The Need for Speed (Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed) is a racing video game developed by Pioneer Productions, a team within Electronic Arts Canada, and published by Electronic Arts. It was the first official game in the long-running Need for Speed series.
It was released in 1994 for the Panasonic 3DO, in 1995 for Microsoft DOS, with its final release in 1996 for the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It was re-released for PC in the form of Road & Track Presents The Need For Speed SE with compatibility with Microsoft Windows 95.
In Japan, it was rebranded as "Road and Track Presents: Over Drivin' DX". This was also the first Need for Speed title in Japan to be released under the title until Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed.
Two heavily localised console renditions were released specifically for Japan. This included the Sega Saturn release titled "Nissan Presents: Over Drivin' GT-R", and a PlayStation re-release of Over Drivin' DX as "Nissan Presents: Over Drivin' Skyline Memorial".
Gameplay
The gameplay of The Need for Speed follows a realistic premise. Road and Track magazine has provided EA with real data about the cars featured in the final game.
Each car has a different style of handling, performance, sounds and braking. The realistic gameplay was found to be simple for new players to pick up and play without much frustration at the start of play. Plus, each car could be driven in cockpit view.
Game Modes
There are four different types of races in the game. Police and traffic only appear in Head To Head mode.
- Head To Head - A duel between two racers in a Point A to Point B track. This is the only mode that features traffic cars and cops (when open road course is selected).
- Single Race - Players compete with up to seven opponents in either circuit or sprint tracks. In this mode players can select the number of oppoents, laps, etc.
- Time Trial - Players must beat a set time record in a track to win.
- Tournament - The player has to collect as many points as possible to succeed in a series of tracks. The player earns higher points by finishing closer to pole position at the end of a race.
No car in the title can drive off-road as the title uses blocking volumes to keep players on the track. This also prevents players from cheating by taking shortcuts in events.
Racers can be arrested by police on open road tracks. If a racer gets caught then they'll receive a ticket. When a racer receives three tickets (two tickets in the Sega Saturn version) they are arrested.
Car List
Cars included in The Need for Speed are divided into three classes with each representing different performance brackets such as speed and handling. It is impossible to modify the cars in any way.
Players can also access a Showcase Mode of each car. There it is possible to check general, historical, mechanical and performance information as well as a slideshow and short presentation video regarding the vehicle. The information screens are all commented by an announcer.
Class A
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Class B
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Class C
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Bonus
Traffic Cars
The Need for Speed features licenced traffic vehicles.
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Tracks
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Special Releases
The Need for Speed: Special Edition
A Special Edition of The Need for Speed was released in 1996 which included additional content missing from the 1995 PC release.
The Windows 95 release received several improvements to its rendering engine as well as two additional tracks. This was the only game in the series to support DOS as subsequent releases for the PC only ran on Microsoft Windows 95 or above.
Nissan Presents: Over Drivin' GT-R
| A heavily localised release of The Need for Speed in 1996 was made available for Sega Saturn in Japan, and featured only Nissan cars. | 
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Nissan Presents: Over Drivin' Skyline Memorial
| A heavily localised re-release of The Need for Speed in 1997 was made available for PlayStation in Japan following the Sega Saturn release, and featured only Nissan Skylines. | 
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Trivia
- Need for Speed: ProStreet, Need for Speed: Shift and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010) are partially inspired by this game.