Need for Speed vs Need for Speed: The Run
Need for Speed is an open-world racing game from Ghost Games (2020) while Need for Speed: The Run is a racing game (2011).
Quick answer: Need for Speed and Need for Speed: The Run are too close, or too thinly reviewed, to separate on the numbers; the table below shows what each holds.
Need for Speed: The Run
What each one is
Need for Speed is filed under Open-World and Racing. In contrast, Need for Speed: The Run under Racing.
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Need for Speed: The Run is a 2011 racing video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It is the eighteenth installment in the Need for Speed series and is Black Box's final entry in the series before the studio's closure in April 2013. Following an extensive marketing campaign, the game was released on November 15, 2011, for PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS and Wii.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Black Box version Jack Rourke ( Sean Faris ), an experienced street racer, finds himself in serious trouble with the Mob due to a massive debt with them. After narrowly escaping being crushed within his car at a scrapyard in Oakland , due to his failure to repay what he owes, Rourke evades his captors by stealing one of their cars. Heading to San Francisco, he makes contact with his friend Sam Harper ( Christina Hendricks ), a fixer who arranges his… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Need for Speed: The Run was met with mixed reviews. Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 and Wii versions 64/100, the Xbox 360 version 68/100, the Nintendo 3DS version 65/100, and the PC version 69/100. The first review was published by Game Informer , which gave the game 7. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Need for Speed | Need for Speed: The Run | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 6.4/10 | — |
| Steam rating | Mixed (69%, 29,486) | — |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 69/100 |
| Price | $29.99 | Unknown |
| Install size | 30 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | Untested |
| Released | 2020 | 2011 |
| Developer | Ghost Games | — |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Need for Speed vs Need for Speed: The Run, 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.
Genre and premise
Need for SpeedOpen-world racing gameNeed for Speed: The RunRacing gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Need for SpeedRacing, Driving, Open WorldNeed for Speed: The RunNo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Content and scale
Need for Speed29,486 reviews · 30 GBNeed for Speed: The Run—Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Need for Speed$29.99Need for Speed: The RunUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 0 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
Where they differ
RacingMultiplayerDrivingOpen WorldActionAdventure
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Need for Speed is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Need for Speed: The Run is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Need for Speed and 0 for Need for Speed: The Run. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Need for Speed and Need for Speed: The Run in scope?
Need for Speed has drawn 29,486 Steam reviews and installs in 30 GB. Need for Speed: The Run lists little scope data.
Is Need for Speed or Need for Speed: The Run 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 or Need for Speed: The Run?
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 or Need for Speed: The Run?
Need for Speed and Need for Speed: The Run are too close, or too thinly reviewed, to separate on the numbers; the table below shows what each holds. 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.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow 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.