Road carnage, chaos and racing at its finest.

+ Police and Street Racer missions; + Seamless single/multiplayer racing; + EasyDrive fast-travel; + Dynamic weather effects

- Narration and story is cheesy; - Load times in Garage; - Handling differences between cars is minimal

Need for Speed: Rivals is a wholly enjoyable open-world racer. The driving is solid, its streets are a joy to explore, and its racing assignments--though a bit repetitive at times--are incentive enough to keep you coming back for more.

Absolutely gorgeous; evolving next-gen environments; Redview is replete with both AI and real-life rivals; Some of the slickest controls this side of a Burnout game

The few reasons youre given to upgrade your car; Impact damage is dealt haphazardly

I want to love Need for Speed Rivals. The driving feels fantastic: fast, responsive, intense. Whether cop or racer the crazy action continuously had me out of my seat. But for every instance of exciting mayhem, I can name more of utter frustration. Let's start with the good stuff.

So, how do you make a series still feel fresh after twenty titles? By listening to your fans, knowing what works and what the fans want, and by delivering a game that's more than just a seasonal refresher. Need for Speed Rivals is clearly ready for the next generation of gaming, and so are we.

Two complete career modes; Bugatti Veyron Cop Car? How is that fair; Ferrari is back; Impressive graphics; Entertaining soundtrack

Limited cop car customizations; No local split-screen multiplayer option

Story

+Big open world; +AllDrive has potential for great moments; +Varied speedlists and objectives

-Some online issues are present; -Locked framerate; -Really tough AI cops

A scintillating return to form - Need for Speed Rivals is heavy on style without sacrificing substance

Sublime visuals; Redview County is wonderfully mapped; AllDrive; when it works; is excellent

Woeful plot; EA's servers are troublesome at launch; Racer campaign can be frustrating

Grab a Ferrari 458 Italia and hit up Need for Speed: Rivals' Redview County and you can find yourself in a pretty decent approximation of what a contemporary, open-world OutRun would look like.

Need for Speed Rivals ' technical shortcomings are frustrating primarily because almost everything else about the game is so well-designed and impressive. It builds on the series' legacy but also stretches into meaningful new directions.

As a fresh alternative to meandering $60 games, 'Super Motherload' nails the kind of value proposition offered by good independent games. My towering expectations burned out during one of the many backtracks through the endgame area, and I can't help but wish for more than what the story delivered.

Many people have fond memories of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, which came out in 2010, tight handling, cool cutscenes, robust multiplayer, but there was just one problem: You couldn't drive where you wanted to on the map; you had to select an event.