E3 2015: Need for Speed Screenshots

The reboot of NFS gets it’s first batch of screenshots…
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NFS Franchise Races Into New Genres

Global Studio Teams Drive Quality and Innovation in Three New Games

Guildford, UK – January 30, 2009 – Fifteen years; more than 40 countries; close to 100 million games sold. Need for Speed™ has helped to define automotive culture for millions of fans with its embrace of the car lifestyle and its cool rebellious attitude. Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) unveiled the details of what is in store for the franchise over the next 12 months, as the property expands to new platforms, new categories and new media.

Need for Speed is committed to providing unique and customized experiences for all types of racing fans by establishing three independent series; simulation, action and arcade racing. Each series will be developed by a highly-specialized team dedicated to delivering the ultimate racing experiences to car enthusiasts around the world – whether they be interested in adrenaline action, arcade fun or authentic simulation.

“We recognize racing videogame fans are very passionate and unique — they want customized gameplay experiences. Whether it’s more of a realistic driving game with accurate car physics or over-the-top cop chases, we are making different games for different audiences,” said Keith Munro, vice president of marketing, Need for Speed. “Each game provides a deep, engaging and rich racing experience. We’re giving players the option to choose the best racing title that suits their style of gameplay.”

Need for Speed SHIFT – Autumn 2009

Shift into high gear! Designed to deliver a true driver’s experience that reflects contemporary motorsports, Need for Speed SHIFT is built by racers for racers. Need for Speed SHIFT delivers an authentic and immersive driving experience developed by Slightly Mad Studios in collaboration with executive producer Michael Mann at Black Box and senior vice president Patrick Soderlund at EA Games Europe. Slightly Mad Studios includes developers and designers that worked on the critically acclaimed games GT Legends and GTR 2. Need for Speed SHIFT replicates the true feeling of racing high-end performance cars like never before. Players are thrust into the heart of the action with immersive and exciting features including a stunningly realistic first-person cockpit view camera and an all-new crash mechanic, providing an unrivalled sensation of the speed and feeling of racing a car on the extreme edge of control.

Soderlund is also part of a racing team that recently competed in the 4th edition of the TOYO TIRES 24H Dubai 2009, the first major race event of the year. His team ranked #5 in the high-profile race. Soderlund and the SHIFT development team are committed to bringing the on-the-track experience to players across the world.

Need for Speed SHIFT will be released on PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) and PC in fall 2009.

Need for Speed NITRO (Working Title) – Autumn 2009

Developed by EA Montreal, Need for Speed NITRO for Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ will have players of all skill levels hooked from the moment they get into the action, while arcade racing fans will be exhilarated by the deep and challenging gameplay. EA Montreal has already established a strong track record of developing for these platforms and will bring their unique creativity and innovation to the Need for Speed franchise.

Gamers can build up their boost as they drift and drag behind their opponents and use it strategically to change the course of the race, but watch out for the cops! Offering a fresh and unique visual style, the game features a variety of licensed cars which can be fully customized to let the game reflect the player’s taste and personality. This evolutionary take on arcade racing, bringing back the best features found in Need for Speed games, comes exclusively to the Nintendo platforms this fall.

Need for Speed World Online – Winter 2009 in North America, (Summer 2009 in Asia)

Co-developed by Black Box and EA Singapore, Need for Speed World Online takes the race into the largest open world in the history of Need for Speed – designed exclusively for the PC. Beginning in Asia, this Play 4 Free action racing game will give Need for Speed fans access to licensed cars, parts and multiple game modes. Players will prove their racing supremacy through the sophisticated online matchmaking features and fully customize their profile and their ride.

EA and Black Box will have more news about the Need for Speed franchise in the months ahead.

Xbox 360 Review: Midnight Club Los Angeles

Midnight Club hits LA, should you pay it a visit?

Rockstar Games is proud to announce the fourth installment of its critically-acclaimed and genre-defining Midnight Club franchise, Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Developed by series creator Rockstar San Diego, Midnight Club: Los Angeles will give gamers the unprecedented freedom to race through a hyper-realistic LA.

Whether driving by the beach or beating the competition by cutting through a parking garage at 200 mph, Midnight Club: Los Angeles provides a seamless, breathtaking environment for everyone who loves to compete. With no load times, no tracks, and no rules, the game allows players to race who they want, when they want, and where they want in an unbelievable recreation of Los Angeles.

A racing game is nothing without the great cars and Midnight Club: Los Angeles allows extensive customization of vehicles for both performance and appearance. Players can now fully personalize their officially licensed imports, tuners, classic muscle cars and motorcycles both inside and out with a dizzying array of licensed rims, spoilers, interior gauges, tires and more.

Midnight Club has been another series that I have missed out on until now. I always considered Burnout, Need for Speed and PGR to be all the driving I’d ever need and while that’s true to a point, Midnight Club LA proves that it’s not quite out of the race just yet.

The idea of Midnight Club LA is that you begin with a crappy car, a small budget and next to no reputation. As you win races, you earn rep and money that you can spend on getting new cars or adding new parts to it for future races. Think of LA as a hub for races like Burnout Paradise, but instead you chase drivers and flash your headlights to challenge them to a race. Races can be easy if you know the track well enough, plus you can just hit reset and do the thing again until you win. You can also gain nitrous boost by staying behind a driver till the meter fills to the top, then hit X and make them eat your dust.

The game isn’t without its issues, however. For example, draw distance can prove problematic when they are bushes in the middle of roads that appear seconds before you can evade, I’ve crashed my car and lost a few races because of it. Usually when it comes to sprint races, you are finished if you crash once. You earn rep regardless of what position you come, but it’s still annoying that this problem can actually cause you to lose. Despite that hindrance, LA looks amazing as do the cars themselves. It would have been nice for something like a reverse button like GRID has if you crash or if collisions were more realistic than just a knock. Evading police is something you’ll also have to do, and while it isn’t nearly as fun as NFS Most Wanted was, it does the job well enough.

The performance is impressive as there are practically no load times between races, the game just zooms out and zooms back onto the starting line then it begins. As you progress through career mode, you’ll be introduced to special race types and missions. You’ll find out about these from your sidekick, local hangouts or the garage. Successfully completing these will get you even more rep points and cash. There are also 4 special things you can do as you progress that can turn the tide of the tougher races. Agro lets you plough through the competition, Zone slows everything down, EMP disables the competition and Roar sends out an engine rev so loud that traffic will do anything to get out of the way.

Online and System Link support is upto 16 players and there are some interesting modes such as variations of Capture The Flag as well as standard ranked and played races. The soundtrack is pretty good, although it’s not to my personal tastes. Of course it’s easily fixed with the fact that you can play your own music in the background, huzzah!

The Verdict

Midnight Club LA might not be original with its ideas, nor does it do anything that great…but it’s still a fun racer that can be enjoyed by most, although only if they’ve played Burnout Paradise and NFS to death.