Memory Lane Time Lapse - NFS: Porsche Unleashed (PC)

2000 Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed [PC]

Track list:

0:19 - Côte d'Azur
1:32 - Schwarzwald
2:40 - Pyrénées
3:47 - Alps
5:03 - Corsica
6:15 - Auvergne
7:42 - Normandie
8:57 - Zone Industrielle
10:21 - Monte Carlo
11:19 - Autobahn
12:46 - Weissach Skid Pad

The turn of the century came, and what did EA bring us? Porsches, Porsches, and more Porsches! The fifth installment to the NFS series was unique in that it focused on one car manufacturer instead of the variety of exotics and sports cars that were the usual since the beginning. Whereas some of the earlier NFS had you driving the 993 911, here you had 50 years of Porsche history to play with, ranging from the 356 all the way up to the 996 911.

Two distinct versions of PU were made in 2000: EA Canada handled the PC while Eden Studios handled the PS1 version. The PC version was later ported to GBA in 2003 by Pocketeers.

Unlike previously, track locations for the PC version were all set in Europe. A total of 14 tracks were included; 5 of which were various course layouts for Monte Carlo. Lengthy point-to-point races, which has been absent since TNFS, make up the majority of the course designs here, with the Monte Carlo courses being the only circuits.

Also, a first to the series was the option to take several different routes for most of the tracks, which gave players the sense that the world of PU was much larger than any NFS that came before it. And don't forget about the skid pad, I'm sure people who've played this remembers the many MANY times we had to retry the friggin' Factory Driver challenges.

Also, note that while High Stakes introduced the first 3D cockpit view to NFS, PU was the last to have it, or any sort of cockpit view for all of its cars until Shift in 2009.

Admittedly, I wasn't fond of this game when it first came out. I suspect the reason why majority of the fanbase overlooked PU was because the series became synonymous with Ferrari/Lambo and cop chases. However, over the years I grew to appreciate the level of detail and care EA put into this game. Without a doubt PU, to me, is EA's most passionate NFS ever. And that's why I regard it as not only one of the better NFS that was ever made, but one of the best racing games out there. This game deserves more love and recognition than what it's given.

Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for any vomit-inducing motion sickness that may ensue from watching this.

Enjoy the ride. ;)

Featured music:

1. Morphadron (Rom Di Prsico) - Rezidue
2. Cypher (Crispin Hands) - Sentient
3. Morphadron - The Moebius
4. Morphadron - Stealth Run
5. Cypher - Twin

Other composers that worked on the amazing soundtrack: Captain Ginger (Saki Kaskas).

nGlide was used to emulate 3dfx