Need for Speed: The Run is a racing video game, the 18th title in the Need for Speed franchise, and is being developed by EA Black Box and will be published by Electronic Arts. The 3DS version is being developed by Firebrand Games, the team behind Undercover and Nitro (both DS version). It is scheduled for release in North America on November 15, 2011 and November 18, 2011 in Europe.The Run is the first title in the series to be rated T by the ESRB since Undercover.

The game is described as “An illicit, high-stakes race across the country. The only way to get your life back is to be the first from San Francisco to New York. No speed limits. No rules. No allies. All you have are your driving skills and sheer determination as you battle hundreds of the world’s most notorious drivers on the country’s most dangerous roads.”

Gameplay

In The Run, players will participate in an “underground world of illicit, high stakes racing,” in a race from San Francisco to New York, with stops through Las Vegas, Denver, Detroit, and many other locations, making it the first title in the series to use real locations. The cops aren’t the only ones after the player though, as the player “blows across borders, weaves through dense urban traffic, rockets down icy mountain passes and navigates narrow canyons at breakneck speeds.” There are over 300km of track, three times more than Hot Pursuit, making it the biggest Need For Speed game.

The Run is powered by DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine, making the game the first non-shooter and one of the first console titles to use the engine, which provides visuals and car physics that “hug the road even at top speeds all built around a gripping storyline.” Additionally, Need for Speed Autolog, the Need for Speed franchise’s social competition functionality, which was introduced in Hot Pursuit and was previously used in Shift 2 Unleashed, is also back as it will continue to track career progression and compare game stats.

The game features quick time events, with the player for the first time in Need for Speed history, exiting their car and travelling on foot. These events won’t always be about harsh success or failure states. In some sections there are branching outcomes, so if the player mangles a certain button press, they’ll get another chance to pull through

The driving model of the game is described as “sit somewhere between Shift and Hot Pursuit”, not as arcade-styled as Hot Pursuit. The Run employs a large range of real-world vehicles, seemingly taking in the usual mix of muscle cars, street racers and refined exotics, described as “each car presents a different driving challenge for the player.” Exclusively digitized for the game is the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S and the Pagani Huayra.

Need for Speed: The Run – E3 2011: Gameplay Demo

Amazon Links

PLAYSTATION 3 Need for Speed: The Run – Limited Edition
Xbox 360 Need for Speed: The Run – Limited Edition
Nintendo Wii Need for Speed: The Run
PC Need for Speed: The Run – Limited Edition
Nintendo 3DS Need for Speed: The Run

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