Need for Speed 4 High Stakes:
It plays very much like Need for Speed 4, but with some extra play modes and one big added feature.
I reviewed Need for Speed 4 more than a few months ago and loved the game. It had a few shortcomings, but they were minor and insignificant compared with the outstanding gameplay and graphics. When I first played Need for Speed 4, I thought it was vastly superior to Need for Speed II. Now that I've played the next Need for Speed game, High Stakes, I have to ask myself: Does it surpass the third installment as easily as the third surpassed the second? Not exactly. That doesn't mean the game is bad or even worse than Need for Speed 4. It just isn't a huge leap in terms of graphics and gameplay.
Those who buy this game should realize that it plays very much like Need for Speed 4, but with some extra play modes and one big added feature.
The biggest feature added to the game is car damage, which we've all been crying for since the inception of this fine arcade racing series. I'm happy to say that on this count, the game benefits greatly from damage modeling. All cars have ratings for body, engine, suspension, and handling. Too many bumps, scrapes, and crashes will bring those ratings down. At first, the damage is subtle, but once you start racking up the collisions, you'll see the car's body start to warp, the windshield and windows break, and the engine start to smoke. Tires will be off kilter, and you'll notice the performance of your car suffering commensurately. There is no way to fix your car during a race, so you are in a bind should the damage be extensive. There is a status window on the top right corner of your screen, though, so you can monitor your damage and respond accordingly. You might want to be less reckless if you see the red damage-indicator bar overtaking the blue status bar. For Need for Speed purists who don't want to play with damage, this option can be toggled off.
Although damage cannot be repaired within a race, it can be repaired between races if you are playing in the new career mode. Unlike the tournaments in Need for Speed 4, this career mode has higher stakes attached to it, if you'll pardon the pun. You start you off with a wad of cash and asked to purchase a lowly BMW Z3 or a Mercedes SLK 230. Then you enter a series of circuits organized into tiers. As you advance through the tiers, you earn more money, which you can use to repair your car between races, upgrade your existing cars, or buy new vehicles. There are three different types of circuits in the career play mode. There are regular races, where you try to amass the most points over three or more tracks. There is a knockout mode, where the last-place finisher in each race is eliminated from the circuit. And there is a high stakes mode, where it's you against one other driver with your cars on the line. Each circuit has an entry fee and offers the finishers varying amounts of cash depending on how they placed. In the high stakes mode, your entry fee is your car, and the prize is the loser's vehicle. It's a quick way to earn a car but also a very quick way to lose one.
With ten tiers to race, and multiple circuits within each tier, there is a lot of gameplay in the career mode. The career mode also cleverly forces you into making hard choices on how to manage your car and money. Do you pay the $8000 to upgrade your car's suspension and engine, or do you save the money and hope you can win enough in the next race to buy an all-new ride? The additional car damage and repair costs also force you to race a little smarter. In addition, persistence is rewarded, as successive victories unveil more expensive levels of cars, bonus cars, and bonus tracks.
It would be too much to ask of a gamer to play through the entire career mode in one sitting, so the game does save your progress, although you don't have the option of saving between races in a circuit.
Aside from the career mode, there are other modes of play that make their return, as well as some new ones we haven't seen before. There is the normal arcade mode, where you only commit to one race at a time, as well as Need for Speed 4-style tournament play. Then there is the police-chase hot pursuit mode, which is more robust in this version. There is the previous mode of hot pursuit but also two new versions, both of which add a twist to the gameplay and even more value to the overall package. Once again, though, not all cars are available in hot pursuit.
Of course, then there are all the options that the Need for Speed series is known for. You can tweak all your cars, adjust graphic details, and toggle off various gameplay elements like weather, night driving, and the existence of traffic. There is a spectacular car showcase that has a slide show, inside view, and detailed specs on all the cars. And lastly, there is the full suite of multiplayer options, although EA's Internet racing network still isn't final at this stage.
There is really very little to criticize about this game. Some of the graphics aren't great, such as the dust-cloud sprites. And some of the tracks are boring, with little ambient detail. I thought the soundtrack was a weak imitation of Wipeout's, with some annoying animal noises thrown in for bad measure. There is also the matter of the feel of the gameplay being similar to Need for Speed 4. High Stakes doesn't feel like a sequel, even though it is a very good game on its own.
In essence, Need for Speed: High Stakes is Need for Speed 4 with car damage, a new career mode, new cars, and new tracks. It plays like its predecessor but just has so many more extras. If you already own Need for Speed 4, you have to decide whether those new features are worth the asking price. But if you don't have Need for Speed 4, then this will be a rare treat among PC racing games. You'll enjoy the graphics, the fast gameplay, and the plethora of cars and tracks at your disposal.
Cheat
Type these cheats in the main menu:
Type kcjones at the main menu to drive with a rainbow
color car and horizon. (3Dfx only)
Type silspd as your name when you recieve a record to
make your car heavier.
Type roadrage at the main menu and when you honk your
car when an opponent is in front of you, your opponent
will crash.
Type mad at the main menu to have cows fly behind you
car instead of dust. (3Dfx only)
Hold h while racing to give your car a short speed
boost (the slot cheat must be enabled).
Type slot at the main menu to enable slot mode in the
Player Car menu (note that you must be in either
Arcade or Wild modes). This will automatically turn
you car for you making you only have to push the accel
button to race.
Type chase at the main menu to make the opponent cars
follow you if you are in front of them. You can make
them drive over jumps, make them crash, etc.
Hold n when the race is loading to drive during the
night. (n/a with 3Dfx)
Type rain at the main menu to race with rain
conditions in the Proving Grounds or Mystic Peaks
track. (n/a with 3Dfx)
Type slip at the main menu to get slippery tracks.
Type pioneer at the main menu to upgrade all the cars
engines. This will give them better handling and
faster speeds.
Type rushhour at the the main menu to get a lot of
traffic on the road.
Cheats Result
vip - Limousine
schoolzone - School Bus
madland - Wooden Stand
rexhour - Tyrannosaurus Rex
go18 - School Bus
go19 - Commanche Pick-up Truck
go20 - School Bus
go21 - Tractor Trailer
go22 - School Bus
go23 - Audi Quattro
go24 - School Bus
go25 - School Bus
go26 - Mercedes-Benz
go27 - Volkswagen Fastback
go28 - Mazda Miata
go29 - School Bus
go30 - School Bus
go31 - Mercedes Unimog Army Truck
go32 - School Bus
go33 - Mercedes Unimog Snow Truck
go34 - Monolithic Studios Tour Bus
go35 - Limousine
go36 - Mazda Miata
go37 - School Bus
go38 - School Bus
go39 - School Bus
go40 - Wooden Box
go41 - Hand Cart
go42 - Wooden Stand
go43 - Tyrannosaurus Rex
go44 - Wild West Style Wagon
go45 - Souvenir Stand 1
go46 - Souvenir Stand 2
go47 - Souvenir Stand 3
go48 - Log
go49 - Crate 1
go50 - Box of Beer
go51 - Block of Rock
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