Need For Speed: The Run

Preview from Luke - Monday, 05 September 2011 @ 2:45am

The last time I saw this game in action was on the show floor at E3 this year, and EA had definitely decided to take this title to an interesting place. What we played was a very intense chase sequence involving a helicopter laying down a barrage of bullets upon your car as you tried to make an escape. There was a moment at the end where control was taken away from the player and a cinematic sequence kicked in which then turned into a quick time event. I wasn’t really sure what to make of it at the time but the “Big Hollywood Blockbuster” feel that they are aiming for definitely seemed to be present.

So this time around EA showed off something a little more on familiar ground. Set in the desert hills of Nevada we played a standard race to try and cross the finish line while overtaking as many rival racers as possible. Yep, this was a Need For Speed game and it played freaking awesome. Even though we only had the 1 stage to demo i replayed it a bunch of times because I was having a blast. Not to mention it was also easy on the eyes, it looks outstanding thanks to the Frostbite 2 engine created by DICE, which is also powering EA’s gorgeous Battlefield 3. Once again making a returning appearance is the Autolog feature that was introduced in Criterions Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit. That fine tool which would help you compare everything you did in the game to your friends so that you could brag over how you destroyed their crappy lap time. There is going to be a load of different race types in the final game such as time trials, sprints, rival battles, cop pursuits, survival races and a lot more as you make your way from San Francisco to New York.

In between the few hours I spent at Eastern Creek Raceway playing Need For Speed: The Run I ducked out briefly and had a quick chat to drifting superstar Mad Mike to find out if his skills in racing transfer across to a video game.

I’m really keen to see how the final version of the game turns out but if they can pull off the “Hollywood Blockbuster” craziness they are aiming for then this will surely be a fun title. EA has been doing fantastic with the last few Need For Speed games so let’s hope they keep those wheels powering straight ahead. Need For Speed: The Run is due out November 17th on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.