Need for Speed: The Run and Going Half The Distance
By Andrew Cross

The car chase. Probably my favorite kind of scene in an action film, or any sort of movie really. If there are any aspiring filmmakers reading this, take note; if you want to make me fall head over heels for your movie, just put a car chase in it. I don’t care if the genre you’re working in wouldn’t warrant it. If you have pavement, at least two cars, and permission from the local authorities —put a car chase in it.

What do I love about them? Well, speed would be one element. Humans are crazy in that we created machines to propel us at speeds we were in all probability never supposed to go at; most likely for our own good. And yet, we persevere in endangering ourselves. We figured out how to rotate a circular object on an axis, put four of them on a hunk of metal, and made it go really, really fast. You know what’s even better? Two of these things careening around streets one after the other — while capturing it all on film. Car chases are thrilling, fast, and hard as hell to make. When done well, it usually stands out as the most memorable part of a movie.

The context for a car chase is just as important as the chase itself. So, it stands to reason that a racing video game being driven (excuse the pun) by a narrative would make sense. A character chasing another with a purpose adds weight and motivation to the scene. Popeye Doyle chased after Nicoli in “The French Connection” because he was the last lead he had on the biggest drug bust of the century (Nicoli also tried to kill him, so that’s a good reason too). “Cannonball Run” is all about people just wanting to get paid. A standard motivation, but the movie makes up for it by having charismatic and entertaining characters.

Adding a story to a racing game isn’t a new idea, but I’ve never seen it approached in such an ambitious way as Need for Speed: The Run was attempting. The basic plot is that you play as Jack, who we’re told over and over again is a very accomplished driver. He’s in trouble with the mob, needs cash, and his hot lady friend Sam sets him up in a 3,000 mile race across America called “The Run.” A $25 million payout is given to the racer who can place 1st among 200 competitors. With his life at stake, Jack grabs the nearest super car and hauls ass from San Francisco to New York.

Now, you might think I’m giving you an abridged description of the plot of Need for Speed: The Run; like I’m leaving out side plots, other characters, and whatever else makes a good story. Well, I’m not. That’s all there is.

The Run is almost astounding in its lack of story. What I mean is that you see people on screen at times. They talk, events appear to happen, and cars are definitely in races on many occasions. The problem is that there is absolutely nothing there. No backstory, no context, nothing. Why is the mob after Jack? Who is Jack anyway? What is Sam and Jack’s relationship to one another? Who puts on The Run? Why should we care about any of this? The game gives you virtually nothing to make you empathize with Jack and his predicament. I would love to know what he did, as it seems pretty bad that the mob would send black vans and attack choppers after him.

It takes two to have a car chase, so Jack does have rivals in The Run. On some legs of the race, you have a one-on-one challenge with other drivers who are alleged to be other major characters in plot. How do I know this? Well, as you’re about to head into a race with them, the level loads and a still frame is shown with a descriptive outline of the opponent. These descriptions read like casting calls for a crappy B-movie. The game literally tells you who the character is instead of showing Jack interacting with them and building conflict like any competent narrative would. The Run performs the dubious feet of creating a story, while having none whatsoever.

With a barely-there plot, the gameplay has to pick up a major amount of the slack. The Need for Speed name is renowned with fast-paced, exciting, tightly controlled racing games. Unfortunately, developer Black Box (who has been making Need for Speed games for years) has some trouble coming through on a lot of those points.

You’re given only a small selection of licensed cars to choose from that range from muscle cars, street racers, exotics, and supers. You can’t choose which car to have before a leg of the race, as you can only change cars during a race at gas stations. Gas stations only appear on some tracks, so if you switch during one race, you could end up being stuck with your choice for two or more races. I think this was done to make the player become more attached to one car over the cross-country trip. I feel that if Black Box wanted me to dig on one kind of car, then they should have given me more customization options, which there is none to speak of during The Run.

Driving in The Run is a mixed bag. I kept feeling like my car (no matter which kind I picked) handled like a pile of bricks in a grocery cart. The car’s back end takes up a good portion of the screen and they handle slowly and chunky around turns. This is a game that tries to create a cinematic experience in a racing game. If this is the goal, why don’t the cars handle easier? Watching a badass driver get behind the wheel of any vehicle and do amazing things with it is part of the joy of watching a car chase. Not once during The Run did I feel in command of my car, even during scripted action scenes. I just kept worrying about hitting a random obstruction in the road or getting my hot rod to behave while stupid AI controlled vehicles flew off the road in front of me.

I really don’t want to hate on this game, but with such a promising concept, I find it to be disappointing. This isn’t to say it’s a total disaster. The racetracks themselves look gorgeous, especially the later ones where you’re driving on country streets and leaf-covered winding roads. The cars themselves look good too and the attention to detail when they take damage is a great touch. The Heavy Rain style button sensitive sequences that have you running around as Jack and avoiding the authorities are well done, although they are few in number.

My overall feeling after putting down the controller is that this is a missed opportunity by EA and Black Box to really come through on what they were hyping. They wanted to give us that theatrical quality feeling of seeing a spectacular vehicle pursuit. I want to be in a car chase. I want to experience that thrill of having something on the line and the only way to resolve my issues is through speeding like a bat out of hell across the country. Need for Speed: The Run comes close, but feels oh so far away.

Available for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, Nintendo 3DS, and Mobiles

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