Much improved compared to the first game. However, it's just as frustrating and unfair as the original. Hats off to the development team, they really managed to create some of the most toxic racing AI I've ever seen in a racing game. Watching them crash (all thanks to the often poor track design) never got old though. Speaking of bad track design, whoever designed the Pacific Spirit track should be ashamed of themselves.

I'd only recommend checking this out if you like the series and are interested in how it all started. Otherwise, feel free to skip this one - you won't miss much.

well. I see what they were trying to do with this kind of game, and the fact that they got a pretty decent physics engine in the mid-90s is actually pretty dope, but playing this game is just all kinds of difficult and frustrating, and not really in the good kinds of ways. the tournament mode has all races be 4 laps, making each event roughly 7-10 minutes, which can be exhausting, and the weird physics and rubber banding AI make it one of those racing games where only the last 30 seconds of any race is what actually matters, which is pretty frustrating given how long the events actually are. I felt like i was wasting time with the first 80% of the race, which is never really something that video games should do imo. If you ignore the single player content, don't have any goals in mind, or have a friend, then this game is good fun to dick around in and i'd reccomend it for that aspect, but as a solo mans experience for someone who wants to finish games, it is a trial in frustration.

No hay mucho que decir sobre el segundo título de la que ahora es una de las franquicias más respetadas y reconocidas de la industria. Los inicios de Need for Speed son bastante directos y enfocados, solo tenemos unas cuantas pistas a nuestra disposición y algunos de los autos más veloces de la época para echar unas cuantas carreras e intentar quedar en las primeras posiciones. Probablemente el cambio más drástico de toda la franquicia ocurrió en esta segunda parte al dejar de llamarse The Need for Speed y optar por algo más sencillo y al grano. Es un buen juego que puede usarse para recordar viejos tiempos y pasar el rato. A estas alturas un título con la cantidad de contenido de Need for Speed II es considerado un minijuego, pero eso no quiere decir que falle en su tarea de divertir.

A melhor música de menu que existe

Eu tenho uma memória afetiva muito grande por esse jogo. Sempre vou me lembrar de ver meu padrinho jogando e a forma como eu ficava fissurado olhando pra TV.

Acredito que sempre que eu ouvir a música do menu eu vou sentir um arrepio pq ela é boa demais. Aliás, toda a trilha sonora desse jogo é boa. As fases por exemplo, cada uma delas possui duas faixas que vão alternando dependendo da parte que vc passa no circuito e, pra época, isso era fantástico.

Sobre as pistas, temos uma evolução na quantidade em comparação com o primeiro, mas ainda sim, as pistas sinuosas sofrem com a gameplay difícil.

Tirando a fase "Proving Grounds" que inclusive é a melhor do jogo, todas as outras possuem trechos de curvas com subidas e descidas aleatórias que não funcionam nem um pouco com a física dos veículos e, mesmo não estando em uma velocidade tão grande, o carro vai sair do controle.

No quesito diversão, o primeiro diverte mais que esse e é engraçado como a memória engana a gnt, eu era fissurado nesse jogo, mas hoje vejo que que ele tem mais problemas do que acertos, apesar de ser um clássico.

Exotic cars, arcade physics and a great soundtrack makes this one of the better racing games.

Enjoyment: 3.5/4
Gameplay: 1.5/2
Replayability: 2/2
Graphics: 1/1
Sound: 1/1
Total: 9/10

I played the SE version which has a few more cars and tracks I believe. The game is a very arcade-y racing game. Even though you can select modes and I selected the simulation mode, it still feels very arcade like. The cars are interesting as most of these are exotic concept cars and the tracks are very fun. The best thing about this game is probably the thematic tracks in different locations around the world.
The things that I hate about the game are: first it is very difficult to beat the knockout race. I've been trying for a week now, maybe it's been years since I played a racing game or used a controller (oh yeah, my patched version seems to work with an Xbox 360 controller). I did everything from driving manual and using braking/engine braking properly and following racing lines but still couldn't beat the game. The soundtrack is a bit arcade like 90's heavy metal with world music influences based on the track (though Mystic peaks sound track absolutely slaps).
In the end this was a really fun game to play, since this is abandonware I found a repack version with all the patches pre applied (Magipack). Finally, this is a nostalgic game for most people, I don't think it's worth playing in this era, you should just play it for the memories.

An improvement over the first game although still a rather lacklustre entry to the series. The stars of the show are the tracks that boast very nice theming and layouts. If only the driving itself was up to par. It ranges from fine if you choose a really good car to poor with a bad one. The physics engine seems to actively try to sabotage everyone at all times with it going wild every time two objects touch. It can be mildly amusing when it happens to the AI and you see big pileups, but most of the time it's just frustrating. I do think that this would lead to a very fun multiplayer experience though. Especially the Knockout mode which was rather fun.

Need for Speed Retrospective #2

Booting this up you instantly know you'll be in for a good time. The colourful cartoonish graphics have aged gracefully, the driving feels fast, grippy and responsive. Despite never having appeared in the arcades, NfS II feels exactly like the type of game you would find in an arcade cabinet back in the day.

The showcasing part is still there, but this time the driving is the focus. The choice of cars, tracks and modes is still very bare-bones, but what is there is fun and I can easily see myself driving around in circles for hours in this game just to relax.

Need for Speed is a series of racing games that has been very successful since its inception in 1996. This 1997 game is another great title in the series. It has impressive graphics for its time and a wide selection of detailed cars. The gameplay offers different modes, including Knockout and Tournament. The controls are easy to learn, and the soundtrack and sound effects are of high quality. Despite the lack of a deep storyline, the game provides many hours of fun and can also be played in multiplayer mode. Overall, it's a game worth playing.

A very marginal improvement over the first game, if you can even call it that. Though the graphics are a little nicer, the performance is worse. The music is better to my taste. The gameplay is still pretty bad, but at least playable. The game doesn't force you to shift to the first gear at the start of the race anymore. Collision model is still as bad, but the handling is slightly improved and tweakable. By picking the car with the best handling stat and binding steering to the analogue stick I was able to achieve tolerable controls. However, the handbrake is still basically unusable. The amount of content is as lacking as in the first game. Pretty bad overall.

It's fine I guess. The fun begins to wear off after like 3 races, but it's not a bad game. I really like a lot of what the game does. The game does a great job at really making you feel like you're going fast. The track designs are mostly good besides like maybe 1 stinker and some minor flaws in the other tracks such as fucking dying if didn't go down the hill in Greece properly. The game can get really competitive with some surprisingly good ai for the time. I would find myself going head to head with some of the other drivers only for them to end in one of us getting fucked in the end. Speaking of which, crashes in these games are intense. Going 200 mph and then bumping into someone and then doing some spiraling through the air or spinning on the track at least 10 times. It's surpassingly reminiscent of crashing in Burnout, just without the takedowns or damage models. Catching up usually isn't an issue if you're in the McLaren F1, which the game basically forces you to use. I did my first race in a Lotus, and I struggled to keep up. Some balancing would've been nice, and I imagine it would've kept me playing the game longer after I played on all of the tracks.