Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed (PlayStation, 2000)

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Let us start by comparing NFS5 to several other, more recent,
racers that also rise above the crowd of mediocre racing games.
The three I wish to discuss here are: Underground2, Most Wanted,
and Midnight Club3. Now if one were to judge these three games
on the basis of the first 30% of each game, then MC3 would easily
be the hands-down winner. However, 1/3 great + 2/3 lousy = 1 bad
racer. Why so, you ask? Because the bulk of the game is made
exclusively for the small percentage of gamers who are expert-level
virtual-racers. Now I don't know why GameSpot says MC3 is "medium"
difficulty, when it is so obviously at *insanely hard* difficulty!
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In the same way, MW suffers from the same fatal flaw: 1/2 great +
1/2 lousy = 1 almost as bad racer. "Smash 30 police cars and then
escape pursuit to complete this challenge event." Bite me twice
already! If the designers and programmers of both these games had
given even an ounce of consideration to the majority of casual
gamers who actually buy their products, then they could very easily
have avoided these negative ratings by simply allowing the player
to choose the level of difficulty that they desire, instead of
forcing them to play at the *insanely hard* level whether they
like it or not.
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And that brings us to U2, which is clearly the best racer among
these three games. It is the best of the bunch for one reason, and
one reason ONLY: it has three difficulty settings, and allows the
player to switch between them as often or as little as he wishes.
Now this game design element *far* outweighs the quality of graphics
and sound in determining the true value and rating of ANY game!
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So let's just think about this for a minute. MC3 had tremendous
potential. It *could* have been the best racer ever made ... IF they
had not made it for the exclusive use of expert-level gamers. Yes,
it is a great game ... FOR THEM; but for me, and the majority of
racers like me, it will sit on the shelf gathering dust. So if even
the greatest racer in the world just sits there and is NOT being
played, then what good is it? No good at all, I say.
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And this brings us back to NFS5. It's a game that's meant to
be played. It *wants* to be played, for cryin out loud. It gets
progressively harder as you play through it. It gets more and more
challenging as you approach the end; but NOT frustratingly and
stupidly challenging. It's NOT deliberately designed to be insanely
difficult to master. It IS deliberately designed to be fun! Yes,
NFS5 does have its flaws; make no mistake about that. And yes it
does not have optional difficulty choices available to the player.
But you know what? It doesn't need them. And there are very few
racers out there these days that can make that claim.
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In sum, NFS5 Porsche Unleashed is the best designed, most playable,
and most enjoyable racer ever built! Is it any wonder that it's numba
one in my book, even after all these years of would-bez and wannabez?
After reading through this entire long-winded review, I should most
certainly hope NOT. :D