Need for Speed II, released in Japan as Over Drivin' II, is a arcade racing video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second game in the Need for Speed series and follows The Need for Speed. It significantly changes from the emphasis of realism in The Need for Speed to arcade-like gameplay, though it also introduces car tuning. As does its predecessor, Need for Speed II features several exotic cars, and includes tracks set in various parts of world. The game also opted to remove police pursuits introduced in the The Need for Speed.
Gameplay
Need for Speed II can be played in either Single player or Multiplayer mode. The following race types can be played:
- Knockout - Knockout races are available once the player has completed a tournament. In this mode the player that is in last position after every lap will be eliminated. This goes on until there is only one player left.
- Single Race - Normal circuit races with a set number of laps.
- Tournament - A series of races that involves every track in the game, in which players with the most points wins the tournament. The better your position, the more points you earn.
Each of these race types can be customized. This includes physics (Arcade, Simulation, or Wild (Special Edition only)), catch-up mode, driving direction, opponents (Class, skill level, and how many (up to 7)), and a mirrored option of the the selected tracks. One thing that is unique about this game is the music, which is directly adapted to the gaming situation.
Need for Speed II: Special Edition
Need for Speed II: Special Edition, informerly called Need for Speed II SE, was released on November 6, 1997 in the United States and on February 2, 1998 in Japan and Europe. It includes an extra track, four extra cars, three bonus cars, a new driving style called "wild", and 3dfx Glide hardware-acceleration support. These new features add up to a substantially improved game. Because the Voodoo Graphics and the Voodoo Rush were the only 3dfx cards available at the time of the game's release, and because Electronic Arts did not future-proof the game's installer, the later 3dfx graphics card models such as the Voodoo 2 are not detected during the Need for Speed II SE installation process (a pop-up will confirm 3dfx detection). Subsequently, the installer doesn't copy from the disc the secondary version of the program with 3D acceleration. The problem is easily solved by manually copying and running the alternate executable file. Glide wrappers are available for non-3dfx graphics cards so that modern computers can run the game with hardware-acceleration. Besides smoothing out the in-game textures, the 3dfx version of the game also features additional visual effects not found in the software version, such as car reflections, weather, fog, shading, improved skybox rendering, and transparent in-game menu overlay featuring a rotating view around the player's car. These visual enhancements are standard in both the software and the hardware accelerated versions of Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, Need for Speed: High Stakes, Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2.