Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed

Must Play (PC)
An incredible experience that truly breaches the line between art and just video games. Resonating with the creators' own appreciation of art, It oozes true inspiration, love and passion out of every crevice. And f*** you, I don't care if I am biased. (It's also an old childhood favorite of mine that I used to play with my father when I was wee little)

The atmosphere this game encompasses the player with, is something very rare, a result of love-fueled attention to detail and overall direction and coherence. For me, every single element of this game clicks together and creates a magical experience that I am absolutely in love with.
The stylized UI, untainted by modern "best practices", is a blend of expression and functionality. I rarely was lost in it, which surprised me for a game of that time, and the artistic liberty it takes.
The progression which was simple and effective, easing you into what it has to offer, but not going easy on you and making you explore its elements and use them. It even offers a few different modes! (and a silly little story)
The lovely maps, inspired by the beauty of real locations and filled with their own quirks and details, are the only tracks in a racing game to date I do not find dreadful to replay enough to learn (which you kinda have to). I find them always a joy to go through and even explore (Alps favorite).
Even the soundtrack was right up my alley, and I often play games with music off (yeah yeah I'm a freak). The sound effects are obviously limited due to the game being old but that does not change the fact that they do their job perfectly.
And most importantly, It truly is infused with an unadulterated appreciation of what Porsche had achieved in motoring at the time. At first glance, some people may say it resembles an ad. But it is more like a really passionate love letter, not only to the history of the brand, but to cars as a whole. Despite its graphical limitations, it manages to easily resemble and convey the beauty of the different designs of the models. The game is truly a joy to look at.

I do admit that, while far ahead of, it is undeniably a product of its time (2000). Due to technological limitations, and the advancement of game development at that time, It is true that as a driving simulator/simcade, it misses the mark.
Until you have somewhat of a grasp over how the cars handle, it is going to be a frustrating experience. The game also offers a tuning system that does not really work as the player is lead to expect.
But personally after I got over the hurdle of familiarizing myself with how it works, I was able to truly appreciate and even come to love the core gameplay loop too. And quite frankly, looking back on the experience, I'm actually quite happy with the fact that the game did not hold my hand, and I was able to see my results improve with practice.
Running the game at the current date of this review (2024) requires some fixes. Happily, there are resources online still up to this day, like IPLounge and patches like SilentPatch/Verok.

one of the firsts

انا ما عرفة هالسلسلة الا من هذا الجزء كان بوقتها شي اسطوري

Ps1

Talvez n seja o melhor need for speed, mas com certeza foi o mais marcante para mim, foi um dos primeiros jogos de corrida q joguei e até hj lembro da cutscene deles roubando os Porsches no começo do jogo, bem q eles podiam fazer algo parecido na franquia de nv.

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