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Criterion's Alex Ward Comments On Possible Studio Direction

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Tue, 04/16/2013 - 08:04
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Criterion Games could finally be branching out once again as a developer based on chatter that arose yesterday.  After refuting claims that the studio was working on a reboot/remake of NFS: Underground, Criterion Games Creative Director Alex Ward took to Twitter to reveal that there may be a focus on games that don’t revolve around elaborate car chases or vehicular mayhem.

Criterion Reportedly Not Doing NFS: Underground Remake

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Fri, 04/12/2013 - 05:21
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Rumors of another reboot in the Need for Speed franchise have now been debunked by Criterion Games Creative Director Alex Ward.  Originating from EGM, rumor had it that a reboot of NFS: Underground was in the works. 

The rumor itself seemed plausible given the previous NFS reboots that have been released in recent years and reportedly jived with tidbits EGM had heard about such a thing. Though now it seems like the rumor is nothing but bunk.

EA Reveals New Swedish Based Studio Tasked With Creating New Need For Speed

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Wed, 11/14/2012 - 10:29
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EA always has a plan for everything, more so when it involves one of their core franchises. No major shake-ups have occurred in the world of EA franchises, such as the FIFA team suddenly taking on Madden, but a new studio has been added to the fray to handle the ever growing Need For Speed franchise. 

Need For Speed Most Wanted Ups The Ante In This New Video

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Sat, 07/28/2012 - 12:16
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At E3 last month EA and Criterion did us a solid by bringing back Need For Speed Most Wanted albeit in a different form.  The Most Wanted name may be back, but as Criterion did with NFS Hot Pursuit, the Guildford based studio is putting their own unique spin on the game which of course puts fast racing to the forefront along with a healthy amount of car chases and elaborate wrecks.

Need For Speed: Most Wanted Hands-On [E3 2012]

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 14:27
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It may seem like EA is simply beating a dead horse, but the Need For Speed franchise continues to thrive with every new installment that’s released. Sure, there may be a stinker or two such as NFS: The Run, but even then the series manages to grab an audience that’s enthralled by the prospect of driving fast and extremely recklessly as opposed to taking four driving tests before the action finally heats up. 

Criterion (Burnout, Need for Speed) Working On PlayStation Vita Game

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Wed, 05/16/2012 - 12:42
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The past two months have been extremely painful if you’re a PlayStation Vita owner since the offerings on the platform have been slim.  There’s always a post-launch dry spell, but for some reason it seems a bit tougher for the Vita seeing as how the system got off to a good start with the release of games such as Wipeout, Uncharted, and Lumines yet here we are with nothing to entice us.   Core Vita gamers have been doing their best to stay patient despite starving for goodness to keep them entertained.

Burnout Crash [Review]

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Tue, 09/27/2011 - 08:35
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Overall Feeling: 

Burnout Crash is a nice experiment in taking the core Burnout formula to a new territory except that it completely fails in the process.  Having an easy to pick-up and play arcade action game is fine but following up the prestigious lineage of the Burnout series and knowing the obvious talents of developer Criterion Games makes Burnout Crash hard to accept in any form.  There are some fun moments in Burnout Crash but the sheer simplicity of the game and how it throws away core trademarks of the Burnout franchise far outweigh whatever slight fun is to be had. 

The Pros: 

+ The controls in general are easy.
+ Some of the special hazards are entertaining, even if they’re totally ridiculous.

The Cons: 

- The Crash Junctions lack an overall amount of skill and careful planning.
- Visually the game is basic, even by PSN/XBLA standards, which leads to uneventful crashes/explosions.
- Commentator/radio personalities make my ears bleed.
- Game feels a bit cheap at times which leads to more frustration than immediate satisfaction.
- Online/Autolog features are rather slim and leaderboards are limited to friends only.

ShogunGamer.com Rating : 
3

It may not seem like it, especially to those who started gaming with the PS3 and Xbox 360, but Burnout is a pretty huge franchise.  Obviously stating as such isn’t too much of a surprise considering Criterion released five core Burnout entries for various platforms, but as a whole Burnout is important for one key thing: it kept the arcade racing genre alive for the last ten years.  Arcade style games aren’t as prevalent as they used to be but Criterion managed to do something special with Burnout and it caught on with people.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit [Review]

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 08:50
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Overall Feeling: 

As a huge fan of arcade racing games, I was simply blown away by what Criterion created in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. The game boasts an incredible amount of variety, an addicting ranking progression system and an online component that extends the core single-player adventure by an innumerable amount. It shouldn’t be a surprise, but Criterion has once again created a racing experience that’s visually lush and more than entertaining. Long live the resurrection of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and all hail Criterion.

The Pros: 

The world of Seacrest County may not be a bustling metropolis but it’s a complete playground for driving recklessly. Taking a more realistic approach to the car handling, Criterion has combined the perfect mix of driving skill and arcade driving sensibilities. The Autolog stat/friend tracking system is a terrific addition to racing games in general and provides a constant back-and-forth battle between friends. Ranking up in the game never feels like a burden but requires a certain amount of skill when playing.

The Cons: 

Unless you’re a tween or lover of alt rock music, you may not dig the soundtrack of the game. There isn’t an immediate sense of speed when using boost, both from a visual and control perspective. Some of the Time Trials for both the Racers and Cops can be a bit difficult to earn Gold medals.

ShogunGamer.com Rating : 
9

Barreling down the roads of Seacrest County I can’t help but smile.  Not only does the county have copious amounts of beautiful vistas, but to me being behind the wheel of an Aston Martin while my speedometer clocks in at 160mph makes things so much better.

Take a tour of the winding roads and gorgeous cars of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit [Video]

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Mon, 10/04/2010 - 06:36
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We’ve seen quite a few videos for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit but they’ve all left us wanting more.  A job of a trailer is of course to hype people up, but what we’ve seen of Hot Pursuit left us wanting something very specific: show us more of the damn world.  NFS: Hot Pursuit 2 on the PS2 was a classic mainly because of its great variety on the location side of things.

New Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit trailer offers more deadly yet thrilling racing

Submitted by Ian Fisher on Mon, 09/27/2010 - 05:16
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I’m a huge fan of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 I was absolutely elated when EA announced the Hot Pursuit reboot at E3.  Then I got some hands-on time with the game at EA’s massive E3 booth and I was in a way less than impressed, though not completely disappointed, with what was offered.  Walking away with my head down, I was a bit bummed out that my favorite arcade game featuring luxury vehicles wasn’t the epic racing game it once was.  But my frown was turned upside down two months later when I tried the game out at a

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