Online options are plentiful in the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions of the game, with the user created race days being the biggest feature. It’s worth noting that the default Wii control scheme isn’t up to much either, with the tilt steering mechanic simply not offering a high enough level of control. While a game like Forza 2 can get away with this, as part of the enjoyment comes from nailing each track and shaving seconds off your best lap times, in ProStreet the car handing simply isn’t up to the same standard – the result is a game that becomes rather tiresome quite early on. There are plenty of race circuits in the game, but lots are simply previously played tracks with a few different corners. What’s missing, though, is the frenzied chases by police cars and the open city of previous games. Race types are pretty standard, with the usual lap races, drag events, time trials and top speed challenges. When you enter a race day with your own car, you’ll lose all race day progress if your car is totalled, meaning you need to keep it in shape, either by paying cash or through the use of repair tokens. Certain race days provide all competitors with the same car, evening out the field and meaning any car damage won’t cost you as the car isn’t from your personal garage. While winning is important, the game puts more emphasis on dominating the day, with points earned being tallied up over the course of the day. The game sees you moving from one race day to another, with each day comprising of numerous events. Fans of the cheesy brilliance seen in Xbox 360 launch title Most Wanted will be sorely disappointed. Sadly these are badly acted, look poor and have none of the character seen in the previous two Need for Speed titles.
You’ll get a story of sorts, with Ryan working on his career and an eventual showdown with racing legend Ryo. ProStreet drops the illegal racing in favour of properly organised street races, with you playing Ryan Cooper, a guy who is disrespected after the game’s opening race. Many of the series’ trademark features return, but whereas previous games have been great fun and easy to get into, ProStreet has positioned itself awkwardly near the Forza end of the racing genre scale – not exactly what Need for Speed fans will be expecting. Given the Need for Speed series’ history as an action packed, police chase filled, illegal street racing spectacular, EA’s decision to focus on legal street racing in semi-realistic handling cars is hard to believe. Need for Speed ProStreet is one of the more bizarre high profile releases of the year.