They say the bargin bin is the home of crappy games. Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed makes whoever said that an idiot
The gameplay is simple, get to the finish line before your opponents. While in some games this is a breeze, NFS:PU give you opponents that may seem dumb, but in many cases you might be flipping the bird at them. I’m not saying the game is too hard, some races you’ll be sitting at the finish wondering where the hell everyone is, but the difficulty is very well varied so that rookies and professionals alike will feel like they actually have a challenge on their hands ( I couldn’t say that for much of NFS:U2).
The game is split mainly into three modes: Single Player( play a quick race, or a knockout race with cars you’ve unlocked), Multiplayer (nuff’ said), and Evolution (play through a series of tournaments as you progress through the history of Porsche, while also unlocking cars). The Single Player mode is divided into three other modes, as well.
Single Race (speaks for itself), Knockout (play a series of races where the last to finish in each race gets knocked out), and Quick Knockout (same as Knockout, except it’s contained in one single race, and last to cross the finish in each lap is knocked out). The Evolution mode is probably where you’ll be playing most of the time, as to unlock cars you need to progress through that mode. It is divided into about 14 tournaments, each presenting a new challenge and giving you the chance to try out a new Porsche. Each tournament consists of around 1-4 races, with them getting longer as you get farther in the game. While they all use this game’s only five courses, each race is changed in such a way that you never feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over and over. Each race also is varied in difficulty, so some races can be super easy and some are super hard.
Graphically, this game has some areas where it stands out. The quality of textures and models from a distance isn’t massively awesome, but the graphic engine has been developed very well, as there is never a disappearing surface or a strange “pop-up.” (NFS:U2, well, not exactly the same) The music is a little repetitive since there are only four tracks, but it itself is also well done and fits the game and the location it’s played in very well. There are only five tracks, with each (except for the Monaco circuit) being a get from point A to point B track. Each track is supposed to represent a location in Europe, while none of them are a representation of an actual race course (even Monaco has no relation to the famous F1 race course), but they still provide good fun.
When people see a game in the bargin bin, they usually just turn away because they seem to think that if it’s in the bargin bin, it’s crap. Porsche Unleashed isn’t a crap game at all, it only sits there marked down for ten bucks because no one is buying it and giving it the credit it deserves. So, please, run down to your local store, pick up this game, and give it the love it seriously deserves.