In fact, many of the vehicles and content in Unbound feel ripped straight out of Heat, to the point that this could have been called Need for Speed Heat 2. If you’ve played Need For Speed Heat or Payback, you’ll see some very familiar visual mods here. On top of performance modifications, you get the series staple of visual mods. Using this method helps to make the game’s upgrade path stable and consistent, especially when you add in the way races are capped, but more on that later. For example, if you want a gold-tier turbo on your car, you must purchase the gold-tier garage upgrade first. The performance customization gives you multiple tiers of part upgrades that are only accessible after garage upgrades. Speaking of customization, Unbound brings over the same customization method that Need for Speed Heat brought us, which was an evolution of the system in Need for Speed Payback, only without the loot boxes. Though you’re free to change the effects anytime, you’ll only have to remember to do so before you leave the garage. So if you like the colors of one because they match the livery of a specific vehicle, the same style will be played on all the others. Unfortunately, whatever you choose applies to all the cars in your garage. You’ll eventually have access to multiple pieces of artwork for these stylized flourishes to give them that personal touch. It’s quite impressive and adds new-hotness to a series that desperately needed it. You’ll even see small details like anime-inspired speed lines flowing across your car when drafting your opponents. While airborne, majestic wings will uncurl from the sides of your car, resembling street graffiti. Drift around corners, and you’ll see hand-animated smoke flowing off the rear tires.

One of the standout features of Need for Speed Unbound is the attention to the artwork and animations highlighting actions taken in your car. With a wide selection of vehicles to choose from and an expansive Chicago-like city to race in, Unbound is a wonderful follow-up to Need for Speed Heat, but it has some flaws. Need for Speed Unbound is a high-octane street racing game offering players the thrill of pushing cars to their limits while outrunning the local PD.

Free download nfs unbound 2022