Need for Speed Nitro is the 14th game in the Need for Speed Series. It was developed by EA Montreal and published by EA. It was released on November 3rd 2009.



Nitro is a Wii and DS exclusive, designed specifically for the casual gamer rather than the hardcore. While this sounds bad for fans the game retains few things the series is known for, many cool cars to race and upgrade, a cool soundtrack, and the damage mechanic from prostreet returns.



Nitro also adds a few new things to the series like the "Own it" feature. When in first place the environment transforms to match the tags and graffiti on your car, you can choose to use the pre-loaded tags or you can make your own custom ones. Nitro is also the first game in the series to feature "power-ups" during races (like mario kart), power-ups include a Wrench and a police badge, the wrench when collected will repair any damage done to your car (Like prostreet damaged cars diminish in Performance the top speed lowers and so does the nitro (Nos) repairing damage is essential if you wanna win).




The police Badge when collected will shift your heat to the person in front of you (cops in this game are ruthless, they will ram you into walls or Use the P.I.T. manuver to stop you getting away from then is important). Another new feature is the Style Points, players can gain massive amounts for points by Drifting, Drafting, being in first place, or by going really fast. Points dont earn you anything though only in some races were you have to gain a certain amount to move on to the next stage. Lastly while the cars in the game are real licensed vehicles they are actually disperportionate versions of thier real-life counterparts so they look really cartoony.



The Graphics in the game were good. As i said earlier this game is supposed to cater to the casual audience so the visuals are very bright and colorful. i wasnt a fan of the design direction taken with the cars though they looked very juvenile to me. The Gameplay was fast and Arcadey, it has a great sense of speed. Also theres no storyline only racing. Nitro is also very accessible featuring support for The Classic Controller Pro, The gamecube Controller, The Wiiwheel, The Wiimote and nunchuck, and the Wiimote by itself.


Need for Speed Nitro isn't Need for Speed Carbon, or Hot Pursuit or Most Wanted, theres no free roam mode, no Performance customisation (yes you read that right if you want to car to go faster forget it buy a faster one) The carrer mode isnt as deep, and while yes i know it was ment for the casual audience the visuals very juvenile. The Kids will love it though. Lastly once again this is like the fifth Need for Speed game on the Wii and still there is no online.



In the end the game sets out to do what it intended to do, it gives casual gamers an easily assicceble game game thats fun (for a hour or so) with lots of speed and decent music. but leaves fans of the series in the dark (even worse if your a fan who only owns a Wii).

Need for Speed Nitro gets 6.4 out of 10.

6- Decent This game has flaws or major flaws such as, poor controls, bad gameplay elements, poorly implemented gimmicks, minor sound or graphics issues etc. But can be fun, but not necessarily as fun as you'd hope.



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