Free - to - dramatic play game often attend sympathetic , but it ’s difficult to know at a glance whether the business concern model is insidious and fun ruining , or reasonable and worth pump a few bucks into . With Freemium Field Test , we ’ll take a late destitute - to - play iOS game , put it through its paces , and rent you bed if it ’s really deserving your time ( and money ) .
After a string ofsuccessful premium iOS entree , EA ’s long - running colonnade racing franchise has finally gone free - to - work withNeed for hurrying : No Limits . And if you know anything about freemium games , you have to admit that the deed of conveyance is either brazen or misleading — probably both , in reality .
Ah , the neon - patrician glow of advance with nitrous while smashing up a cop cruiser .
Ofcourseit has limitations , but it ’s also a pretty well - made nomadic race driver from the studio apartment ( Firemonkeys ) behind one of the App Store ’s skilful barren racer , Real Racing 3 . take for Speed : No Limits has its own singular feel from that sim - centric submission , and does n’t necessarily provide as much enjoyment from the drive itself . But if you dug the street racing polish ofFast & Furious : Legacyand just wanted to in reality get behind the wheel of those blistering drive , Need for Speed might occupy that void .
The pitch
It ’s right there in the franchise title : want for upper : No Limits puts tight , phrenetic racing action above realism as you outrun rivals , whop through police roadblocks , and boost for hilariously longsighted stretches through closed - off city street . And it count pretty fantastical doing so , with glossy cars and wad of presentational polish .
No Limits is base in cloak-and-dagger street culture , with your character attempt to go up through the rank by winning races , earning cash and cred , and constantly upgrading your ride to restrict for more challenging events . Much of the action issue forth within the abstemious account mode , wherein you ’ll take on a series of airstream and other drive case with a scrap of dialog stringing them together .
Lots of carte to dunk into , and lots of effect to find within .
Unlike the console table and PC games in the series , No Limits keeps its airstream amazingly short — like 20 to 45 seconds apiece in most typeface , with the longest I played barely over a arcminute in distance . That makes sense for a peregrine game , especially one with a depleting vitality meter ( more on that soon ) , but that approaching limits the satisfaction of the factual racing . With only seconds behind the wheel before you ’re back at a carte , there ’s not a pot of depth or strategy to the action . And the contact controls find a little stiff , but I still prefer it to slippery controversy steerage .
Luckily , the game keeps things lively with a salubrious mix of upshot case . Often , you ’ll race against a trio of estimator - check cars — with the usernames and faces of other online players attached , like in Real Racing 3 — or attempt to beat another racer while a cop elevator car tries to slow you both down . Elsewhere , you might need to thump a timer en road to the finish line while build up your boost meter by vaulting off of ramp or zipping across glowing blue encouragement pad on the ground .
You ’ll slowly accumulate parts and blueprints to elevate your ride and good perform in races .
Many free - to - act as racing game — likeCSR Racing , or Fast & Furious Legacy , for example — front nice , but keep things simplistic by taking direct car ascendency out of your hands . No Limits one - ups those title by in reality let you drive , but the short - and - sweet nature means that it knead better as a self-colored beguilement than a root of really piquant , riveting drive action . Thankfully , there ’s flock here to amuse and distract .
The catch
Need for speeding : No demarcation line soft - launch in some countries nine full months before it hit North America , so EA had passel of time to complicate its business example . And truth be recite , while the name isutter falderol , the limitations are n’t that punitive . You really can love a lot of what No Limits has to provide without spending money .
And No Limits really does have a lot to offer up . Beyond the aforementioned story modality , you ’ll find legion side races , plenty of cars to unlock and advance , and lots of potential pigment schemes to spray on your drive . But if you ’re playing for barren , you should n’t look to apply gamey - ending rims or chrome paint anytime shortly , as the sluggish grind means you ’ll wedge with starter machine and low - level upgrades .
Around storey 15 is where I first had to shell out atomic number 79 to keep playing without taking a breather . early on on , the frequent refills avoid the issue .
Your short - term advancement in No Limits can be stymied by the fuel beat , which supplies 10 units ( gallons ? ) to combust through before it has to regenerate — or be refilled with in - game currency . Each event takes one to three fuel units to set out , but each meter you level off up , your measure is fully fill again . And that happens very frequently in the early hours , plus the first prison term you incline out of gas , the game offers a free refill . In fact , I played for a good few hour — often in stretch of 30 - plus minutes at a time , too — before I in reality require to spend the in - game amber to replenish the tank .
The other major restriction comes with the player level itself , as the Underground calling mode will now and again keep you from enter the next chapter until you hit a sure level . But that ’s really no job due to the huge amount of fillip Car Series races . As long as you have the throttle for them , you could zip up through those extra events and boost your level in no time . That said , every so often , you ’ll also run into a barrier in the Underground musical mode where your gondola wo n’t be powerful enough to enter an consequence — so you ’ll need to run away through other race or spend some money on constituent . Guess which itinerary is faster ?
Limitations ? You reckon : the drive wo n’t retain at times unless you boost your histrion / repute level .
I never really felt enticed to expend John Cash in No Limits , give the unnumbered ways to make for , but EA certainly provide ways to induct grownup . Gold packs are available in packs ranging from $ 2 ( 50 gold ) to $ 100 ( 3,750 amber ) , and modified time bundles are available for $ 10 or $ 20 a pop , deport a rare car and mayhap some gold , cash , or parts . That ’s what I ended up buying : A $ 10 pack for a Dodge Challenger , 290 gold , and $ 50,000 in in - game cash . And that allow for me to get at and dominate some extra airstream right away , but there ’s plenitude of brief fun to be had without spending at all .
However , there is one interesting pass here that could really be deserving it for regular player : For $ 3 , you get 50 gold per day for 30 day . assume you play daily , that ’s 1,500 gold for three horse . You ’d have to give $ 50 to get that much gold at once , and although it come at a slow trickle , it provides a nice , long - last bonus over time . It ’s surprising , really , but it seems like a really smart move on EA ’s part to get players gift and keep them checking back daily .
A hundred bucks for a truck retain a safe full of virtual money ? Believe it . We ’d rather grab the $ 3 daily go for 30 days of gold .
The verdict
Granted , I ’m not sure there ’s a month deserving of daily play in Need for Speed : No limit — there ’s a bunch of content , but the brusk airstream and repeated tracks mean it all feels a chip samey before long . It ’s sure noAsphalt 8 : Airbornein footing of free - to - manoeuvre entertainment , peculiarly since No Limits does n’t have true caput - to - top dog on-line play .
But that ’s a feature that Real Racing 3 gained over metre , and I can only trust that require for Speed likewise becomes more comprehensive in the calendar month to come . Even if not , it ’s a fun little game to play for a few days or a couple weeks , and it has more to offer than other top free street racing pick .
