Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock

Recommended reading

Formula Legends appearing in Future Games Show
Racing Games Formula Legends has a new trailer and a new demo you can play right now, revealed in the Future Games Show
Phantom Squad featuring in FGS Live from LA
Third Person Shooters Hotline Miami meets Payday in tactical top-down shooter Phantom Squad
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds screenshot of Sonic in a vehicle going over water with Knuckles racing up behind him with GR+'s Summer Preview 2025 banner
Racing Games I played Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for an hour and its chaotic item-based destruction reminded me of how fun it is to be bad at a kart racer
Enemies run towards Charlie Disco in Dead as Disco
Action Games Batman Arkham combat is reimagined as a disco nightmare in this Steam Next Fest demo – and yes, you can already import your own songs
Four characters compete in SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed
Racing Games 13 years later, the original devs on "the Mario Kart of 2D platformers" are "providing advice and feedback" to a new team bringing the long-awaited sequel to life
Phantom Squad
Third Person Shooters The chaos of Hotline Miami meets the intricate planning of Payday in this hostage-saving Steam Next Fest demo that's absolutely riffing on Die Hard
Running along a floating highway with gold rings as lava pours from the sky in Haste
Roguelike Games This Sonic Frontiers-style free-running simulator is already my favorite roguelike of 2025, but it was almost a very different game: "We were like, 'maybe we'll make it into a battle royale'"
  1. Games
  2. Racing
  3. Need For Speed
  4. Need For Speed Rivals

Need for Speed: Rivals is part racer, part team-deathmatch

Features
By David Houghton published 23 August 2013

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Vroom, vroom

Vroom, vroom

Now were certainly not saying that EAs next-gen Need for Speed debut has turned the series into a demolition derby. Nor has it gone the way of Twisted Metal. Indeed, it would be borderline sacrilegious to turn the series trademark gleaming car-porn into scuffed, metallic roadkill like that. But theres an undeniable vibe of arena battle gaming--particularly that of shooters--to the open-world cops n robbers sim. After repeatedly hammering the current hands-on demo at Gamescom, we couldnt help but feel the twin spirits of Quake and Halo drifting gently on the hot breeze generated by those roaring engines.

With a tight 2v2 set-up playing out on a large but well-connected system of looping roads, the games mini-map and constantly present set of updating combat challenges eschewed any hint of casual exploration or meandering objectives, instead enforcing a strict and obsessive hunt-and-kill instinct in all players.

It sounds like a mad conceit, but the shooter parallels really are there. Although the gameplay mechanics are superficially different, the kind of moment-to-moment decisions and interplays are very similar indeed. Pursuits are all about surveying the terrain and the shape of the road in order to make the right tactical weapon choice. EMP shots are your sniper rifles; risky but powerful long-range weapons which are slow to ready but devastating if they hit, and highly susceptible to failure if aimed at an agile target. Spike strips are bullying area-of-effect attacks which require careful manoeuvring and accurate prediction of enemy movements to use correctly. Slam takedowns take the place of melee attacks, often scoring an instant kill but demanding careful close-range movement and timing in order to avoid becoming the victim of one yourself.

Intersections become choke-points. Handbrake turns stand in or circle-strafes. A cheeky directional fake-out at a junction can send a pursuer off on entirely the wrong path, just as a sudden change in altitude can in Halo. Dont think you cant enjoy Need for Speed if youre not a fan of racers. The in-game hardware may be different, but the essence of its highs and lows is something very familiar to anyone whos ever enjoyed a good deathmatch.

Click through the slides for additional images and information.

Page 1 of 5
Page 1 of 5
 Car handling is as immediate and versatile as could be. Vehicles are fast to respond and steering is light to the touch, but without ever feeling light weight

Car handling is as immediate and versatile as could be. Vehicles are fast to respond and steering is light to the touch, but without ever feeling light weight

Page 2 of 5
Page 2 of 5
At the same time, the cars have a real sense of physical presence and heft. Particularly when one sends another flying through the air

At the same time, the cars have a real sense of physical presence and heft. Particularly when one sends another flying through the air

Page 3 of 5
Page 3 of 5
After a long absence from the series, Ferrraris are back. The F12berlinetta was confirmed in May, and the 458 Spider has just been announced at Gamescom

After a long absence from the series, Ferrraris are back. The F12berlinetta was confirmed in May, and the 458 Spider has just been announced at Gamescom

Page 4 of 5
Page 4 of 5
Despite being based on Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted, Rivals really does feel next-gen. The vast airiness of the woodland environment we played in and the extravagance of the car wrecks put it a definite step ahead

Despite being based on Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted, Rivals really does feel next-gen. The vast airiness of the woodland environment we played in and the extravagance of the car wrecks put it a definite step ahead

Page 5 of 5
Page 5 of 5
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PlayStation PS4 Xbox Xbox One Platforms
David Houghton
David Houghton
Long-time GR+ writer Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.
See more PC Gaming Features
Read more
Formula Legends appearing in Future Games Show
Formula Legends has a new trailer and a new demo you can play right now, revealed in the Future Games Show
Phantom Squad featuring in FGS Live from LA
Hotline Miami meets Payday in tactical top-down shooter Phantom Squad
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds screenshot of Sonic in a vehicle going over water with Knuckles racing up behind him with GR+'s Summer Preview 2025 banner
I played Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for an hour and its chaotic item-based destruction reminded me of how fun it is to be bad at a kart racer
Enemies run towards Charlie Disco in Dead as Disco
Batman Arkham combat is reimagined as a disco nightmare in this Steam Next Fest demo – and yes, you can already import your own songs
Four characters compete in SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed
13 years later, the original devs on "the Mario Kart of 2D platformers" are "providing advice and feedback" to a new team bringing the long-awaited sequel to life
Phantom Squad
The chaos of Hotline Miami meets the intricate planning of Payday in this hostage-saving Steam Next Fest demo that's absolutely riffing on Die Hard
Latest in Need For Speed
Need For Speed Unbound
The Need For Speed series is pumping the brakes as "Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield" instead of tuning more cars
Need for Speed Unbound release time
Need for Speed Unbound release time explained
Need For Speed Unbound crossplay
Need for Speed Unbound crossplay and Lakeshore Online mode explained
Need for Speed Unbound
This Need For Speed Unbound car horn is just A$AP Rocky saying "beep beep"
Need for Speed: Unbound
Need for Speed Unbound leaks online ahead of next week's release
Need for Speed Unbound
Need for Speed Unbound driving effects let you set your own level of anime
Latest in Features
Hades 2 announcement trailer
70 hours later and with a full launch imminent, I already miss Hades 2 being in Early Access
Toothless, Miles Morales' Mask, Battle Droid with STAP, and Nike Dunk sets divided from each other by white lines, with a 'GamesRadar+ New Lego' badge in the middle
New Lego sets for July 2025, including the perfect gift I think fans will go nuts for
Jan sadly presses a hand on a screen that says 'deceased' in The Alters
The Alters has changed the way I play games for the better, and after 18 years I can finally finish Mass Effect
Sam balances across a ladder high up in the mountains in Death Stranding 2
Death Stranding 2 is my favorite online game this year, even though you never directly see any other players
Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
The Squid Game season 3 finale is a crushing but ultimately hopeful conclusion – and I wouldn't have it any other way
Resident Evil Requiem
I don't care what Capcom says, Leon not being in Resident Evil Requiem makes no sense
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...