Forza Motorsport

Developer Turn10 has established itself as one of the best names when it comes to delivering racing games that are not only realistic in a visual sense but also from a functional viewpoint. The latest Forza Motorsport is emblematic of those strengths, and this simulation racer improves upon what came before in all the right ways. Right from the visual presentation to the new dynamic daytime systems to the carefully recreated cars, Forza Motorsport is a consistently impressive experience that can take up dozens upon dozens of hours.

Ghost Games may be off of the Need for Speed franchise but their work in Need for Speed Heat wasn’t half-bad. The game’s customization is leagues better than previous efforts and allows for personalization in a number of different ways. Upgrading one’s car usually falls into three different cores – Engine, Chassis and Auxiliary.

Let’s go over the engine first. You’ll generally have 7 to 10 available engines for each vehicle, barring some exceptions. You can have several different types of Forced Induction in an engine, which can change the overall performance depending on your set-up. Then there’s Nitrous, which will provide a nice speed boost but having more requires a higher capacity system. Going with several small Nitrous bottles allows for more opportunities to use each at the cost of overall power. If you’re interested in one large boost and know exactly where it will be needed, install a large Nitrous bottle instead.

The Chassis consists of the different suspension, brakes and tires used in a vehicle, which in turn impacts the overall handling. Depending on a part’s level, the overall handling will be impacted that much more. For example, upgrading tires will provide much more grip while also increasing acceleration. Different tires, suspension and differentials can be used for racing, drifting, off-road racing and so on.

Auxiliary allows you to have an active item, which is triggered by the player – like refilling Nitrous bottles instantly or a repair kit – and a passive item, which is always active. The latter includes more Nitrous gained when performing certain moves like drafting, dealing more damage to cop cars and so on. Think of these as perks that can further compliment your play-style or get you out of a pinch.

How do you go about acquiring new parts? Leveling up is a good reliable method since shops will stock new parts each time. There are different events which dole out parts as well though some, like High Heat events, may involve having to run from the police upon completing the race. Keep in mind that you need to partake in night activities to increase your Rep level – currency aka Bank alone will not be enough to buy new parts.

On a separate note, if you want to tune the exact sounds coming from your car’s exhaust, then Need for Speed Heat offers plenty of options here as well. Numerous sliders are available for pipe resonance, tone, and so on, and they can also change depending on performance level. It’s just another extra detail for better personalizing a car to be your own.

The NPD Group has released data for video game software and hardware sales in the United States during the month of November 2019 (via GamesBeat), and it was a big month in terms of new releases. On top, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare remains unmoved, retaining the pole position from last month, and maintaining its position as the best-selling game of the year.

Meanwhile, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order occupies the second spot, enjoying the second biggest launch month for a Star Wars games in terms of dollar sales, trailing only behind 2015’s Star Wars: Battlefront. It has also instantly become the ninth best-selling game of the year, while also becoming Respawn Entertainment’s biggest launch in the US ever.

The next three positions are all dominated by Pokemon, which has performed just as well in the US as it has in other areas of the world, including the likes of Japan and the UK. Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are in at No. 3 and No. 5 respectively, sandwiching Pokemon Sword and Shield Double Pack in fourth place.

Notably, this is the series’ best ever launch month in the US, which is really saying something, outperforming Pokemon Sun and Moon. In fact, if the three separate packages were counted as a single game, Pokemon Sword and Shield would be placed 2nd in the charts.

Death Stranding, meanwhile, is in seventh place, while fellow new release Need for Speed Heat is No. 9. Additionally, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, placed 17th, has become the best-selling fighting game in US history, outselling the previous holder of the record, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

You can check out the full NPD software charts for November 2019 below.

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
2. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order^
3. Pokémon Sword*
4. Pokémon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack*
5. Pokémon Shield*
6. Madden NFL 20
7. Death Stranding
8. NBA 2K20
9. Need for Speed: Heat
10. Luigi’s Mansion 3*
11. FIFA 20
12. Borderlands 3
13. The Outer Worlds
14. Just Dance 2020
15. Mario Kart 8*
16. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
17. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
18. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
19. Grand Theft Auto V
20. Mortal Kombat 11

* Digital sales not included
^ Steam sales not included

THE DIVISION 2

The Division 2 moved away from the wintery urban apocalypse of Manhattan to sun-drenched streets of Washington D.C., and it proved to be an excellent change in scenery. The Division 2’s world is large, diverse, and impeccably designed, full of interesting things to do and sights to see, and brimming with the same level of detail that its predecessor displayed so proudly as well.

Need for Speed Heat is one of the better Need for Speed games we’ve had in years. Instead of focusing on forced online-only play, or a ham-fisted story, or loot boxes and microtransactions, Heat instead devotes its energies to thrilling cop chases, fun racing, and tons of customization. Though it’s still a game with plenty of issues, it feels like a step in the right direction for the series.

Critics have largely been of the same opinion, and to highlight some of the praise the open world racer has received, EA have released an accolades trailer. There’s plenty of gameplay footage in there as well, so if you’re interested in the game, you might want to take a look. Check it out below.

Need for Speed Heat is out now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and has enjoyed a solid launch. In our own review of the game, we called it “the best and most enjoyable Need for Speed game in years” and “a great comeback for the franchise.” Read our full review through here.

EA’s Origin Access Premium, which is the higher tier version of their PC fork of their EA Access subscription service (yes, I know that’s a lot to remember) gets EA’s games available in the catalog, ready to play from the get go, unlike regular EA/Origin Access, which have to wait months, if not more, for EA’s latest releases to be added to their vault.

So of course it should come as no surprise to anyone that this month’s batch of additions to Origin Access Premium includes EA’s two big hits released this month—Need for Speed Heat, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Both games are available on the service now, alongside Tacoma, as well as a new game named Little Misfortune, the bittersweet story of a young boy who tries to find happiness.

Honestly, though, both games are great enough to purchase, so if you don’t have them already, and don’t have Origin Access Premium, get out there and change that.

Ghost Games’ Need for Speed Heat is about racing and making Bank during the day while evading the cops for Rep in the night. You could go about playing the game and just unlocking things normally. However, those who are nearly finished or want to unlock cars, upgrades etc super quickly, there are a number of useful farming methods.

First up is farming for Bank. You can head to The Resort’s Circuit and play that a few times, though the amount earned goes down with each completion. It’s possible to quit out and load back into the game to reset the rewards. However, to earn a few millions quickly, partake in a few Time Trials like Heights, Trouble and Thread the Needle. The key in these races is to always finish one second ahead of your ghost, because you’ll receive the same amount of Bank with each new record set.

For farming Rep, head over to Downtown Palm City at night and look for the two Speed Traps close to each other. Drive back and forth between these Speed Traps until you’ve got a Heat x5 multiplier. If the cops get on your tail, just hit the jumps and you should be cleared. Once you’re satisfied with the amount of Rep, head to a garage and bank it, taking care not to get caught. This should increase your rank very quickly. For more detailed demonstrations, check out the video guides below.

Need for Speed Heat marks a sort of return to form for EA’s long running racing game series. One would hope that this would translate to sales success, but that wasn’t always a given—the brand hasn’t put out a truly great game for almost the entire generation, and EA has curiously decided to forego much, if any, marketing for the game at all.

Thankfully, it seems like even with those considerations, Heat has been a success. Posting today on Twitter, developers Ghost Games shared that Need for Speed Heat actually set a franchise record for the most number of players in the launch week this generation. Now that’s a wordy statement with a lot of caveats, but it does seem to suggest that initial update from the community has been good. Hopefully there will be positive word of mouth that will translate to ongoing sales for the game, too.

Need for Speed Heat is out now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

https://twitter.com/GhostGamesEA/status/1196443336539824129

Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding had a fairly strong launch in the United Kingdom, becoming the second biggest exclusive launch for the region this year. Sales in Japan appear to be equally strong as per Famitsu’s estimates for software and hardware sales from November 4th to November 10th. The title sold 185,909 units at retail and topped the charts.

It’s not as strong as Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, which sold 293,652 units on the PS4 in its launch week in Japan. But given that Death Stranding is a new IP, that too one with unorthodox gameplay, sales are still fairly strong. Other new releases this week include Need for Speed: Heat which sold 16,303 units for the PS4.

Check out the top 10 best-selling titles in Japan for the week below (along with their overall lifetime sales). To the surprise of no one, the Nintendo Switch continues to sell well. The regular version sold 54,249 units while the Switch Lite managed to sell 34,523 units. The full list of best-selling hardware for the week in Japan can also be seen below.

Software Sales (Lifetime sales in bracket)

1. Death Stranding (Limited Editions Included) – 185,909 (New)
2. Luigi’s Mansion 3 – 54,680 (205,329)
3. Ring Fit Adventure – 52,240 (235,925)
4. Persona 5 Royal (Limited Edition Included) – 20,113 (221,561)
5. Need for Speed: Heat – 16,306 (New)
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – 16,179 (171,754)
7. Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – 14,276 (33,714)
8. Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition (Bundle Version Included) – 8,321 (995,523)
9. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 7,866 (2,519,528)
10. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 7,693 (3,324,998)

Hardware Sales (Lifetime sales in bracket)

1. Switch – 54,249 (9,432,695)
2. Switch Lite – 34,523 (452,966)
3. PlayStation 4 Pro – 8,546 (1,316,224)
4. PlayStation 4 – 7,264 (7,166,947)
5. New 2DS LL (including 2DS) – 1,720 (1,672,834)
6. New 3DS LL – 54 (5,884,992)
7. Xbox One S – 34 (91,421)
8. Xbox One X – 30 (17,299)
9. PS Vita – 22 (5,862,766)

You’ll spend a lot of time racing in Need for Speed: Heat, whether it’s evading the cops at night or attempting to earn legit bank during the day. Many techniques like drifting will become important so it’s good to master them right away. If you have a drift-capable car, then it’s just a matter of lightly pressing the brakes when approaching a corner.

As your car drifts, you can ride it out and then drive normally as you exit the turn. The other solution is to press Square or X on PS4/Xbox One respectively. This is an option for regular vehicles and you only need to tap the button. The car will start drifting so just ride it out and straighten up once you leave the turn.

One final drifting solution is releasing the accelerator (which is R2/RT) as you enter a corner. Press it again as you navigate the corner and the drift should start. Ride it out until you’ve navigated the corner and then adjust your vehicle accordingly once you’re out.

How to Earn Reputation

There are two currencies in the game – Bank, which is the hip term for money and Rep, which is short for reputation. Bank is earned by completing races during the day and can be used to acquire different items/upgrades. Unfortunately, if you don’t have enough Rep, then shops won’t bother selling to you.

Grinding out Rep is a matter of participating in night races. Of course, since they’re illegal, the cops will quickly zero in on you. After completing a race, you’ll notice the Heat meter rising. If you keep racing, you’ll garner more attention from the police and it becomes tougher to not to get caught.

Once you’ve gotten enough Rep, locate a safe house to collect it all. The more Heat and police on your tail, the more Rep collected. If you’re caught, you lose all the Rep gathered along with some Bank. Various challenges are also on offer which provide Bank and Rep as well though the more rewarding challenges will also be more difficult.