GamingPickz
Game vs game · side by side

Need for Speed II vs Need for Speed: Nitro

Need for Speed II is a racing game from EA Vancouver (1997) while Need for Speed: Nitro is a racing game from Firebrand Games (2009).

Quick answer: Need for Speed II has the higher Metacritic, 71 to 70.

Need for Speed II

1997 · EA Vancouver

71Metacritic

Need for Speed: Nitro

2009 · Firebrand Games

70Metacritic

What each one is

Need for Speed II is filed under Racing. In contrast, Need for Speed: Nitro under Racing.

Need for Speed II

Need for Speed II is a 1997 racing video game released for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is the second installment in the Need for Speed series, a sequel Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit was released in 1998.

Description from Wikipedia

Need for Speed: Nitro

Need for Speed: Nitro is a 2009 racing video game and the fourteenth title in the Need for Speed series. It was published by Electronic Arts for the Nintendo Wii and DS platforms. The Wii version was developed by EA Montreal, who have previous experience with Nintendo consoles, while the DS version was developed separately by Firebrand Games' Florida studio.

Description from Wikipedia

Story, characters and reception

Need for Speed II
Reception

Reception Need for Speed II was met with mixed reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation version 71. 39% and 71/100 and the PC version 68. (Wikipedia)

Need for Speed: Nitro
Characters

There are 35 opponents with names in the Wii version of the game, although five of them are " leaders ", one for each city, and receive cinematic treatment in the form of a quick intro full motion video when the player first accesses a city in each cup. The street racing leader of Rio de Janeiro is Thiago. He drives a Volkswagen Type 2, 1969 Dodge Charger R/T and a 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8. (Wikipedia)

Reception

Reception Need for Speed: Nitro received mixed reviews from critics. Mark Bozon from IGN stated that " Nitro is a blast despite its faults". Although 1Up. (Wikipedia)

At a glance

Need for Speed IINeed for Speed: Nitro
GamingPickz Score——
Steam rating——
Critic aggregate71/10070/100
PriceUnknownUnknown
Install size——
Steam DeckUntestedUntested
Released19972009
DeveloperEA VancouverFirebrand Games

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Need for Speed II vs Need for Speed: Nitro, point by point

Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.

  1. Genre and premise

    Need for Speed IIRacing game
    Need for Speed: NitroRacing game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    Need for Speed IINo descriptive tags
    Need for Speed: NitroNo descriptive tags

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    Need for Speed II ✓Metacritic 71
    Need for Speed: NitroMetacritic 70

    Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.

  4. Price

    Need for Speed IIUnknown
    Need for Speed: NitroUnknown

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

Need for Speed II takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.

Which to pick, by what you want

  • The better reviewed of the two: Need for Speed II (Metacritic 71)

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Need for Speed II is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Need for Speed: Nitro is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.

Common questions

How different are Need for Speed II and Need for Speed: Nitro in scope?

Need for Speed II lists little scope data. Need for Speed: Nitro lists little scope data.

Is Need for Speed II or Need for Speed: Nitro better?

Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.

Which is cheaper, Need for Speed II or Need for Speed: Nitro?

One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.

Should I get Need for Speed II or Need for Speed: Nitro?

Need for Speed II has the higher Metacritic, 71 to 70. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.

Do you rank one above the other for a fee?

No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.

All comparisons

How we compare, and what we will not do

The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.

More on each