Parents' Guide to Need for Speed Heat

Continuing to improve the franchise from one chapter to the next, EA's open-world street racing series really nails it with this new installment. Set in the Miami-like Palm City, Need for Speed Heat has you engaging in illegal street races at night and sanctioned closed-street ones during the day. But unlike Payback and other racing games, the time of day doesn't slowly change when you're behind the wheel. Instead, players swap between day and night with the click of a button, and can even easily check which period has open events (it's usually the night). Not only does this switch change the kind of races you'll enter -- daytime is the right time for multi-lap events, while night races are point-to-point ones -- but the cops are also more determined to stop you when it's dark out. Which means night races have the added challenge of making you run from the police while trying to beat your competition. Add to that solid controls and twisty tracks made from wide city streets, and you have yourself a solid arcade-esque street racing game.

That said, there are some small speed bumps. This doesn't have the depth of options found in other recent racing games.You can't adjust the controls to make this more like a simulation, rewind when you spin out, or follow a suggested racing line. It's also a little annoying that the fast travel system only takes you from one safe house to the next (assuming you've found them), instead of directly to a race. Finally, it can sometimes be hard during a day race to tell how far ahead or behind you are, as your car is represented on the mini-map by a white triangle outline. Since the buildings and streets are white and light gray, it can be easy to get lost during a competition. But these issues are so minor that they barely qualify as problems and are more like minor annoyances. For the most part, Need for Speed Heat is a solid street racing game that will get your motor running.