Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, released as Need for Speed: Porsche 2000 in Europe, and as Need for Speed: Porsche in Germany and Latin America, it is the 5th installment of the Need for Speed Series, developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. Unlike other NFS titles, Porsche Unleashed centers around racing Porsche sports cars, with models ranging from 1950 to 2000. The game was noted for its extensive information regarding Porsche and its cars. Unlike the previous four Need for Speed games, Porsche Unleashed was not released in Japan. There is also a online-only version of the game called Need for Speed: Top Speed.
Tracks
Most of the tracks are a rally style course that follows a point-to-point configuration set in Western Europe. The city Monte Carlo is the only location where circuit races in five different variations are held. They are as follows:
- Alps
- Autobahn
- Auvergne
- Corsica
- Cote d'Azur
- Monte Carlo
- Normandie
- Pyrenees
- Schwarzwald
- Zone Industrielle
- Weissach Skid Pad
Cars
Any car in the game is manufactured by Porsche. Most of the street cars come in different variations.
PlayStation version
While largely identical to the PC version, a number of changes were made for the PlayStation release. In Evolution mode, the music and graphics adapt to the era (the Classic era, for example, contains a monochrome interface with oldies music). Besides changing the paint, cars are not customizable. Several additional cars were added that were not available on the PC version: the Porsche 356/1, the Porsche 924, the Porsche 928, the Porsche 959, the Porsche 911 Carrera RS (964), the Porsche 968, and road versions of the Porsche 911 GT2 (993) and the Porsche 911 GT3 (996). The Porsche 935/78 was replaced by the Porsche 917K in a distinctive Gulf Oil paint scheme.
Need for Speed: Top Speed
Need for Speed: Top Speed is an additional online-only conversion of Porsche Unleashed released in response to both the release of MacGillivray Freeman's 2002 IMAX film, Top Speed, and the Porsche Cayenne. The game features three existing tracks from Porsche Unleashed and three Porsche vehicles: the Porsche 911 Turbo (996), the Porsche 959, and the Porsche Cayenne Turbo. Access to Need for Speed: Top Speed was bundled alongside the Windows version of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2.