Review: Need for Speed 2: Part 2

Here's how it works: Have you ever been in first place, cruising along at a quick 215 mph when you mistakenly turn your car in the wrong direction, careen into the wall, and the next thing you know you're back 15 places in the race, with only a half a lap to go?! Doesn't that suck? Well, with "catch-up", the computer will feel your pain, and magically make your car go faster so you can catch up with the rest of the pack! Yeah, I know that's not very realistic -- but it sure is damned helpful.

First, the game requires a monster system for a good framerate. On my Pentium 90 with 32 megs of RAM, I had to turn off most of the detail options and shrink the screen until it would be playable. The box recommends a Pentium 166, although some people have reported slow frame-rates (in full screen mode, with the detail maxed out) even on a Pentium 200! This slower frame rate probably has to do with the processor time required for the in-game music (stereo 16-bit audio), and the newer 3-D engine. Of course, the fact that this is a Windows 95-only product may be part of the problem as well. Once again, I ask: "What the heck is wrong with DOS products?!" The latest incarnation of Microsoft's DirectX drivers are included with the game, which should be installed even if you think you already have them (I first tried to play without installing the DX drivers, and the game wouldn't even load).