Need for Speed (NFS) is a racing game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Criterion Games, the developers of Burnout. The series generally centers around illegal street racing and tasks players to complete various types of races while evading the local law enforcement in police pursuits. The series is one of EA's oldest franchises not published under their EA Sports brand. The series released its first title, The Need for Speed, in 1994. The most recent game, Need for Speed Unbound, was released on December 2, 2022. Additionally, a free-to-play mobile installment released in 2015, Need for Speed: No Limits, is actively developed by Firemonkeys Studios, the developers of Real Racing 3.
Need for Speed: Underground is a 2003 racing video game and the seventh installment in the Need for Speed series. It was developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. Three different versions of the game were produced: one for consoles and Microsoft Windows, and another for the Game Boy Advance. An arcade version was additionally developed by Global VR, and was published by Konami with assistance from Electronic Arts.
Need for Speed: Underground 2 is a 2004 racing video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It is the eighth installment in the Need for Speed series and the direct sequel to Need for Speed: Underground. It was developed for Microsoft Windows, GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions were developed by Pocketeers, and a PlayStation Portable version, titled Need for Speed: Underground Rivals, was developed by Team Fusion. Another version for mobile phones was also developed. Like its predecessor, it was also commercially successful, selling around 11 million copies worldwide and breaking sales records in the United Kingdom.
Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 action-adventure game based on the 2004 film of the same name. The game is the sequel to 2002's Spider-Man, itself based on the 2002 film of the same name. It was released on June 29, 2004 for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Microsoft Windows, and Game Boy Advance, followed by N-Gage and Nintendo DS versions later the same year. A PlayStation Portable version was released almost one year later, on March 23, 2005. The Game Boy Advance version, developed by Digital Eclipse, was re-released on a twin pack cartridge and bundled with that system's version of the 2002 Spider-Man game in 2005. A tie-in game, titled Spider-Man 2: Activity Center, was also released in June 2004. Published by Activision, the console versions were developed by Treyarch, while the others had different developers and are drastically different as a result. The Treyarch-developed versions are considered a landmark title in the industry for being the first superhero video game to incorporate a full open world design.
Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition is a 2005 racing video game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third installment in the Midnight Club series. Like previous installments in the series, the game is an arcade-style racer and focuses on wild, high-speed racing, rather than realistic physics and driving. The name is derived from a partnership between Rockstar and DUB Magazine, which features heavily in the game in the form of DUB-sponsored races and DUB-customized vehicles as prizes.
Forza Motorsport is a 2005 simulation racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox gaming system. The word Forza is Italian for strength. The game is the first installment in the Forza series, a series that has continued on Microsoft's subsequent consoles, the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It features over 200 cars and multiple real world and fictional race courses. It also featured online multiplayer via Xbox Live. It is compatible on the Xbox 360 via backwards compatibility. Forza Motorsport received universal acclaim according to the review aggregation website Metacritic, and received a Gold sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The NPD Group reported that in its release month the game sold over 100,000 copies in North America.
Gears of War is a 2006 third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It is the first installment of the Gears of War series, and was initially released as an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 in November 2006. A Microsoft Windows version, developed in conjunction with People Can Fly, was released in November 2007. The game's main story, which can be played in single or co-operative play, focuses on a squad of troops who assist in completing a desperate, last-ditch attempt to end a war against a genocidal subterranean enemy, the Locust, and save the remaining human inhabitants of their planet Sera. The game's multiplayer mode allows up to eight players to control characters from one of the two factions in a variety of online game modes. Gameplay features players using cover and strategic fire in order to win battles.
Kill Switch is a third-person shooter video game developed by Namco USA in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. A Game Boy Advance port was released in 2004. The GBA port was created independently of Namco, due to a licensing deal with Destination Software. The PAL release of the PS2 port came with a demo of SOCOM II U.S. Navy SEALs on a separate disc.
Dirt and Dirt Rally, is a rally racing video game series developed and published by Codemasters. Codemasters had acquired the exclusive license to the World Rally Championship series in June 2020, which will begin as a five-year deal in 2023.
Voodoo Vince is a 2003 platform video game created by Clayton Kauzlaric, developed by American studio Beep Industries and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox. Unlike other Xbox games, however, this one is not compatible with an Xbox 360. It was released in North America on September 23, 2003, in Europe on October 17, 2003, and in Japan on July 22, 2004. A remastered version for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One was released on April 18, 2017.
Cars is a 2006 adventure racing game published by THQ. The game is based on the 2006 film of the same name. It was released for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable in June 2006, with versions for the Xbox 360 and Wii released later that year. The Wii version includes functionality geared towards its Wii Remote controller and was a launch game for the system. Taking place after the events of the film, the player controls the protagonist Lightning McQueen as he participates in the new racing season with the end goal of winning the Piston Cup for the first time in his career, while also racing and training with the local community of Radiator Springs.
Devil May Cry is an action-adventure hack and slash game franchise created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. Its gameplay consists of combat scenes in which the player must attempt to extend long chains of attacks, avoiding damage and exhibiting stylized combat by varying their attacks; this combat, along with time and the number of items collected and used, are considered in grading the player's performance. Across the series, new characters with unique skills are available.
Need for Speed: Undercover is a 2008 racing video game, and is the twelfth installment in the Need for Speed series. Developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts, it was released on November 18, 2008, for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and a number of mobile phone platforms. An edition of the game for iOS was later released on April 27, 2009. The game sees players conducting illegal street races within the fictional Tri-City Area, with the main mode's story focused on the player operating as an undercover police officer to investigate links between a criminal syndicate, stolen cars, and street racers.
Dante's Inferno is a 2010 action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable in February 2010. The PlayStation Portable version was developed by Artificial Mind and Movement.
Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony is the second of two episodic expansion packs available for the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. The game was released individually for the Xbox 360 on 29 October 2009, and for the PlayStation 3 and Windows on 13 April 2010, as part of a standalone disc-based package titled Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, which also contains Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned and does not require the base game to be played. Microsoft added Episodes from Liberty City to its backwards compatibility list for Xbox One platforms in February 2017.
Bulletstorm is a 2011 first-person shooter game developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games and published by Electronic Arts (EA). The video game is distinguished by its system of rewarding players with "skillpoints" for performing increasingly creative kills. Bulletstorm does not have any competitive multiplayer modes, preferring instead to include cooperative online play and score attack modes. Set in the 26th century, the game's story follows Grayson Hunt, a space pirate and former black ops soldier who gets shot down on a war-torn planet while trying to exact revenge on General Sarrano, his former commander who tricked him and his men into committing war crimes and assassinating innocents.
Forza is a racing video game series for Xbox consoles and Microsoft Windows published by Xbox Game Studios.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a 2005 racing video game, and the ninth installment in the Need for Speed series. Developed by EA Canada and EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts, it was released in November 2005 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance and Xbox 360. An additional version, Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0, was released in the same year for PlayStation Portable. The game focuses on street racing-oriented gameplay involving a selection of events and racing circuits found within the fictional city of Rockport, with the game's main story involving players taking on the role of a street racer who must compete against 15 of the city's most elite street racers to become the most wanted racer of the group, in the process seeking revenge against one of the groups who took their car and developing a feud with the city's police department.
Forza Motorsport 5 is a 2013 racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One. The game was released on November 22, 2013 as a launch title. The game was revealed on May 21, 2013 during the Xbox One reveal event. Jeremy Clarkson, who was featured in the previous installment, Forza Motorsport 4, returned to narrate alongside James May, and Richard Hammond who co-presented alongside Jeremy in Top Gear. The narration was used for the game's commentary when choosing a new event, championship, or league. It is the fifth Forza Motorsport and sixth overall installment in the Forza series.
Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 is a simulation video game developed by Polish studio Red Dot Games depicting the work of an automotive mechanic. It was released on July 28, 2017, for Microsoft Windows; in 2019 on February 15 for Nintendo Switch and June 25 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A simplified version for mobile platforms was released in June 2018. The game is the third in the Car Mechanic Simulator series, following Car Mechanic Simulator 2014 and Car Mechanic Simulator 2015, the game is the predecessor of Car Mechanic Simulator 2021, which was released on August 11, 2021.
