. While it may be considered a reboot, traces of familiarity are prevalent throughout the new title, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, it only works if incorporated correctly. As with most

Rebooting a 20-year old racing franchise, especially one that has been a bit all over the place throughout the years, is no easy task. But that's what Ghost Games have been up to since Need for Speed: Rivals was released in 2013.

Back in November of 2005, when the Xbox 360 launched, I was working at Blockbuster. I made sure to work the midnight launch so I could get Microsoft's new shiny console back to my apartment right away.

Live Action Cinematics; Soundtrack; Open World with Plenty to Do

Single Player is Online Only; Framerate Issues; Repetitive Gameplay; Limited Multiplayer Options

After a 21-year run Electronic Arts deemed it was time to reboot the Need for Speed franchise. The racing series has been immensely successful but recent releases have proved somewhat disappointing.

A lot more like the need for speed of old. Cheesy story but good car customisation. A fun arcade racer again.

Ghost Games' decision to largely forgo much of what made Criterion's games work is a strange one, especially given how Rivals built on that DNA so well, but it's not the only questionable choice here.

For car enthusiasts, finding a proper racing arcade game can be difficult. To that end, every so often, a game series attempts to reinvent itself, almost beginning completely from scratch.

Customization still relevant; Car tuning at an all-time high; Solid visually and audibly

...poor online multiplayer; Subpar plot; Tags

A tragically misjudged series reboot that gets all of the fundamentals wrong, while adding absolutely nothing new to the franchise except flashier graphics.

The graphics and sound are amazing when viewed separately from the rest of the game; The drifting is fun and so too are the customisation options

The races are horribly boring, in terms of their design, the rubber band AI, and the poor sensation of speed; Boring city design and self-destructive always-online requirement

I live in Durban, a city where 2001's Fast and the Furious was so well received that people here keep their DVD on the shelf next to their chosen holy books, and because I went to school with people who couldn't help but spread the gospel of of Vin Diesel's super charger at every opportunity, I too...

Fantastic visuals | Lots of customisation | Plenty of content

Always online | Weak multiplayer | Music and race types lack variety

Whether you look at music, movies, toys, or even video games, everything old is new again. There are a lot of ideas and concepts being revisited with the hopes that they will catch on again.