As promised, EA have officially announced the next Need for Speed game. And…it’s not Need for Speed Underground, as has been widely speculated – at least not in name.
Simply called “Need for Speed,” this year’s entry is being touted as a series reboot, with the aim to deliver what long-time fans of the series want to see.
What exactly have the fans been requesting, you may ask? Well, you don’t have to scour the internet for very long to find out. Indeed, it’s clear that many players have been pining for a new Need for Speed Underground, a game that’s become a firm fan favourite in the series thanks to its extensive car modification options that were ground-breaking at the time.
EA have been listening – “deep customisation” is confirmed to be a headline feature in Need for Speed, although Ghost Games aren’t going into details just yet.
Accompanying the announcement is the obligatory teaser trailer, giving us a brief glimpse of what to expect, diving into the midst of a night time urban street race with the police in hot pursuit.
Need for Speed will also be set in a nocturnal open world environment evoking Underground’s night time illegal street racing vibe. Ghost Games also state we can expect an “immersive narrative” to drive the game.
The overall aim is to embody the urban car culture. To help achieve this, EA’s car culture community Speedhunters collaborated with the developers to research past, present and emergent trends of the urban car scene for real world authenticity.
“Need for Speed is one of the most iconic names in gaming, and we're returning it to greatness in this reboot” said Marcus Nilsson, Executive Producer at Ghost Games. “Pulling on our 20 years of history and then taking a year out from releasing a game, we are making the game we’ve always wanted to. We're listening to the fans and delivering an experience that will capture their imagination and unleash their passion for cars and speed.”
So, the skinny: Need for Speed is back. And it’s bringing back car customisation and illegal night-time street racing fans have been requesting since Underground. Are you happy now?
Hopefully the extra year in development will pay off. If Ghost Games can deliver on their promise to deliver the game fans want, this could be an exciting new era for Need for Speed.
Expect to see much more of Need for Speed in EA’s E3 press conference on June 15th. Need for Speed is expected to screech onto PS4, Xbox One and PC this Autumn.
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