Need for Speed: The Run

 Xbox 360
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 194 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 96 out of 194
  2. Mixed: 44 out of 194
  3. Negative: 54 out of 194
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  1. P4YTNET
    Jan 23, 2012
    7
    Need For Speed: The Run is one of the first games to run on the Frostbite 2 engine, and from the very beginning you can tell it is different from any other Need For Speed game. In some ways that is a good things, and in other ways it is very, very bad.

    The premise of the game is that your character, Jack, is on "the run" from a large crime organization as well as the police for offenses    Need For Speed: The Run is one of the first games to run on the Frostbite 2 engine, and from the very beginning you can tell it is different from any other Need For Speed game. In some ways that is a good things, and in other ways it is very, very bad.

    The premise of the game is that your character, Jack, is on "the run" from a large crime organization as well as the police for offenses that are never fully explained. After some button-mashing and a frustrating chase scene, you actually start driving on the open road. Everything is fun and great, until all of a sudden it's not. Unlike previous Need For Speed games, The Run has a Rewind feature which enables you to restart from the previous checkpoint if you wreck your car or run off the road. The problem is the circumstances that cause you to restart are extremely inconsistent. On some tracks you can cut corners and overcorrect if you run drive a little off the track, on others it will reset you if you run half a foot off the road.

    It is not all bad, however, as the graphics on the game are among the best of any racing game out there. Overall, the gameplay compares with the best Need For Speed games such as Most Wanted and Hot Pursuit, but it is not quite there. It is very straightforward with no kind of "Free Roam" option, and while the multiplayer is fun for awhile, there is only so much utility you can get out of it, especially after you earn all the achievements.

    Although the game was relatively short at two and a half hours, I did enjoy it while it lasted, and I plan to pick it up again soon and try to earn the rest of the achievements. If nothing else, this game will help you make friends to compare your times on your Speed Wall!

    More reviews at P4YT.net    … Expand
  2. ADobbo
    Feb 17, 2012
    5
    I bought this game the day it came out. I payed the full price and I have to say it is not worth it. The characters are introduced to you and have a detailed background story which you would think would play apart, they do not. It is like me telling you the entire history of Peugeot and yet not even having Peugeot in the game, it is absolutely ridiculous. However, the race itself is funI bought this game the day it came out. I payed the full price and I have to say it is not worth it. The characters are introduced to you and have a detailed background story which you would think would play apart, they do not. It is like me telling you the entire history of Peugeot and yet not even having Peugeot in the game, it is absolutely ridiculous. However, the race itself is fun and going from back in the 200s and throughout the different regions of America that is good. The graphics are outstanding and probably the best I have seen in a racing game to date. The national parks are depicted just as they would look in real life. Unfortunately many big car brands such as Bugatti are left out of this game and you are left to pick from the rest. This game is just over 2 hours long for the main campaign which is quite humourous for a game of today. The challenge series is just something to do if you are in the boredest state of mind possible. The multiplayer is good fun and a big step up from Hot Pursuit in some areas such as the voting system. I also like the constant gap which you can see how far ahead and behind someone you are in seconds constantly throughout a single player or online race. Overall this game is defininitely worth a rent or a buy if it is cheap enough as the graphics are something which is incredible.… Expand
  3. Oracheski
    Nov 24, 2011
    6
    Despite the short campaign that does as much to kill excitement as build it, Need for Speed: The Run is worth a look for the online play but it is not one of the must-buy titles this holiday season.
  4. DatDudeDreco
    Nov 17, 2011
    6
    OMFG! This game is okay at best! The online play will probably suck. Just let me get these offline achievements, and I swear gamefly you can have this back!
  5. shArk87
    Nov 18, 2011
    5
    A friend of mine owns NFS The Run, he asked me to join him and critisize the game. Our conclusion was:
    This game is no different than Hot Pursuit. Its get in a car and race to win. Theres no much u can do.
    The multiplayer, pease, if the others pushes you the whole race u can't even have fun with it. Just work on a decent NFS game, Shift 3 or Underground. We all miss those nice cars which    A friend of mine owns NFS The Run, he asked me to join him and critisize the game. Our conclusion was:
    This game is no different than Hot Pursuit. Its get in a car and race to win. Theres no much u can do.
    The multiplayer, pease, if the others pushes you the whole race u can't even have fun with it.
    Just work on a decent NFS game, Shift 3 or Underground. We all miss those nice cars which we can tune, change the visuals, bla bla bla) This is what we need. Another game like The Run or something with the same genre, it will fail.

    It is time for a change and do us a big favor, work on Need For Speed Underground 3 already. IF not, i promise, the next game u'll release, and it isn't underground 3, it will fail. And don't blame piracy or something other, it will fail because u won't listem to what we want.
    We had enough racing on one straight line with nothing happening or a boring multiplayer. We want to show our cars of, to our friends, just like Need for speed World!!!

    Do us that and u'll recieve an awesome reward ($$)
    Codemasters is working on their GRID 2, i'm pretty sure, do something fast, or i'll buy Grid 2 instead one of your games    … Expand
  6. DarrkHawk
    Jan 14, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Could someone possibly explain this game to me? I understand that you have to drive from San Francisco to New York but why? I somehow feel like the Need for Speed franchise is going backwards. I would much rather play the Need for Speed Underground on PS2 than this. At least in that game you can customize your cars to your desire instead of using pre-sets.
    I appreciate what EA have tried to accomplish in this game but what they have actually done is made the game worse. Instead of having the game take place in an open world environment, they create a "cross country race" which is just basically different variations of the classic Sprint events. The only real goal in this game seems to be in a certain position when you get to specific states. Even with that it cannot be failed as you HAVE to finish first in each event to proceed commonly gaining 10 positions a time. I am sorry but this does not make a racing game. EA should just have made the game a 2,500 mile sprint and it would sell just as well (and would probably be more entertaining) or even just call the game "Need for Speed GumBall".

    Not an AWFUL game but extremely poorly designed.    … Expand
  7. Carles
    Oct 11, 2015
    5
    Good idea, but poor implementation. It's a shame, because the idea is really good, but only 2 hours of game it's really poor. Graphics and textures are really bad, and the handling of the cars is not perfect. I give for that game 5 points because of the great idea.
  8. callumjsouth
    Dec 6, 2014
    5
    The game feels too much like an action move. It is over scripted and gives you little freedom if any to make your own decisions. The racing is up to scratch as you would expect but the weight of the game's let downs overshadows any positive aspects.
  9. ASGaming21
    Feb 12, 2015
    7
    Well the game plays like a movie. I like the action, the graphics and the music, but it only took me 2 and a half hours to finish it. Also the QTE's are annoying. Sorry, but I'm going back to the NFS Underground era
  10. gamingisgreat
    Sep 20, 2016
    7
    Need For Speed The Run is a good game.

    The gameplay is great,with solid,if at times cheap,AI.The physics are arcady but the cars still have a good amount of weight to them.The tracks are also well designed.There are some great helicopter escape sections,and racing through the rockies as rocks collapse onto the road just makes for excitement. The graphics are simply incredible,though    Need For Speed The Run is a good game.

    The gameplay is great,with solid,if at times cheap,AI.The physics are arcady but the cars still have a good amount of weight to them.The tracks are also well designed.There are some great helicopter escape sections,and racing through the rockies as rocks collapse onto the road just makes for excitement.

    The graphics are simply incredible,though the framerate hitches occasionally.

    The sound design is good,with a decent soundtrack to back it up.

    The game is way too short however. The entire game can be completed in under 2 hours,which really holds The Run back.

    Overall,NFS The Run is a good game,but could have been great had it been a bit longer.    … Expand
  11. Kostas101
    Oct 11, 2021
    5
    A very flawed racing game, car customization is almost nonexistent, controls are not that good, the handling is decent but clunky, and the story is bad, but to be honest, I did enjoy the game... well, kind of, it's just an average racing experience.
  12. JJ2FAS4U
    Dec 28, 2021
    7
    Atmosphere: 8
    Enjoyment: 8
    Gameplay: 7
    Graphics: 8
    Music: 5
    Story: 6
    Total: 7.00

Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2011
87
#87 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 65 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 65
  2. Mixed: 35 out of 65
  3. Negative: 2 out of 65
  1. DailyGame
    Feb 12, 2012
    83
    As I said, I've been a fan of the Need for Speed franchise for quite some time, but even I've been rubbed a bit raw by some of the franchise's evolution over the years. It's not like EA and Black Box were struggling to find an identity, but they seemed to always be looking to switch things up just for the sake of switching. With Need for Speed: The Run, it seems like EA finally found the right mix of action and challenge, and the sporadic out-of-the-car sequences give just enough of a break to keep you pushing forward.
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  2. GamingTrend
    Jan 24, 2012
    78
    Need for Speed The Run is a game that has just enough issues to make it an average game. It is filled with potential, and it eventually could have made a really great game. The cross-country race is a great story-telling mechanic and the cutscenes are well done. The progression of the Driver Level to gain more bonuses could have been given out more consistently and some of the cars could have handled better. If you don't mind driving for a while to unlock cars and abilities, then you should find a satisfying experience.
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  3. Armchair Empire
    Jan 18, 2012
    80
    Although the single-player adventure runs out of fuel way too soon, the intensity of the racing while driving beautifully rendered "dream" autos makes up for the brevity, and a few replayable modes (Challenge and online) greatly increases Need for Speed: The Run's gameplay driving distance.
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