Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed

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, is a 2000 semi-realistic racing video game. It is the fifth 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.

Gameplay
Players can race in four game modes: Single player and Multiplayer, Factory Driver, and Evolution. A replay of the previously entered event by a player can be saved after completion.

Single player and Multiplayer
Players can create custom races, alter the difficulty level, change the number of opponents (up to seven), the cars the opponents are driving, traffic density, and driving direction in a similar style as Need for Speed: High Stakes. Players can participate in Multiplayer modes across the Internet, LAN, or peer to peer (modem or IP) games.
 * Quick Race - Players can drive in standard races at a location of their choice.
 * Quick Knockout - The driver in last position is eliminated after each lap until their is only one driver remaining.
 * Knockout - The driver in last position is eliminated after each event until their is only one driver remaining.

Factory Driver
Factory Driver puts players in the role of official Porsche test drivers. Players are given various simple tasks such as performing 360 degree spins before being able to sign with Porsche. Players will need to deliver cars and take part in races after being signed on to Porsche. They also need to beat challenges from other test drivers, such as slaloms through parts of tracks, or test cars from the team's mechanic. The Factory Driver in the PC version greatly differs from the PSX version.

Evolution
In the Evolution mode players purchase and race cars in a series of tournaments and club meeting events. Each is divided into three eras: Classic Era, Golden Era, and Modern Era. Players start from the introduction of the Porsche 356 1100 to the debut of the Porsche 911 Turbo (996). Most tournaments differ in difficulty level, the fee for entry, and the number of tracks and course types.

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

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.