Need for Speed: High Stakes

Need for Speed: High Stakes, released in Japan as Over Drivin' IV, released in Europe and Brazil as Need for Speed: Road Challenge, released in Germany as Need for Speed: Brennender Asphalt, and released in France as Conduite en etat de liberte, is the fourth game in the Need for Speed series. It once again features a host of exotic cars and tracks located in Western Europe and North America. It is notable in the Need for Speed franchise for the first installment to include a damage model and a career mode where the player earns money by winning races and can spend it on more cars, upgrades, or repairs. There is also Classics, DICE, and Sold Out versions of Need for Speed: Road Challenge for Windows and a Platinum version of Need for Speed: Road Challenge for the PlayStation.

Gameplay
Need for Speed: High Stakes is an arcadier title compared to Hot Pursuit. Cars can make sudden swerves and brakes are usually not needed. The game also features higher jumps than seen in Hot Pursuit. High Stakes is the first Need for Speed game to include damage, which can affect the performance and appearance of cars after an impact with a wall, object, or other cars.

Need for Speed: Road Challenge (Platinum)
The Platinum version has a platinum/silver band on the games casing and the original disc design is replaced with a simple silver design with copyright notices along the edges and the games name in the centre surrounded by a black outline. This is just a distinction that a game receives after it has reached over 400,000 sales after generally one year on the market for all PlayStation game consoles. However, if a game reaches over 400,000 sales, it does not neccessarily qualify for a Platinum title.