That makes it the most interesting platform to explore the series on, and also the one where you most need to know what you are buying.

Several of these games were designed around online components, and EA has since retired the servers behind many of its older titles. That affects more than multiplayer lobbies.

Autolog, the feature that made Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted so compelling, works by pushing your friends’ times into your game. Without servers, it is just a leaderboard showing your own results. Rivals loses AllDrive. Shift 2 loses its online career elements.

The single-player campaigns all still work offline. But if the social competition is the reason you want one of these, check the current server status for that specific title before buying, because the answer has changed several times and varies game by game.

1. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)

Criterion’s first go at the series and still the high point of the PS3 era. Seacrest County is a beautiful open map, and the two full campaigns, one as racer and one as police, give it far more content than the structure suggests. Weapons on both sides turn every chase into a back-and-forth rather than a straight sprint.

Good: the best sense of speed of any game here, two complete campaigns, exotic machinery from the start.

Less good: almost no customisation, and the loop can feel repetitive if you play it in long sessions.

Worth knowing: a remastered version arrived in 2020 on newer consoles. If you have access to a PS4 or PS5, that is the better way to play it, with the online side supported.

2. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)

Criterion again, and effectively Burnout Paradise wearing the Need for Speed badge. Cars are found parked around Fairhaven rather than bought, so exploration is progression. Jack into a car and you are racing within seconds, with no menus in the way.

Good: the smoothest moment-to-moment driving on the platform, hidden cars and shortcuts everywhere, seamless multiplayer when it was live.

Less good: essentially no story, and it shares a name with the 2005 game while having nothing else in common, which annoyed people who expected a remake.

3. Need for Speed Rivals (2013)

A cross-generation release that arrived alongside the PS4, which matters here: the PS3 version runs at a lower resolution and frame rate than its newer sibling. It is still good, and it is the last Need for Speed on the console.

The risk system is the best idea in it. Winnings only count once you return to a hideout, so every drive home with a full bank is genuinely tense.

Good: Redview County’s weather and lighting, the racer-versus-cop structure, that risk-and-bank loop.

Less good: aggressive rubber-band AI, and AllDrive was the headline feature that offline play removes entirely.

4. Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed (2011)

The best simulation racer wearing this badge. Slightly Mad Studios refined everything from the first Shift, with better physics, a night racing mode that is genuinely disorienting in the right way, and a helmet camera that tracks where your driver is looking rather than where the car is pointing.

Good: real circuits, convincing handling, and the most immersive cockpit view in any game here.

Less good: demanding for newcomers, and the sound design is loud enough that it wears on you.

5. Need for Speed: Shift (2009)

The first attempt at simulation, and the one that proved the idea could work. The camera shakes and blurs under braking and impact, which nothing else was doing at the time, and the career mode gives you a reason to keep going.

Good: a proper progression system, a strong car list, and handling that rewards learning.

Less good: the sequel does everything it does better, so buy Shift 2 if you can find both.

6. Need for Speed: Carbon (2006)

Missing from most PS3 lists, including the earlier version of this one, and it belongs here. Carbon arrived in the console’s launch window and picks up directly from Most Wanted (2005), moving the action to Palmont City.

The canyon duels are the reason to play it: one-on-one runs down a mountain road where you chase, then get chased, with a cliff on one side. Genuinely tense, and nothing else in the series has repeated the idea properly.

Good: canyon races, crew mechanics, and the Autosculpt body modification tool.

Less good: short, and the night-only setting makes the city feel smaller than it is.

7. Need for Speed: The Run (2011)

A single race from San Francisco to New York, which is the best premise the series ever had. The variety is genuinely impressive: desert highways, snowbound mountain passes, city centres, all inside one campaign.

Good: spectacular scenery, real urgency, and a strong sense of forward momentum.

Less good: it is over in a few hours, there is little reason to replay it, and the on-foot quick-time sequences are the least popular thing in any Need for Speed game.

8. Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007)

The series dropped illegal street racing for closed-circuit events, and the audience did not follow. Judged on what it is rather than what it replaced, it is competent, with proper damage modelling and four distinct event types including drag and drift.

Good: visible, persistent car damage, and a grip-based handling model that rewards precision.

Less good: no open world, no police, and those are the two things most people come to this series for.

9. Need for Speed: Undercover (2008)

An attempt to return to the Most Wanted formula that shipped before it was finished. The open world is large and empty, the frame rate struggles, and the difficulty is low enough that the police never become a threat.

Good: live-action cutscenes with actual actors, which is at least memorable, and a decent car list.

Less good: technical problems throughout, and it is the weakest of the nine by a clear margin.

What to buy

If you want one game: Hot Pursuit. It is the most complete package on the console and holds up best.

If you want to drive rather than chase: Shift 2 Unleashed, and do not bother with the first Shift unless it is cheap.

If you want the classic street racing feel: Carbon, which is the closest the PS3 got to the Underground and Most Wanted era.

If you have newer hardware available: play the Hot Pursuit remaster instead. Same game, better performance, and the online side still supported.

For where these sit against the whole franchise, including the PlayStation 2 classics that most fans rate above anything here, see our full ranking of every Need for Speed game from worst to best. If the cars themselves are the draw, our lists of the best JDM cars and the best drift cars of all time cover the real machinery.

Common questions

How many Need for Speed games are on PS3?

Nine: Carbon, ProStreet, Undercover, Shift, Hot Pursuit, Shift 2 Unleashed, The Run, Most Wanted and Rivals.

Which is the best Need for Speed on PS3?

Hot Pursuit (2010). Two full campaigns, the best sense of speed on the platform, and a map worth exploring.

Do the online features still work?

EA has retired online services for many of its older titles, and that removes Autolog comparisons, AllDrive and multiplayer depending on the game. Single-player campaigns are unaffected. Check the current status for the specific title before buying.

Is Rivals better on PS3 or PS4?

PS4, clearly. It launched across both generations and the newer version runs at higher resolution and frame rate.

Can I still buy these digitally?

Availability on the PS3 store has changed repeatedly and some titles have been delisted, often for expired car or music licensing. Physical discs are widely available and usually cheap.

Is Most Wanted (2012) a remake of the 2005 game?

No. It shares only the name. The 2005 game is a story-driven street racer on PS2 and Xbox; the 2012 game is Criterion’s open-world racer with no campaign to speak of.

The post 8 Best PS3 Need For Speed Games appeared first on WhichCar.org.

This covers the mainline console and PC entries plus the two V-Rally games EA published under the Need for Speed name in North America. It does not include every spin-off, handheld port or regional release, of which there are many.

26. Need for Speed: No Limits (2015)

Metascore: 67

A mobile game built around energy timers and microtransactions. It looks good on a phone and the gyro steering works, but races last seconds and progression is designed to make waiting annoying enough that you pay. The most cynical entry in the series.

25. Need for Speed Payback (2017)

Metascore: 61

The lowest-scoring entry, and it earned that. A heist story nobody asked for, and a card-based upgrade system tied to loot boxes that generated enough backlash for EA to rework it after launch. There is a decent racer buried underneath and you have to grind through a lot to find it.

24. Need for Speed: Nitro (2009)

Metascore: 69

A Wii and DS exclusive with an exaggerated cartoon art style. Approachable and genuinely pretty, but with too little content to hold anyone past a weekend.

23. Need for Speed V-Rally (1997)

A rally game with the Need for Speed name attached for the North American release. Competent for its era and completely unrelated to what the franchise was doing everywhere else.

22. V-Rally 2: Need for Speed (1999)

More cars, more stages, same identity problem. Better than the first as a rally game, and still not a Need for Speed game in anything but branding.

21. Need for Speed: Undercover (2008)

Metascore: 64

An attempt to return to the Most Wanted formula that arrived undercooked, with frame rate problems, a thin open world and live-action cutscenes that have not aged kindly. The ambition was right and the execution was not.

20. Need for Speed: World (2010)

Metascore: 62

A free-to-play MMO racer set across the Rockport and Palmont maps from Most Wanted and Carbon. It had a devoted community and a real sense of place. EA shut the servers in 2015, so it now exists only through unofficial private servers.

19. Need for Speed (2015)

Metascore: 66

A reboot with a genuine visual identity, night-only racing and a strong customisation suite, undermined by an always-online requirement and rubber-banding AI. Handling divided people completely.

18. Need for Speed: The Run (2011)

Metascore: 68

A coast-to-coast race from San Francisco to New York, which is a great premise. The scenery is spectacular and varied. The problem is that it is over in a few hours and includes quick-time event sequences on foot, which nobody wanted in a driving game.

17. Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007)

Metascore: 72

The series abandoned illegal street racing for sanctioned track events, and the audience revolted. Judged on its own terms it is decent, with proper damage modelling and a grip-focused handling model. Judged as a Need for Speed game it removed the two things people came for: open roads and police.

16. Motor City Online (2001)

Metascore: 73

An online-only racer built around American classics and deep engine building, years before that was a mainstream idea. Ambitious, niche, and shut down in 2003.

15. The Need for Speed (1994)

The original, and the one that established police pursuits as a series fixture. It also included documentary-style footage of the real cars, which was extraordinary at the time. Historically important and hard to go back to.

14. Need for Speed II (1997)

More exotic cars and more elaborate tracks than the original, with the difficulty dialled back. Enjoyable and slight, and the special edition’s 3D acceleration made it look considerably better than it had any right to.

13. Need for Speed Heat (2019)

Metascore: 72

Sanctioned races by day, illegal ones and police at night, with a reputation system tying the two together. It fixed most of Payback’s mistakes and dropped the loot boxes. The story is forgettable and the driving is good, which is the right way round.

12. Need for Speed Unbound (2022)

Metascore: 77

The most visually distinctive entry, blending photoreal cars with cel-shaded effects, and a genuinely bold choice for a series that had been playing it safe. Deep customisation and a strong heat system. The tone will not be for everyone, and the difficulty spikes hard.

11. Need for Speed: Carbon (2006)

Metascore: 77

The direct sequel to Most Wanted, with canyon duels and crew mechanics added. The canyon races are tense and excellent. The rest is shorter and less confident than what came before it, and the daylight racing is gone.

10. Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed (2000)

Metascore: 78

A single-manufacturer game covering decades of Porsche production, with an evolution mode that walks through the history model by model. The car handling is the most serious the series had attempted. Focused rather than limited, and still a favourite among people who care about the marque.

9. Need for Speed: Shift (2009)

Metascore: 83

The simulation experiment, and a better game than its reputation suggests. The cockpit camera that blurs and shakes under load remains one of the best attempts anyone has made at conveying speed from inside a car. It is not what most people want from this franchise, which is why it sits here rather than higher.

8. Need for Speed: Rivals (2013)

Metascore: 80

Criterion’s open-world take on the cop-versus-racer idea, with seamless multiplayer that drops other players into your world without a lobby. The risk-reward system, where banking your winnings means surviving the drive home, is the best mechanic in any recent entry. It launched with a frame rate cap that caused problems on PC.

7. Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998)

The game that made police pursuits the identity of the series rather than a side feature. Exotic cars, split-screen play, and the ability to race as the police. Dated now, but almost everything the franchise did well afterwards started here.

6. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)

Metascore: 82

Criterion’s reimagining, and effectively Burnout Paradise wearing a Need for Speed badge. Cars are scattered around the map to be found rather than bought, and the Autolog system turns every stretch of road into a competition with your friends. It shares a name with the 2005 game and almost nothing else.

5. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002)

Metascore: 89

The highest-reviewed game in the series. Exotic machinery, scenic locations and police chases with spike strips and roadblocks. The PlayStation 2 version was built by Black Box and is the one worth playing. Pure arcade racing with no story to get in the way.

4. Need for Speed: Underground 2 (2004)

Metascore: 82

Took the first Underground and put it in an open city you could drive around freely, with customisation deep enough that people spent hours in menus. Neon, body kits and a soundtrack that defined a moment. The free-roam structure is why it is still modded and replayed two decades on.

3. Need for Speed: Underground (2003)

Metascore: 85

The reinvention that saved the franchise. Import tuner culture, night racing, drift events and visual customisation as a core mechanic rather than an afterthought. It arrived at exactly the right cultural moment and sold enormously. Everything the series became for the next decade traces to this game.

2. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)

Metascore: 82

The fan consensus pick, and it is easy to see why. The Blacklist structure gives you a ladder of rivals to work through, the police escalate from irritating to genuinely frightening, and the pursuit-breaker system turns every chase into an improvised puzzle. The BMW M3 GTR is one of the most recognisable cars in gaming.

Its review score does not reflect its standing, which is the clearest argument for not ranking these games by Metacritic alone.

1. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)

Metascore: 88

Criterion took the Hot Pursuit formula, put it in Seacrest County, and built Autolog around it. Playing as either racer or police, with weapons on both sides, gives the game two complete campaigns rather than one with a novelty mode attached.

Autolog is the reason it tops this list. By pushing your friends’ times into your game constantly, it made a single-player racer feel competitive without anyone needing to be online at the same time. It was remastered in 2020, so it is also the easiest entry here to actually play today.

What the series gets right when it works

Police pursuits. The one mechanic no rival franchise has matched. The best entries treat the police as an escalating opponent rather than an obstacle, and the games that dropped them, like ProStreet, are the ones that suffered most.

Customisation as identity. Underground made modifying your car the point rather than a menu you pass through. Every strong entry since has understood that.

A sense of place. Rockport, Bayview, Seacrest County. The memorable games have a map people can still describe from memory two decades later.

If the cars themselves are what draw you in, our lists of the best JDM cars and the best drift cars of all time cover the real versions, and stancing a car in GTA 5 scratches a similar itch.

Common questions

What is the best Need for Speed game?

Hot Pursuit (2010) for pure arcade racing and Autolog, or Most Wanted (2005) if you want the police pursuit campaign that most fans consider the series peak. Underground 2 wins on customisation.

Which Need for Speed has the highest review score?

Hot Pursuit 2 (2002) at 89, followed by Hot Pursuit (2010) at 88 and Underground (2003) at 85. Scores vary by platform, so the figures you see elsewhere may differ.

Which Need for Speed game is the worst?

Payback (2017) has the lowest critical score at 61, largely due to its loot box progression. No Limits is worse as a game, but it is a mobile title and judged differently.

Are the V-Rally games really Need for Speed games?

Only by branding. EA published them under the Need for Speed name in North America, but they are rally games with no connection to the rest of the series.

Which Need for Speed games can I still play today?

Hot Pursuit Remastered, Most Wanted (2012), Heat, Payback and Unbound are all available on current platforms. The older entries generally require original hardware or emulation, and Need for Speed: World has been offline since 2015.

Is a new Need for Speed game coming?

EA’s release cadence for the series has been irregular in recent years and studio assignments have shifted. Check current gaming news rather than trusting any article’s release speculation.

The post Need for Speed Games Ranked: Worst to Best appeared first on WhichCar.org.

What Is a Stanced Car?

Stanced cars are all about keeping your ride as low to the ground as possible, often featuring stretched tires and a pronounced negative chamber. But here's the thing – stance doesn't necessarily mean scraping the pavement. There's a whole spectrum of styles to choose from, like meaty setups, flush poke, tucked, stretched, and hellaflush. These stances determine how your car sits and its overall look. Think slammed cars with wide, flashy wheels – that's the essence of a stanced car!

Like Racing Games? Madalin Stunt Cars 3: Ultimate Online Drifting Game?

Mod Your Car in GTA V

GTA V isn't just a playground for criminal escapades; it's a paradise for car enthusiasts. You can not only drive your dream car but also modify it to the hilt.

Customization hubs like Los Santos Customs in Blaine County are your go-to spots. Head north to Beeker's Garage and let your creative juices flow.

Just a word of advice – customization doesn't come cheap, so stack those virtual dollars before souping up your ride.

Related: Meet Dumbo: The 1968 Dodge Hellephant Charger of Dom’s Nightmares

Stance Car Video Guide For GTA 5

6 Steps to Stance/Lower a Car in GTA V

Now, let's get into the nitty-gritty of stancing your car in GTA V.

While the game doesn't offer a direct "stance" option, we've got some tricks up our sleeves to help you achieve that sleek, low look.

Step 1: Check for Armor and Bulletproof Tires

Before you start lowering your car, ensure it's not equipped with bulletproof tires or armor. Go to Wheels > Tires > Tire Enhancements and make sure bulletproof tires aren't selected. Similarly, set the Armor to None in the Main Menu. Stance won't work if you're armored up!

Step 2: Lower the Suspensions

Your goal is to get your car as close to the ground as possible. Head to the Suspensions option in the Customization Bar's Main Menu and select the lowest setting available. You'll immediately notice your car's stance change in the vehicle showcase.

However, there's more work to be done to achieve the perfect stance. You'll need some weapons for the next steps.

Step 3: Choose a Silenced Weapon

Now, here's the thing, lowering your car involves using weapons, so you'll want to avoid attracting unwanted attention or law enforcement heat. Opt for an Assault Rifle with a suppressor to keep things discreet. You don't need the cops crashing your stancing party!

Step 4: Use the Weapon

With your silenced weapon in hand, aim at the center hubcap of each wheel and fire a few rounds. You'll notice that each shot lowers one side of your vehicle. Repeat this process for all four tires with precision to avoid damaging them.

Step 5: Lowering/Stancing Alternative

Some cars in GTA V don't respond to the standard lowering method. In such cases, you'll need to experiment with other approaches:

• Aim for the gap between the wheel arch and the tire, firing three times per tire.
• Shoot at the edge of the wheel arch for each wheel.

Throughout these steps, be extremely careful not to accidentally damage your car's bodywork or tires.

Step 6: Camber the Wheels (Advanced)

For those who crave an even more distinctive lowered look, you can camber your wheels. Keep in mind that this option isn't available in the game's customization menu and involves tinkering with game files.

To camber your wheels, locate the .gtx file of your desired car in GTA V's installation directory. Edit the .gtx file to achieve your desired appearance. However, we recommend this method only for experienced users.

While stance can give your car a killer visual appeal, it doesn't enhance its performance in any way. In fact, heavily stanced cars may see a decline in their overall performance. However, the eye-catching aesthetics of a stanced car are well worth it!

Car Related: What Is E85 Gas? And Why Ethanol Gas is Amazing

Rockstar Let's You Capture Your New Stanced Car

Once you've perfected your car's stance, don't forget to show it off.  Use the Rockstar Editor to capture stunning cinematic shots of your customized vehicle. This tool allows you to record, edit, and share videos created from in-game footage.

So there you have it – the complete guide on how to stance your car in GTA V!

The post How To Stance Your Car In GTA 5 appeared first on WhichCar.org.

Setting expectations properly matters here, because a lot of write-ups oversell it. This is not a console-quality game and the physics are not simulation-grade. It is an arcade sandbox that loads in a few seconds and lets you launch a Lamborghini off a ramp, and it is very good at exactly that.

What you actually get

Around 60 vehicles. Mostly supercars and hypercars, modelled on real machinery without official licensing, so expect recognisable shapes rather than branded, licensed cars. Each handles differently enough that swapping between them changes how you play.

Three maps. Large open environments built around ramps, loops, half-pipes and long straights rather than circuits. There is no lap counter and nothing to win.

Basic customisation. Body colour and wheel choices. It is not a tuning game and the changes are cosmetic.

Multiplayer rooms. Drop into a server with other players driving around the same map. There are no organised races, so what happens is entirely down to who else is online.

Controls

The full list, including two keys that most guides leave out.

• WASD or arrow keys: steering, throttle and brake
• Spacebar: handbrake, which is what you use to initiate drifts
• F: nitro boost
• C: change camera angle
• R: reset and respawn your car
• T: show the map with other players’ positions
• I: start or stop the engine

You need a keyboard, so this is a desktop or laptop game. It does not work well on a phone, which catches people out.

How to actually get good at it

Learn the handbrake before the nitro. Drifting in this game is almost entirely a handbrake technique: tap it to break traction, then steer into the slide and feed in throttle. Nitro mostly makes you crash faster until you can already hold a line.

Change the camera. The default chase view is fine for driving and useless for judging jumps. Cycling to a different angle with C makes landing rotations far easier.

Pick a lighter car to learn on. The fastest vehicles are the hardest to control. Something mid-range will teach you the physics faster than the top of the list.

Use reset freely. R costs you nothing. There is no penalty and no score, so there is no reason to drive back from a bad landing.

How it compares

The browser drifting category is crowded, and the games differ more than they look.

Madalin Stunt Cars 2 remains more played than 3 in a lot of places, largely because it is lighter and runs better on weak hardware. If 3 stutters for you, try 2 before assuming your machine cannot handle it.

Drift Hunters is the better choice if you want actual progression, since it has money, upgrades and tuning. Madalin has none of that.

Supra Drift and similar single-car games are more focused and much shallower.

The honest summary is that Madalin wins on car count and map size, and loses on having anything to work toward. Which of those matters more depends entirely on whether you want a game or a sandbox.

Performance and access

It runs in the browser with no download, which is the main appeal. A few practical notes:

• A desktop browser with hardware acceleration enabled will run it far better than one without. This is the most common cause of poor frame rates.
• Chrome and Edge tend to handle WebGL games more reliably than older browsers.
• Closing other tabs genuinely helps, since browser games share resources with everything else you have open.
• Multiplayer needs a stable connection, and lag shows up as other players teleporting around the map.

If the game is blocked on a network you are using, that block is usually there deliberately, whether by a school, a workplace or a home filter. That is a conversation to have with whoever manages the network rather than something to route around, and the mirror sites that advertise themselves as workarounds are frequently loaded with intrusive ads and are not worth the risk.

Is it worth your time?

For fifteen minutes at a time, yes. It loads instantly, it asks nothing of you, and messing about with supercar physics in a giant empty playground is a genuinely good way to kill a short gap in your day.

It will not hold you for a weekend. There is nothing to unlock, no reason to improve beyond your own satisfaction, and the novelty of the maps runs out. Treat it as a toy rather than a game and it delivers exactly what it promises.

If you want something with more structure, our ranking of every Need for Speed game covers the proper racing options, and our guide to stancing a car in GTA 5 covers customisation in a bigger sandbox. For the real versions of the cars here, try our list of the most popular dream cars.

Common questions

Who made Madalin Stunt Cars 3?

Madalin Stanciu, a Romanian developer who has made the whole series, starting with the original Madalin Stunt Cars.

Is Madalin Stunt Cars 3 free?

Yes. It runs in a browser with no purchase, download or account required.

What is the fastest car in the game?

The hypercar-class vehicles at the top of the list are fastest in a straight line, though top speed is rarely what makes a car good here. Handling matters more on maps built around ramps and jumps.

How many cars are in Madalin Stunt Cars 3?

Around 60, modelled on real supercars and hypercars without official manufacturer licensing.

Can I play it on my phone?

Not well. The controls are keyboard-based, so it needs a desktop or laptop.

What is the difference between Madalin Stunt Cars 2 and 3?

Version 3 has more cars and better visuals. Version 2 is lighter and runs more smoothly on older hardware, which is why it still has a large player base.

The post Madalin Stunt Cars 3: What It Is and How to Play It appeared first on WhichCar.org.