Need for Speed reboot focuses on narrative and nighttime racing

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Need for Speed: Rivals launched with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and was solidly well-received, but the series has seen significant ups and downs as it tried different racing styles and game design approaches in recent years.

So a fresh start sounds nice right about now. And that’s exactly what Electronic Arts has planned for this year’s new entry, simply titled Need for Speed. EA released the first teaser today and dropped some vague details ahead of the proper full reveal during E3 week next month.

The new Need for Speed will maintain the open-world design that has made for several great entries, including 2012’s Need for Speed: Most Wanted, but it’ll switch to a nighttime setting – the kind seen back with the popular Need for Speed: Underground games during the PlayStation 2 era. Fans of those old favorites may feel right at home here, and ample customisation is also promised.

Also interesting is the promise of "an immersive narrative that pulls you through the game," says the YouTube description for the above trailer. Some of the more popular Need for Speed games used stylized full-motion video for their story-driven campaigns, but EA has bounced back and forth on the level of narrative needed for each entry (2011’s rough Need for Speed: The Run was a step too far).

"Need for Speed is one of the most iconic names in gaming, and we’re returning it to greatness in this reboot," promises Marcus Nilsson, executive producer at developer 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."

It’s due out this fall for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and we’ll see much more of it on 15 June during EA’s press conference before E3.

[Source: EA]

Read More › Need for Speed reveal coming this week

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Andrew writes features, news stories, reviews, and other pieces, often when the UK home team is off-duty or asleep. I'm based in Chicago with my lovely wife, amazing son, and silly cats, and my writing about games, gadgets, esports, apps, and plenty more has appeared in more than 75 publications since 2006.