80
The game slows down when the track is full of cars. Plus, you might find your attention distracted by an over-detailed landscape that washes out the course ahead.
91
The overall graphics, gameplay and realism are as good as any racing game I have seen for the Sony PlayStation, and it’s a lot of fun too.
91
The graphics are absolutely stunning, but lose a few points for a quirky frame rate and lack of spectacular lighting, but damn they sure are perdy!
10
A true classic that perfected the early NFS formula. High Stakes introduced a level of depth that was ahead of its time, featuring a career mode with car damage, repairs, and the intense 'High Stakes' races where you could literally lose your car to the opponent. The tracks are beautiful, the soundtrack is iconic electronic bliss, and the physics strike a perfect balance between arcade fun and realistic consequences. Even years later, it remains one of the most atmospheric and rewarding entries in the franchise
8
It was the best after gran turismo. But it's impossible to give another car racing game the same score as sony's flagship.
8
The fourth game in EA's franchise nails the pure thrill of racing. The presentation is stellar, the cops are relentless, and it's just plain fun. By not indulging too heavily in style or gimmicks (you'll find no rubber banding here!), High Stakes can appeal to any racing fan. I strongly recommend playing PlayStation version and avoiding the PC version. It is not the same game and the handling is inferior. This is the definitive version, despite the bad performance. But even when it runs at 14 frames per second, High Stakes is still one of the best games in the NFS franchise.
Need for Speed: High Stakes
PlayStation
Released On:
Mar 1, 1999
Metascore
Generally Favorable
86
User score
Generally Favorable
8.3
My Score
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
86
86% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
14% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
Between the hot cars and tracks, in-depth Tournament mode, and thrilling cop chases, this excellent racer's got depth and style to spare. It's worth every cent.
91
The graphics are absolutely stunning, but lose a few points for a quirky frame rate and lack of spectacular lighting, but damn they sure are perdy!
User score
Generally Favorable
8.3
78% Positive
87 Ratings
87 Ratings
18% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
4% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Jan 15, 2026
10
A true classic that perfected the early NFS formula. High Stakes introduced a level of depth that was ahead of its time, featuring a career mode with car damage, repairs, and the intense 'High Stakes' races where you could literally lose your car to the opponent. The tracks are beautiful, the soundtrack is iconic electronic bliss, and the physics strike a perfect balance between arcade fun and realistic consequences. Even years later, it remains one of the most atmospheric and rewarding entries in the franchise
Jul 30, 2023
10
The best game in the history of the Need for Speed series. The variety of cars amazes the player with the graphics and gameplay of the cars along with competitive and realistic races. Exceptional voice acting along with various maps and masterpiece music make this version a work of art.
90
If you are a fan of the series, NFS: HS is the second best in the series second only to the original 3DO version.
86
Put your high-priced cars on the line in this racing sequel. [Jan 2004, p.188]
80
The High Stakes mode of play is rather difficult to pull off most of the time, and virtually impossible unless you know someone else with the game.
80
The game slows down when the track is full of cars. Plus, you might find your attention distracted by an over-detailed landscape that washes out the course ahead.
60
It seems almost threadbare in places due to the lack of attention in the physics, design, and multi-player aspects. Casual racing fans will probably get a kick out of it, but the hardcore gamers will be left wanting more.
May 25, 2023
10
This game is something truly special. Classic Need for Speed flaunting its best characteristics: fancy cars, good progression system, exotic tracks, brilliant soundtrack and pissy cops. Good stuff and great addition to a PS1 library!
May 25, 2023
10
I greatly prefer High Stakes on PS1 over the PC version, probably because I grew up with the PC version of Hot Pursuit, which runs on a simpler version of the same engine. Granted, the same can be said with the PS1 versions of the same games, but I still do prefer this one.
May 10, 2023
10
This game is the original Hot Pursuit multiplied by 100, one of the best menu soundtracks of all time, good race tracks, hot pursuit mode, solid career and arcade modes. What impress me more about this game is how they paid attention on the details back on PS1 days, you can turn the lights and hazards, car damage affect your performance, and the test drive mode just feels alive (try to crash on traffic, and do a couple laps, there is a chance of barriers being added on the site of the accident), the high stakes mode for 2 players is a great feature, but I think it was better used on the PC version career as a precursor of what we see on Most Wanted.
Oct 9, 2023
7
Need For Speed siempre ha sido una saga de PC, en consola simplemente no dan el ancho, sobretodo en esta época. Esta entrega es la más querida por los fans, no es casualidad, es un juego descente en sus físicas y y en general bonito, pero sigo cuestionandome a que le tira esta franquicia.
Apr 26, 2021
0
the best classic racing game from the time of the 90s and the best cars ferrari 360, f50, diablo sv, etc and new cars and an animated 3d character in the pc version
SummaryIt plays very much like Need for Speed III, but with some extra play modes and one big added feature.
Rated Efor Everyone
Platforms:
- PC
- PlayStation
Initial Release Date:Mar 1, 1999
Developer:
- EA Canada
Publisher:
