EA has just landed with the reveal trailer, UK release date and initial gameplay details for the latest adventure in its high-octane racing series, Need For Speed: Payback. From what we’ve seen in the trailer and the details released about the gameplay, it looks like the upcoming game will be a bridge between Battlefield: Hardline, GTA and the more traditional Need For Speed titles.
The game introduces much more storyline to the action with the set-up sounding more akin to a third person open world adventure than a racing title. Think somewhere between Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands and Mafia III with a little Vegas casino underworld spirit and you’re not too far away from the direction the game has taken. Check out the trailer below to see the reveal for yourself.
Release date
The Need For Speed: Payback UK release date has been confirmed for the 10th November 2017 and it’ll be out worldwide on the same date. It’ll be available on Xbox ONE, PS4 and PC, so it pretty much covers all bases except for the Nintendo Switch, which looks like it’s still struggling for third party support.
In addition to the standard game release, EA has also confirmed that it will be packaging a Deluxe Edition of the game scheduled for the same release date. It gives you the upcoming Story Mission Pack and the Need for Speed Payback Platinum Car Pack, along with exclusive customisation items, in-game discounts, Rep bonuses, and five shipments to get your adventure started.
If you pre-order the Deluxe Edition you also get to a play the game in full three days ahead of the main release date to give you a little more time to get the jump on the online competition. Pre-ordering the Standard Edition will get you the Platinum Car Pack, which includes the Nissan 350Z 2008, Chevrolet Camaro SS 1967, Dodge Charger R/T 1969, Ford F-150 Raptor 2016, Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport 2016 and exclusive platinum blue tire smoke.
Story
The racing adventure storyline centres on three core characters, all out for revenge against The House, the local cartel that runs the shadier side of Fortune Valley. It controlsall of the casinos, has a wide influence on the criminal underworld in the area and keeps the local police on a short chain thanks to bribery and corruption throughout the network.
Facing off against them, your primary weapon will be your car, which you’ll be able to craft from the ground up to create the kind of performance beast you’ll need to take the operation down. You’ll also have a little help and support from the other members of your crew, but with the might of the cartel to take on you’ll still be the underdogs for the majority of the game.
Need For Speed: Payback image gallery:
Gameplay
The reveal trailer and details announced by EA have started to paint the picture for the Need For Speed: Payback gameplay. The main storyline adventure will see you taking on races, missions and challenges in a bid to exact your revenge on The House. This will range from simple street races to car battles, ambushes, police chases and set pieces to give the gameplay a good amount of variety.
Scavenging seems to be a big part of the adventure too with emphasis on finding abandoned vehicles in and around Fortune Valley to build your perfect car from scrap to hot wheels. This will include collecting, winning or buying the parts that you need to kit out your garage to help you put together the kind of collection that might just stand a chance against The House.
There will be five car classes to get to grips with – Race, Drift, Off-Road, Drag, and Runner – and you’ll be able to tune them all with a lot of detail. This will all be built around your garage, where you’ll be able to build unique cars with advanced customisation and upgrade option to add to your collection. EA will be announcing more about its Garage system shortly and you can see more from the game with the official Twitter page.
First impressions
It’s early days as of yet, but on the face of things Need For Speed: Payback looks like it’s going to be a thrill ride with the kind of driving fantasy adventure you might be more accustomed to seeing on the big screen. Comparisons to The Fast And The Furious aside, the game’s success will all come down to how well it drives when you strip back all of the fluff, so the jury’s still out on this one until the release date winds around in November.
