Need for Speed II

Need for Speed II (1997)

by EA Canada, Electronic Arts
Genres:Simulator, Racing
Game modes:Single player, Multiplayer
Story:There are three main game types. The first two are single race and tournament and the last is a knockout race. Single races allow players to become familiar with the circuits and increase their skill of any one of the six tracks. The six tracks are called Mediterranean, Mystic Peaks, Proving Grounds, Outback, North Country, and Pacific Spirit.Show more
user avatarAdded by @omergd1
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Stories about this game (7)
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Honestly, if they ever get this game re-released (which is unlikely due to the licensing required for these decades-old cars, several of which are concept cars), they have to re-release Need for Speed II SE for those extra cars, the extra track, and the "Wild" driving style.
user avatar@RyudoTenjinuser avatar@RyudoTenjin
February 06, 2025
This was the first racing game I ever got. I NEVER had so much fun with a racing game than with this one. Even the new Need For Speed games which some of them I loved, are inferior to this one. It's a simple game. You choose a car from a list of AWESOME racing cars, you choose a course, and you're ready. No complicated mechanics, no weird things. Just you, the course and your rivals. Each one of the maps was different from the previous ones in difficulty and scenery. The graphics were good, the music was good. Man, I spent a lot of great memories playing tournaments of this game with my friends. But, if you were to get this game for us, GOG people, please consider getting the "SE - Special Edition" one. Not the first Need For Speed II. The SE was better in every single aspect. More cars, more courses, better graphics.
I played the track on the demo over and over, then I got the game and played over and over, then I got a joystick and played with it and broke all my previous records, so I played over and over. I have not found a working version of this for recent hardware anywhere so getting it here would be a blast. All other NFS are just NFS2 with "fast and furious" song on them, the real arcade feeling is still in this one.
user avatar@gog144user avatar@gog144
January 30, 2025
Nostalgia? Check. Opening movie with cool stylish cars? Check. Memorable main menu screen? Check. Two-player split-screen? Check. Iconic roster of supercars including concept cars? Check. Appropriate number of iconic tracks? Check. Awesome music? Check? Tracks have shortcuts, ramps, difficult bumps, difficult snow, T-rex, and other memorable features? Check. Short but sweet campaign? Check. Progressively difficult tracks? Check. Diverse locations? Check. Unlockable vehicle? Check. GOG should get it? Check.
Meeeeeeeh, this game cars and tracks(mirrored,reversed AND mirrored reverse) are like blueprinted in my inner membrane... and the soundtracks haunted me more times than I could ever remember, nothing else to say.
Need for Speed II SE may have been the very first game I played as a kid. In any case, it was the first to have a lasting impact. I can clearly remember playing it on the family Gateway PC running Windows 95. That was before I knew how to read. I had to navigate the menus by intuition. Watching the incredible live action intro still gives me chills and takes me right back to that time. There's nothing complicated here. No story, no career mode. Just pick a car, pick a track, and go. The physics model still holds up, especially in Simulation mode with an Xbox controller or similar. I still play this game regularly and would love to see it on GOG, along with all the other classic Need for Speed titles.
This is the game that made me the fan of NFS series. I loved the car introduction movies, the intro movie and the tracks. However, what made this and NFS3 absolutely fun was the fact that there were "code cars" hidden in both games and if GOG ever releases this and NFS3, I hope those hidden cars can be used because they were wild and fun to drive and there were many different kinds too. I even still have all the codes written in a notebook. So yeah, I hope GOG can some day start selling the old NFS games, because I am truly missing them.
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