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Need For Speed Payback review thread

How do the loot boxes affect game play? It seems the reviewers aren't a fan of them in this game.

They don't affect gameplay at all. They contain cosmetics that aren't part of the core customization - eg: colored tire smoke, neon underglow. Not only that, you can get 3 boxes from just doing dailies and you get them every time you level up your rep.

As for the speed cards, you get one every time you win a race and you can replay any race you want as many times as you want.

I have 3 issues with the speed cards - The biggest is that once used, it can never be used on a different car. The second is that there are one or two classes of cards (5 total) that are way better than the others. The third is that cards can drop below your level. This is mitigated somewhat by the fact that its easy to get cards by just replaying races.

I actually like the theory of the card system, but maybe that's because I played Diablo 3 for years and like RNG games in general. Personally, I feel the outrage over the lootboxes is way overblown, the cards have some issues but definitely can be fixed

The actual driving mechanics of the game feel fine by me. But maybe I'm not the best judge of this since I like NFS 2015, and it seems that game was criticized by a lot of people. To be fair though, I'm more drawn to the cusomization aspects of the game and that part of the game is pretty good imo although one thing that really bugs me is that a lot of wheels are much narrower than they should. Like a corvette should have 12" wide rear wheels but most wheels look like 9" or less.
 

saladine1

Junior Member
I'm a big fan of the Underground series and most, if not all of Black Box's classic games so the customization and street racing culture appeals to me immensely.
After initially not liking the game, I have come to change my mind and now enjoying the game so bloody much!
Actually, I'm absolutely addicted....
 

g11

Member
Kinda hoping this bombs so hard that it's either super cheap around BF or they reign in the grind somewhat. I don't care that the story is shit or the voice acting is shit. That stuff just doesn't matter to me in a driving game.
 

wipeout364

Member
Not that I would buy it but I just saw this on the Canadian Xbox store for 40% off either the regular or deluxe edition. So I suspect sales must have been pretty dismal if they are discounting that much this fast.
 

MrBlonde

Member
I will probably buy on a sale, under $30 and I’m in. Not impressed with EA lately and all the micro transaction bullshit but I do typically enjoy NFS games I’m just done paying full price until they change certain things
 

MrBlonde

Member
Is this game as bad as the reviews say? I always buy NFS and it’s on sale right now for $36 digital. I am really turned off by the loot crate type upgrade system, it sounds super Grindy and having to replay old races multiple times sounds terrible and if your car is just slightly a lower rank the AI smokes you and u have to constantly upgrade your car instead of buying new ones.... this game sounds like a complete grind and is pushing you to spend real money which is gross!!

Also how is the MP and is there true MP?

Very disappointed, I always look forward to need for speed, the price is right but I still might pass
 

Senua

Member
Hey remember when NFS was good?

233191-need-for-speed-iii-hot-pursuit-windows-front-cover.jpg
 

Bond007

Member
Lovin the game. My fav NFS was the last Hot Pursuit and i did enjoy nfs 2015.
As soon as i read the shitty IGN review i knew i was gonna like the game.
 

Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
How are you finding the game?

It's basically Need for Speed :Horizon, at least imo.

It takes way too long to open up, but once I did Im hooked.

I don't understand the reviews being so low at all. I feel like they played the first hour and that's it.
 

neckthrough

Neo Member
Hey remember when NFS was good?

233191-need-for-speed-iii-hot-pursuit-windows-front-cover.jpg
Oh man. I still remember tracks like Hometown and Redrock Ridge. I also liked High Stakes, though the damage model was simply brutal, especially during night races when you lost your headlights at the slightest bit of frontal contact. Forced you to learn to drive nice and clean though.

My favorite NFS of all time has to be Porsche Unleashed/2000. Among other things, it was actually an amazing history lesson on Porsches. You could feel the progression of the cars in driving dynamics as you moved from the 356 up to the 996TT. Even driving the slow and wobbly 356 was rewarding since, really helps you get a feel for the sim model used by the game engine. There were a meaningful set of upgrades for each model, and most upgrades translated to a perceptible difference on the track.

IMO it was all downhill from there. Hot Pursuit 2 sucked, but it was Underground that really signaled the complete and irreversible death of the classic NFS series. Even now, it seems EA execs think of Underground as being the "roots" of the NFS series, which is hilarious and sad at the same time.
 
Hey remember when NFS was good?

233191-need-for-speed-iii-hot-pursuit-windows-front-cover.jpg

I started playing NFS from the very first one, but this one was an instant classic as well. Still, there is no iteration i hold higher than NFS HP 2010. Such an underrated gem. Every time i hope to find its spiritual succcessor in the newest addition, everytime i come home dissapointed.

Just a shame, really :/ Well, every time again i will be rooting for this franchise. Arcade racers can be such ridiculous fun when done right.
 

autoduelist

Member
happily picked this up for 35, and can't wait to play it. based on all these posts, I think i'm going to be on team 'i liked it'. c'mon mailman, hurry up.
 

McLovin

Member
Devs need to learn that random loot box bs doesn't fly unless it's purely cosmetic like in overwatch. Its basically legal gambling and a huge waste of time for us gamers that don't have that much time to play games. For example I work around 60 hrs a week, do you honestly think I'm going to waste my time gambling on a system thats rigged to make me waste as much time as possible? Fuck that. Even if this game got a 10/10 from every review and was hailed as GOAT, I would hard pass on it. I don't have time for that shit, nobody does.
 

RAIDEN1

Member
Out of the one's Criterion produced what is the best one to go for? Rivals, Most Wanted? If you are looking for that NFS/Burnout experience..
 

Ubername

Banned
happily picked this up for 35, and can't wait to play it. based on all these posts, I think i'm going to be on team 'i liked it'. c'mon mailman, hurry up.

I also got it for 30ish. Mad fun imo. The game looks exactly like the Ghost Recon from this year, though lol.
 
Devs need to learn that random loot box bs doesn't fly unless it's purely cosmetic like in overwatch. Its basically legal gambling and a huge waste of time for us gamers that don't have that much time to play games. For example I work around 60 hrs a week, do you honestly think I'm going to waste my time gambling on a system thats rigged to make me waste as much time as possible? Fuck that. Even if this game got a 10/10 from every review and was hailed as GOAT, I would hard pass on it. I don't have time for that shit, nobody does.

Couple things:

1. Loot boxes arent legal gambling because they don't have the 3 basic elements of legal gambling.

2. Loot boxes are not a problem in this game. You get vanity items out of them. Anyone who says they are needed to progress either hasn't played the game enough to make a qualified opinion or is repeating BS to further an agenda.
 
I'm really enjoying the game post-patch. The rewards for all the activities are a lot higher, so I don't have to constantly keep grinding the same races for cash/parts in order to upgrade my car for the next mission.

Right now I think the loot box system is a bit more acceptable as they're mostly for some silly cosmetic items, while the game features a really great paintjob system. I particularly love how you can download custom paintjobs others have uploaded. One thing I still don't like though is how loot boxes give you in-game cash as well which can be used to upgrade your car, but with the new update I'm always stocked on tons of cash, so that element of the loot boxes is sort of a moot point.

Overall the game plays like a NFS game - fast, furious and frantic action. The variety of race types in the game is great as well. The only thing I miss is the ability to play as cops and bust racers.
 

MrBlonde

Member
Reading about this patch is making me want to grab the game while it’s on sale for one more day.

I thought the loot boxes were how you upgraded cars but now you can do it with in game cash you earn?? Are the loot boxes now just cosmetic? If so I’m buying, that is how it should be.
 
Reading about this patch is making me want to grab the game while it's on sale for one more day.

I thought the loot boxes were how you upgraded cars but now you can do it with in game cash you earn?? Are the loot boxes now just cosmetic? If so I'm buying, that is how it should be.

The loot boxes in the game give you three types of items:
-Vanity items - essentially cosmetics that you can equip to your car like underglow and horns.
-In game cash, which can be used to upgrade your car. Generally a relatively small amount and you can almost earn double that through just one race in a few minutes.
-Car parts, which can also be used to upgrade your car.

So you still do get items from loot boxes that can help you directly upgrade your car in a non-cosmetic way, but since the recent patch the game gives you so much in-game cash (for completing races and side objectives) that you can generally over-level your car and still have cash left over just by playing your normal story races and without much need for grinding. So you'll never really feel a need to buy loot boxes to progress (this was an issue pre-patch where you'd earn much less cash and so you'd need to grind the same races over and over again).

I should also say that the game has a really great paintjob system (probably the best in NFS ever) that lets you pimp out your car however you want and even download other people's paintjobs. The vanity items you get from crates pale in comparison to the paintjobs that others have created.
 

MrBlonde

Member
The loot boxes in the game give you three types of items:
-Vanity items - essentially cosmetics that you can equip to your car like underglow and horns.
-In game cash, which can be used to upgrade your car. Generally a relatively small amount and you can almost earn double that through just one race in a few minutes.
-Car parts, which can also be used to upgrade your car.

So you still do get items from loot boxes that can help you directly upgrade your car in a non-cosmetic way, but since the recent patch the game gives you so much in-game cash (for completing races and side objectives) that you can generally over-level your car and still have cash left over just by playing your normal story races and without much need for grinding. So you'll never really feel a need to buy loot boxes to progress (this was an issue pre-patch where you'd earn much less cash and so you'd need to grind the same races over and over again).

I should also say that the game has a really great paintjob system (probably the best in NFS ever) that lets you pimp out your car however you want and even download other people's paintjobs. The vanity items you get from crates pale in comparison to the paintjobs that others have created.
Sounds much better now, thanks
 

autoduelist

Member
I got the plat.

I absolutely loved this one and don't get the hate.

Some thoughts:

Loot Boxes - complete non-issue. they don't give much, you earn tons of free ones, and I never 'needed' one in any way. I'd pop some open if I needed some quick cash, but, really? I usually had 20+ in my stock that weren't worth the time to open. There is -never-, -ever- a need to buy any.

Car progression -- Using a variety of methods [buying from shops, a wheel spin with earned points, winning races] you upgrade cars in 6 different areas, often from level 1 to 18 [some cars start higher, some cars can't get to 18]. Each card can have a different brand and bonuses. It worked well, imo. Not offensive, not great.... once you're midgame it's pretty easy to ramp a car all the way up to max with your stockpiled cash/points/etc.

Car customization - fantastic.

Races - while open world, races are clearly defined by on screen markers, etc.

Police - police only exist in very specific events. I personally like NFSs that are more 'police centric' [with emps, etc] but this one seemed to find a good balance by having 'runner' events where you escape the police, but otherwise they don't harass you at random times like in, say, Most Wanted. There are also some random [by choice] events - you can find boxes that, if you take them, cause a police chase... win and get $20k plus some parts, etc. I did a couple, but you don't really need the money/parts so it's just optional fun.

Control - you have tuning options, and then the way you build out a car really does have a lot of impact [brands, bonuses, etc.]. there are many different base builds [drift, race, drag, offroad, etc] and each felt pretty right to me even without any tuning. I played with drift a tiny bit to get it exactly the way I like it, but even default it was fine.

Map - well designed, I think, with lots of distinct areas. You can teleport to any garage or gas station, so you can generally get really close to every destination.

Content - the story is alright, decent for a racing game. tons of 'any time' challenges [drift, time trials, etc] litter the map and provide a serious challenge.

Difficulty - hard is HARD. Medium generally provides challenge, wish it was a touch harder. Easy is easy. [translation, I wish they had one more level between medium and hard].

They've been patching in new stuff, like you can now find a free abandoned car every once in awhile. Kind of cool.

Favorite feature - you can find 4 derelicts around the map. first the chassis, then 4 major components [based on map clues]. find all the parts, and you get a level 1 car of that unique type, and can max it to level 399 [all 18s]. Really cool imo, they felt more personal than the ones you just buy out of a dealership. And since you can make them any type, you can make some crazy looking racers, etc that you wouldn't expect.

Not my favorite NFS, but certainly worth the $30 I dropped on it. Had a blast, I'm sad it's over, hope we get more NFS soon.
 
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