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Even without the help of Road & Track, Electronic Arts successfully managed to license some high-level car manufacturers. Although gone are the names of Porsche, Acura and Dodge, EA managed to retain Ferrari, Lamborghini and Chevrolet and added newcomers Mercedes, Italdesign and others. Players initially choose between 8 different cars such as the Ferrari F355 Spider F1, a Sharky Extreme favorite, to the Lamborghini Diablo SV, with 7 more becoming available as the game progresses.
Visually, the game shines. Powered by a brand new 3D engine, Electronic Arts' latest racer features a host of graphical bells and whistles to keep the eyes happy. The cars are all accurately modeled, and the effects like skid marks, smoke, dust and lens flare all add to the visual splendor of the game. Electronic Arts added a "chrome" effect to the cars to mimic reflections off of the hood, roof and glass surfaces of the car. Initially this effect looks like a giant sheet of glass, sculpted to fit perfectly, has been placed over the body of the car. After a few races however, it grows on you.
Need For Speed III has a host of different racing modes, however one in particular makes the game stand out: Hot Pursuit. In this mode, players can choose to be either the police or the speeder. Playing both sides of the law are equally as fun… and challenging. If you choose to run from the law, you'll be hunted by numerous police vehicles that'll do everything from knocking you off the road, to setting up roadblocks and even use a spike strip to get you to pull over. Luckily for you, someone forgot their police scanner in your car, and all police broadcasts to and from the dispatcher can be overheard, which makes evading police obstacles a little easier. Finish the course without being arrested, and you win. Get pulled over too many times, and you lose. Sound tough? Playing as the police isn't any easier. Like Colombo, you're all alone in your police duties, and there are 7 speeders on the road and all 7 need a little dose of LAPD love. At your disposal is a spike strip and your front bumper, use them both wisely. Nab all 7 violators before they finish the course, and you win. Other racing modes include Single Race, Tournament and Knockout, an elimination/ladder style of play that's quite addictive.
The game's list of options is lengthy and is for the most part, standard fare. One of the more unique options is the ability for players to tune their cars. This is done by moving a slider attached to one of 7 different performance properties, including gear ratio, suspension stiffness and brake balance.
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