14 DAY TRIAL // During Electronic Arts' E3 2011, the company presented a lot of details about all of its big franchises, with Need for Speed: The Run occupying its fair share of the spotlight through a gameplay demonstration from EA Black Box's Justin DeLong.
EA is trying to revolutionize its NFS racing series by investing heavily in all of the recent iterations, including the recent NFS: Hot Pursuit or Shift 2: Unleashed.
Now, with the upcoming Need for Speed: The Run, the racing series is set to take its biggest step forward, by using an all-new engine from the EA DICE studio, Frostbite 2, and interweaving the Autolog online feature into the story of the title.
“This is the year that Need for Speed goes to the next level,” said Jason DeLong, executive producer at EA. “We think that Need for Speed The Run is going to surprise people with its intense, thrilling story and big action feel. But the game would be nothing without hot cars and crazy-fast chases. So that is what we’re delivering -- explosive racing that will have players flirting with disaster at 200-miles an hour.”
But while we already knew these things, EA surprised a lot of people during its E3 presentation by saying that NFS: The Run will also have on-foot sequences that require players to guide their own character throughout the game's world during some intense sequences.
DeLong showcased some gameplay that started off with a regular race, between the participants of The Run, which is quickly shut down by the bad guys known only as The Mob, which prompts the protagonist to jump out of the car and then start a chase on the rooftops of the nearby buildings.
While these on-foot portions seem like glorified on-rails quick time events, they do look pretty good, and, if used sparingly, might allow NFS: The Run to rise above its racing game status.
Besides the presence of these sequences, The Run is looking extremely sharp, with the power of Frostbite 2 being showcased throughout the gameplay demonstration, as well as the screenshots that you can enjoy below.
