These features aren't enough to save the game however. Unlike the original, the cars in NFS3 are all high caliber cars. That simple fact alone will lend to each car performing near the same level as the rest of the field. Indeed, the cars in Need For Speed 3 drive, perform and handle similarly to each other, with the only significant difference being the top speed. A simple downshift will get any car out of trouble in an understeering situation. Every car has enough power to peel out in the first three gears of acceleration, yet try as you may, getting a car to oversteer and throw the tail outwards through a corner is nearly impossible, even in the monstrous rear wheel drive Diablo SV. Each car performs and feels like any other: mushy. The Ferrari F355 feels like a C5 Corvette? Enzo would be turning over in his grave.
The courses also leave much to be desired. Gone are Need For Speed's trademark segmented street courses. In their stead are long loops disguised as road courses. Ordinarily this wouldn't be an issue, however none of the tracks have a true open straightaway that allow the cars to hit their limit. In fact, 6th gear is often never used on most tracks. Also gone are the short racetracks. Nothing has replaced them, and to EA's credit, nothing can replace them. Deduct a point for not including them in the game however.
Initially the player can choose between 8 courses, although the latter 4 are just enhanced versions of the prior, with added turns and detours. As the game progresses additional, tougher, bonus tracks become available. Electronic Arts tries to additionally differentiate between courses by adding environmental variables, differing times of day and mirroring to each track to add to the longevity of the game.
A solid multiplayer interface and playability over the internet is a must in today's games, and thankfully, Need For Speed 3 fits the bill quite nicely in this department. Players can choose between either head-to-head racing or an all out tournament against computer driven cars. However, just like in single player, the aspect of the game that shines in multiplayer is the Hot Pursuit mode. Drivers can choose to be either the cops or the speeders, or team up on either side of the law. There's no quicker or easier way to relive all your Smokey's Bandits and Dukes of Hazard childhood fantasies than 15 minutes in a police Corvette chasing down a buddy's Lamborghini Diablo at breakneck speeds through a small, Midwestern town.
If Electronic Arts skipped on the realism of the game, it's because they focused their energy on multiplayer playability. NFS3 ran almost flawlessly without any extended noticeable lag (there's about 5 seconds worth of stuttering at the beginning of each race) on a 28.8 connection over the internet and perfectly over an IPX network.
Need For Speed III supports up to eight players via a LAN (IPX) or over the internet (TCP/IP) and 2 players over a serial link or modem. For those of you without any online friends, fret not, as NFS3 also has a split screen option for multiplayer racing on the same computer.
