, revving the engine should make adversaries wet their pants.

This proves especially important online, where players compete against others and show off their latest creations. In addition, the game lets people upload their custom blueprints for download, giving people the option to take them for a test drive.

Even at this early stage, ProStreet showcases numerous graphical delights. Aside from crashes, the tracks (early ones take place in a desert and a standard looking race track) feature balloon animals, smooth road and various structures. The gray smoke that billows from the ends of cars looks excellent, and the sun casts an impressive glow across everything. It makes Forza Motorsport 2 look dated, and that game just debuted this week.

Similar to its predecessors, Need for Speed ProStreet strikes a balance between simulation and arcade racing. It seems to offer a deeper experience for car enthusiasts while retaining the series' signature arcade-like qualities. EA still needs to reveal more information (track locations, number of cars), but thus far, ProStreet has tremendous potential. Expect more coverage in the near future.

Related Links

Need for Speed ProStreet Game Guide