Our relationship with the Need for Speed series runs a little hot and cold. With regard to the 2015 reboot, we dug how joyously and accessibly it embraced arcade-style racing. The game was a dream for latent gearheads, allowing them to customize just about every aspect of their driving experience. On the downside, it wasn’t always very easy to enjoy the game’s top-of-the-line aesthetics given all the racer slang/netspeak-laden Twitter posts and tutorial guidance that would flash across the screen, and sometimes at the most inopportune moments. As for the always-online component, it was less than efficiently deployed.
Today, EA announced Need for Speed Payback, the newest entry in its long-running racing series. According to the studio:
This explosive adventure is filled with intense heist missions, high stakes car battles, epic cop pursuits and jaw dropping set pieces. It’s blockbuster gameplay never before seen from the series, fueled by a gripping story of betrayal and revenge. With Need for Speed Payback, it’s no longer just about being the first to cross the finish line or racing to prove to be the best, it’s about building the perfect ride, getting behind the wheel and playing out an action driving fantasy.
The game is set in Fortune Valley, throughout which players will zoom as three distinct characters (Tyler, the Racer; Mac, the Showman; and Jess, the Wheelman) reunited and, um, driven by a quest for vengeance against a cartel that, of course, rules this underworld’s casinos, criminals, and cops. We’re excited that the game is bound to feature the deepest customization that the series has seen to date, though EA did not specify how the always-online component of the prior game would be rewritten, if at all.
EA did also announce that players who pre-order the game will receive the Need for Speed Payback Platinum Car Pack and get instant access to five uniquely customized and tuned iconic cars at launch, each with exclusive Platinum Blue Tire Smoke. The Car Pack includes:
Nissan 350Z 2008
Chevrolet Camaro SS 1967
Dodge Charger R/T 1969
Ford F-150 Raptor 2016
Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport 2016
Watch the official Need for Speed Payback reveal trailer below:
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