Ever wonder what might happen if some of your favorite car movies such Driver, Bullitt or Gone in Sixty Seconds and put zero limits on how over the top the stunts could get? That’s right, what you’d end up with is the last Fast and Furious movie. And although this game – Need for Speed: The Run – is as ridiculous as Fast Five, they have one thing in common. They both fall short being good and settle for mediocrity.

Despite me calling NFSTR mediocre, there are many things this game excels at. To start, there’s the premise of the game itself: taking the speed and carnage of the NFS franchise and going Gumball Rally with it. The Run takes things coast to coast in a race to see not only who makes it first but to see who manages to cross the finish line it at all. Some truly shady and nefarious characters are encountered along the way and the game’s protagonist is potrayed well enough, if a bit cocky and over confident, for his predicament. Throw in a plethora of cars that range from the most extravagant imaginable to the most nostalgically recollected.

Things went from cool to batshit crazy as I raced down the side of a mountain in a 280Z when a Sprinter Trueno makes a pass on me. In lot of ways, The Run simply oozes ‘cool for car guys’ out of more orifices than a Thai restaurant dish from a pissed off chef. Looking back, this is probably why other aspects disappointed me so much…

The beginning of the downers for me was the unremarkable visuals. Though I have to admit that taken as a whole, things weren’t offensive to the eye but as I focused in on details in specific I was unimpressed. When compared to other NFS titles such Shift 2, I never had a true sense of speed and once even lost myself in the visuals to simply observe. Which brings me to the second disconnect in my mind, the controls. While the game controls adequately, cars seemed to feel both slow and sluggish. In a title where obstacles in the road can (and often do) end your race, responsiveness is key.

My final nitpick is the lack of raw horsepower that comes from the sound presentation. The engines don’t seem to roar and scream like they should. Tire squeals don’t sound like violent shifts in weight that break traction. And once again, that’s even compared to other NFS titles. The motors do sound authentic and accurate, just emotionless. And there in lies the balancing act that can make things solid but unremarkable.

The Run has moments of being enjoyable filled with too many long gaps of being mundane. I wanted to like this game but couldn’t get past the feeling of simply playing to progress versus playing for the experience. Amidst so many other holiday season releases that suck you in to the point of not realizing where the time has gone, The Run doesn’t compete strongly enough to take you away.

The top 5 selling titles for the firm during the quarter were NCAA Football 10, Madden NFL 10, FIFA 10, Need for Speed: SHIFT and The Beatles: Rock Band.

Need for Speed SHIFT car roster:

2006 Aston Martin DBR9
2009 Audi R8 LMS
2008 Audi R8
2008 Audi RS 4
2007 Audi S3
2007 Audi TT 3.2 quattro
2006 Audi S4
BMW M3 E36
BMW M3 E46
BMW M3 E92
2008 BMW 135i Coup?
2009 BMW M3 GT2
2007 BMW Z4 M Coup?
2008 Bugatti Veyron 16.4
2006 Dodge Challenger Concept
2008 Dodge Viper SRT10
Falken Tire 2010 Ford Mustang GT
2010 Ford Shelby GT500
2007 Ford Focus ST
2006 Ford GT
2006 Need For Speed Shelby Terlingua
1996 Ford Escort RS Cosworth
2009 Chevrolet Camaro SS
2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS
2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2006 Honda Civic Si
2000 Honda S2000
2006 Koenigsegg CCX
2008 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
2007 Lamborghini Murci?lago LP640
2007 Lamborghini Revent?n
2006 Lotus Elise 111R
2007 Lotus Exige S
2005 Maserati MC12 GT1
2008 Mazda MX-5
2006 Mazda RX-8
1995 Mazda RX-7
1994 McLaren F1
2007 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition
2007 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer EVOLUTION
2006 Mitsubishi Lancer EVOLUTION IX MR-edition
2003 Infiniti G35 (V35)
1997 Nissan 200SX (S14)
2009 Nissan 370Z (Z34)
2006 Nissan 350Z (Z33)
2009 Nissan GT-R SpecV (R35)
2008 Nissan GT-R (R35)
2000 Nissan Silvia (S15) spec.R AERO
1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34)
1972 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R
1992 Nissan 240SX (S13)
2006 Pagani Zonda F
2010 Pagani Zonda R
2008 Porsche 911 GT2
2009 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
2006 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
2004 Porsche Carrera GT
2007 Porsche Cayman S
2008 Renault M?gane RS
2007 SEAT Leon CUPRA
2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2007 Lexus LF-A Concept
2008 SCION tC
1986 Toyota Corolla GTS (A86)
2008 Volkswagen Scirocco
2006 Volkswagen Golf GTI

Need for Speed SHIFT track list:

1. Alpental
2. Autopolis International Racing Course
3. Ambush Canyon
4. Brands Hatch
5. Dakota
6. Ebisu Circuit
7. Glendale
8. Hazyview
9. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
10. London
11. Miytomi
12. Nordschleife
13. Road America
14. Rustle Creek
15. Silverstone
16. Circuit de Spa Francorchamps
17. Tokyo
18. Willow Springs