Need for Speed High Stakes

High Stakes' absorbing variety of ways to play and overall polish position it as one of the PlayStation's race leaders. Sure, Gran Turismo 2 is everybody's favorite pick for 1999's racing champ, but that's not due till late summer, and Need's such a cool game that no one should pass it up.

Gran Turismo may lead the pack as far as sheer quantity of cars and cups goes, but Need for Speed: High Stakes sets a new standard for style in PlayStation racing. With such slick handling, eye-catching graphics, and addictive gameplay, Need ranks as one of the spring's must-drive racing games.

Gentlemen, Start Your Sirens
High Stakes' coolest new feature is the ability to play as the cops in Hot Pursuit mode, nailing speeders by calling for backup, setting up roadblocks, and putting down spike belts via a pop-up menu. Of course, you can still play as the perp and try to dust the cops, while a two-player split- screen option lets you and a bud battle on both sides of the law.

If turning on the red light ain't your thang, High Stakes delivers an engaging Turismo-style tournament where you race through an exhilarating series of cups and special events. Of course, wins earn you the cash for repairs, upgrades, and new rides. The gameplay's more arcade-like than Turismo's Sim mode, but it's hardly accelerate-all-the-way action; instead it delivers just the right balance of realistic handling and fun action. Through it all, High Stakes' controls handle sharply, improving on Need III's by focusing much less on powersliding.

Stylish Speed
As always, High Stakes rolls out the glamour cars, including Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens, Corvettes, and many more. If you're the betting sort, High Stakes lives up to its name by letting you put your hard-earned car on the line in a two-player race where the winner takes both cars (the loser's car is wiped from their memory card makes a DexDrive sound handy, eh?).

The stylish vehicles are treated right by killer graphics that sizzle with rich, detailed cars and tracks. Although the one-player frame rate's deFInitely zippy enough, it's not as breathtakingly fast as Turismo's, and unfortunately the two-player frame rate chugs a little too much. The sounds score big, though, with exciting engine sounds and, in Hot Pursuit mode, great radio chatter between the cops and their dispatch.

Checkered Flag
High Stakes' absorbing variety of ways to play and overall polish position it as one of the PlayStation's race leaders. Sure, Gran Turismo 2 is everybody's favorite pick for 1999's racing champ, but that's not due till late summer, and Need's such a cool game that no one should pass it up.

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