Need For Speed Prostreet

If the realism of a vehicle's sound is as important to you as it is to us, let's just say we had no problems differentiating between a KA24DE powered 240SX as it struggled to climb up a hill and the distinct sounds of an AE86 driving full tilt through the turns. "The things I found with car games on the market are that all the cars sound the same and they manage to all sound flat. It's a common occurrence for gaming companies to use sound loops of the one specific sound that ends up emitting a vacuum type noise when the car is on the gas or passing at a high rated speed," says Richard Adrian, audio director of sound. "We tried to avoid that pitfall this year and one of our goals was to capture the power and aggression of the vehicles. Anything stock just doesn't cut it." The sound crew searched high and low throughout the northern hemisphere to track down the baddest and best vehicle's sounds.

After attending a local Formula D event, the sound crew implemented some of the more notable vehicles like Casper Canul's monster fabrication SR20DET powered 240SX, numerous Falken sponsored drift vehicles, Rhys Millen's retired Pontiac GTO and Samuel Hubinette's Dodge SRT Charger. The vehicles were taken to private tracks and then bolted to a dyno to record loops and the ramp sound of the engine while being taken through a series of rpm. Based upon perfecting automotive realism and its surrounding environment, the crew spent long hours recording numerous clips such as the sounds of the wind buffeting around the vehicle, the crumpling sounds of aluminum as your car impacts a retaining wall and the crackling of gravel sliding underneath the car as it flies off course. Pro Street has even gone so far as to implement suspension creaking, the dribbling tones of tires driving over cracks on the roads and dreaded chassis flex as the vehicle barrels through the turns. Rotary fans will be tickled pink knowing that the sound clips used in the game were taken from an SCCA-prepped street-ported 13B and SCCA sanctioned RX8.

Modeling the tracks and famous routes, such as the Shutto Expressway in Japan, involved the modelers' taking more than 1,600 photos of each course while taking measurements of the more familiar landmarks surrounding the tracks to replicate its environment to precision," says Eduardo Agostini, art director for Pro Street. By using some urban flavor and abstract deigns, Pro Street used renowned Japanese graphic artist Motomichi to conceptualize fresh new graphic motifs. Using stencil deigns and artwork found around the world, the art team gathered ideas to combine them into the games genera to brighten the gaming environment. Conceptual ideas involve a flood of activities that take place in the background, such as parties, concerts and raves before you line up to race your opponents.

With so much work and detail put into Need For Speed Pro Street it was no wonder EA Black Box, who designed the game and is based in Canada, had pushed back its initial release date to Nov. 17, 2007. As websites and the Internet are at an all time buzz with snippets of video clips and highlight reel footage being shown, we can only image that these teaser clips will further fuel the high expectations of the hardcore gamers and car enthusiasts who patiently wait to get their hands on the newest and hottest race game to date.