NFS (Need for Speed) games have been the best thing that happened in many of our childhood. Racing with our dream cars and beating the rivals made us all happy. If you disagree with this statement, you may not try an NFS game in your life. It’s true that like any other creators, the franchise wasn’t a 100% success. But with the games like the NFS Most Wanted released in 2005, the series definitely made our lives a lot better with the endless entertainment it has inside. Never failing to keep the gamers entertained, the series has a lot of games which you should try. Here are the best NFS games for PC.
1. Need for Speed Most Wanted 2005
Released in 2005, Need for Speed Most Wanted was one of the best games at that time. Arguably, it is still one of the most popular racing games out there. Even with the presence of highly graphical games such as the Forza Horizon, there are still people who like the unquestioned mechanics and the large maps of the most wanted. With the best-looking graphics at that time, Most Wanted 2005 is easily the best racing game released by EA in the NFS series so far.
2. Need for Speed Carbon
NFS Carbon, released in 2006 was one of the most successful games of the series. Having a vast playground with different playing modes such as drifting, head-head battles, etc. Carbon can be easily considered as a great NFS game. Even though it cannot compete with modern racing games with those exceptional graphics quality and a wide map, Carbon is still the user favorite when it comes to NFS games. If you ever wanted to try something great without worrying about the graphics, this one is for you.
3. Need for Speed Underground 2
Being the 8th child of the EA in the NFS series, the NFS Underground 2 provides some serious car racing action to the racing game lovers. The game was released back in 2004, but surprisingly, it still has people playing it because of its great gaming mechanics, excellent car control, and a bunch of other features any racing game lovers would die to have. Exploring the city of Bayview is what you are going to do in this game which made super-fun with the inclusion of several goals and achievements.
4. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
NFS Hot Pursuit was released in 2010 by Electronic Arts and was developed by Criterion Games. Based on the racing in the American states of California, Oregon, and Washington, players can compete in different racing modes including online battles with other players. Players can make friends online and compete with them to unlock rewards and earn achievements. It has also won the Best Racing Game Award from the 2010 Game Critics Awards.
5. Need for Speed Underground
Being the 7th game in the NFS series, NFS Underground is nothing less than an action-packed racing game for Windows users. With excellent gaming mechanics and hundreds of different cars to choose from, the game is full of fun. The unlimited customization options and upgrades make it one of the best games in the NFS series and have been continuing as the user favorite for several years. Graphics may not be as good as the modern-day racing games but still beats several other games at the time.
6. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)
Released as the successor of the most popular Most Wanted in the NFS series, the Need for Speed: Most Wanted was a huge jump to the high-graphics. Racing throughout the city collecting cars parked on the roadsides, the game was something different from the traditional way of PC racing. Controls were a bit difficult when compared to the family members in the series, however, still worth learning to win the races and earn achievements throughout the game.
7. Need for Speed: The Run
The Run was released in 2011 as the eighteenth game in the title. The locations in the game are unquestioned due to their perfect graphics application and a huge open-world like environment. The game is not truly an open world, even though you will feel like playing in an open world scenario throughout your racing in The Run. The game wasn’t as user-favorite as the previous ones in the list, however, it still managed to gain a huge user-base for its existence. Worth a try.
8. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
Released in 2002 as the sixth game in the Need for Speed series, NFS: Hot Pursuit 2 is the successor of the Need for Speed 3: Hot Pursuit with a lot of improvements in almost every aspect of the game. Rated good by many trusted game critics, the game is something too good for a 2001 game. The wide range of locations to race on and the selection of hundreds of cars makes this a great PC game that brightened up many of our childhoods. While talking about NFS games, we could never forget the fun of Hot Pursuit 2.
9. Need for Speed World
A bit different from other games produced under NFS, the NFS World is an online version of the popular video game. It is a massively multiplayer open-world game (MMO) where players can compete with each other from their own computers. The game was released back in 2010 and was hugely popular at the time because of the unlimited possibilities and racing capabilities it has provided to the players. High-quality graphics and ridiculously good control mechanics made the World one of the best games ever released in the NFS family. No matter what age you are, you will always enjoy beating your competitors in an online NFS racing battle.
10. Need for Speed: Rivals
NFS Rivals is a comparatively newer game released in 2013 developed by Ghost Games and Criterion Software. It has excellent graphics packed inside with a big map to race on. Players can either be a cop or racer. If you chose to be a racer, you should race away from the cops without getting caught. If you like to be a cop instead, you will be served with a chance to track down the racers and catch them by hitting their vehicles and making them disabled unable to race anymore. A really fun-packed game for those who looking for decent graphics in their racing titles.
11. Need for Speed: Heat
NFS Heat was released in 2019 as the 24th title in the series. The game is nothing different from the traditional NFS games which include cops chasing you throughout the city and a bunch of usual features. However, there are a lot of improvements in the graphics incorporated with both night and day modes to play on. The game looks a bit like GTA V in terms of the graphics. The controls aren’t quite great considering the popularity of the title but still is better than many others in the series. Rated high by the critics, Heat is a good racing game to try your racing skills.
12. Need for Speed: Payback
As the 23rd game in the NFS series, Need for Speed Payback is an improved version of the cop-player NFS racing battles in the previous games. There are 3 different playable characters players can choose from to race in an open-world racing mode. Each character will have a specific skill set. So, choose them wisely based on how you are planning to race through the Fortune Valley which is a fictional version of Las Vegas.
13. Need for Speed (2015)
NFS 2015 is an open-world racing game with great graphics and 5 different racing modes as Speed, Style, Crew, Build, and Outlaw. Players can earn points by completing the tasks and progressing through the storyline. The modifications and customization options are improved drastically than the previous games in the series. The storyline is revolving around the player and a group who are all street racing and motorsport figures. Surely a great game where the racing is involved, well, only racing is involved.
14. Need for Speed: Undercover
Not different from many other Need for Speed games, the Undercover also conducts street racing making cops angry resulting in them chasing you all over. Released in 2008 as the 12th installment in the series, Undercover is a good NFS game to try your racing skills on your PC. The game is quite similar to the previous ones such as the Most Wanted and Carbon in the series in terms of the controls and car mechanics. Players can take part in the illegal street races and beat the competitors to earn achievements and progress through the game.
15. Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed
An NFS racing game dedicated to the Porsche supercars. The game features several Porsche supercars that you can use to get to the top of your racing career. Not that great in terms of the graphics compared to the newer games, but still manages to hold on to the competition with the addictive gameplay and different modes to try. Players can use different Porsche cars including 3 racing cars to race throughout the tracks in Europe. Race, stunt, win titles with your favorite Porsche cars from 1950-2000 in different modes or in the evolution mode where you will be given a model created back in 1955 and as you evolve through the racing career, will be given better and newer models.
16. Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed
NFS Shift 2 Unleashed is the successor of the Shift and comes with a number of improvements in many aspects of the game. Developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by EA, the game was something that attracted the critics. Rated top by many game critics, we can easily consider this as one of the top NFS racing games to put our hands on. The career mode in the game is pretty fun with the guidance of the Formula D Champion, Vaughn Gittin in customizing the car, driving it, and winning the races. It also comes with a number of new additions such as the in-helmet camera, night-time racing, and Autolog.
17. Need for Speed: Shift
With numerous real-life-like racing tracks and a huge collection of different cars and upgrades to choose from, Shift is an accurate sketch of the real-life racing formulas. Quality graphics and real-life like control mechanics make it the perfect version of the racing titles. Customizable driver profiles, Dynamic crash effect, Photoreal cars and tracks, all make this a great Need for Speed game to put your time into.
18. Need for Speed 3: Hot Pursuit
As the name itself suggests, it will be a racing game where you will get chased by the cops and you have to escape them to get into further levels. The police cars will try to stop you in every way possible making it difficult for the player to complete the race. The AI is improved significantly compared to the recent titles making it much more difficult for you to complete the tasks and win the races. Being one of the oldest NFS games released back in 1998, Hot Pursuit was a great go-to place for racing fans at the time.
19. Need for Speed 2
Need for Speed 2 is the second installment in the game series. The racing game lovers experienced with the modern titles may not like this game as much as their favorites. However, for the kids who grew up in the 2000s, the game would be a memorable racing game at the time. As the second game in the title, there is no meaning in expecting some futuristic things inside the game. It can only be considered as a great step to the shiny future of the evolving NFS games.
20. Need for Speed: Prostreet
With 4 different game modes including the Drag race which is just the regular type of racing in a closed area, whoever wins with the minimum time wins the race. The Grip race mode where the user has to finish the line first. Top speed run where the total point will be the sum of the top speed they achieved when crossing each checkpoint. And lastly, the Drift mode where the points are calculated with the skills you perform using the drift.