Need for Speed: Rivals

Fast, furious, and fun. NFS: Rivals blends Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted to great effect.

Need for Speed: Rivals smartly builds on the strong foundation of its predecessors to deliver an aggressive arcade racer that bristles with energy.

Ghost Games will likely get there, though, and what they've conjured up in their debut effort is a remarkable achievement. Before downsizing, Criterion created some of the last generation's very best arcade racers in Hot Pursuit and Burnout Paradise. Ghost Games has carried on that torch and crafted a racer that any of its competitors would do well to match in the new generation.

It's not the most stable racer, but Need for Speed Rivals puts spectacular ideas to great use

Need for Speed: Rivals is a wholly enjoyable open-world racer. The driving is solid, its streets are a joy to explore, and its racing assignments--though a bit repetitive at times--are incentive enough to keep you coming back for more.

Retains many of the staples from the Need for Speed series, but paves its own path with its dynamic shared worlds

Just be sure to take breaks when playing the racer campaign, as the grind, and the suicidal cops can wear on you.

Need For Speed: Rivals puts you in a gaiant , connected web of high-speed car chases where you can join in on (or spoil) other people's fun.

This is agonisingly close to being at the front of the pack, and is the best arcade racer on the PS4 by default, but its missteps mean that it's a millisecond away from a podium place.

Need for Speed: Rivals is a terrific entry in the series, taking the strongest elements of its predecessors to build something familiar but with its sights clearly on the future with regards to online integration. The lighting and weather effects look fantastic thanks to the next generation hardware and the sense of speed is as exhilarating as ever. The six player restriction is a tad disappointing, and minor issues such as the uninspired narrative and the frequent disorientation after resetting from a crash eat away at the experience slightly, but otherwise Rivals is a top notch racer you really shouldn't let pass you by.