EA unveils Need For Speed Rivals

Game2k
Thursday, May 23, 2013 | 7:59 PM
31 comments

Images PC PS4 Xbox One Xbox 360 PS3

Cops and racers are back as Need For Speed Rivals has been announced today by Electronic Arts. The Frostbite 3-powered title is developed by Ghost Games a new studio in partnership with Criterion. Get the details and screenshots after the jump while we hope to grab a worthy quality trailer. The game is coming on November 19.

EA Announces Need for Speed Rivals Racing to Xbox One and PlayStation 4

Cops & Racers Risk Everything on the Open Road with the New AllDrive Feature that Seamlessly Connects Friends into One Racing World

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced Need for Speed™ Rivals, an action/racing game created by an inspired new development team, using a powerful engine and delivering next-generation gameplay. Need for Speed Rivals is being developed by EA’s newest studio, Ghost Games, who bring new thinking and innovation to the Need for Speed franchise in partnership with the expert racing team at Criterion Games. Built on the Frostbite™ 3 game engine, Need for Speed Rivals captures the adrenaline and intensity of the street’s ultimate rivalry between cops and racers in a stunning open road environment. Need for Speed Rivals is coming to Xbox 360® game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC on November 19, 2013 and will also be released on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PlayStation 4 later this year.

In Need for Speed Rivals, gamers play as either a cop or racer, where each side of the law has its own set of high stakes challenges, rewards and consequences. As a racer, the goal is to become infamous for taking risks behind the wheel and capturing your most intense escapes on video for the world to see. The more cops players evade, the more Speed Points they collect, enabling them to unlock new cars and items. Keep raising the stakes race after race to become an ever-more valuable target to the cops – but risk losing it all if busted. As a cop, players work together as part of a team in pursuit of racers, earning prominence and rising in the ranks of the Police Force with every bust. Achieving higher ranks unlocks new police-only cars and more powerful pursuit tech.

Ghost Games also announced today the long-awaited return of Ferrari to the Need for Speed franchise. For the first time in seven years, gamers can get behind the wheel of some of the most luxurious, desirable automobiles on the planet, including the F12berlinetta. Spokesperson Stefano Saporetti, Head of Brand Operations in Ferrari, added, “We are back in the Need For Speed franchise, starting with Need for Speed Rivals, as we want the fans of this world famous and award-winning racing game saga to be able again to feel the excitement of the Ferrari Brand and cars.”

At the heart of Need for Speed Rivals is AllDrive, an innovative new online feature that allows gamers to seamlessly transition from playing alone to playing with friends, eliminating the line between single player and multiplayer. Players will have to keep one eye on their rearview mirror as friends will be able to enter and exit races on-the-fly, creating a world where no two events will ever be the same.

“The Need for Speed franchise has been an industry leader bringing social competition to the forefront in games,” said Marcus Nilsson, Executive Producer, Ghost Games. “For the first time, players will have the freedom to seamlessly go from single player to co-op to multiplayer. In Need for Speed Rivals we are creating one game experience with one progression, where the freedom to play with friends is more fluid and accessible than ever before.”

Need for Speed Rivals pushes the limits of racing games with all-new and improved features:

Next-Gen Racing – Redview County is brought to life with stunning, next-generation detail and weather effects that force drivers to master the elements, as well as the competition.
Need for Speed Network Powered by Autolog – Gamers can compare stats and challenge their friends anytime, anywhere and then easily share their accomplishments with both friends and rivals.
Personalization – Drivers customize their ride with fresh paintjobs, custom license plates, liveries, decals, rims, and performance upgrades.
Pursuit and Evasion Tech – Street racing explodes with 11 upgradeable gadgets including turbo boosts, jammers and EMPs for racers, and shockwaves, roadblocks and helicopters for cops.

Players eager to bust racers from day one can pre-order Need for Speed Rivals at participating retailers and receive the Need for Speed Rivals Ultimate Cop Pack at no additional cost*. This pack offers exclusive access to a powerful collection of items including the Nissan GT-R Black Edition cop car, advanced pursuit technology, and a custom livery.

To view the first Need for Speed Rivals teaser trailer, please visit www.needforspeed.com. To join the conversation on Need for Speed Rivals, please visit http://www.facebook.com/needforspeed, follow us on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/needforspeed and #NeedforSpeed, or sign up for the official Need for Speed newsletter at www.needforspeed.com. Press assets for Need for Speed Rivals are available at http://info.ea.com.

* Conditions and restrictions apply. See http://store.origin.com/store/ea/en_US/pd/productI... for details.

Screenshots

Key Art

deafwing

Commented on 2013-05-23 20:19:27

: / - i'm not sure why but I'm underwhelmed.

In reply to

Zat

Commented on 2013-05-23 21:16:23

If its gonna be good, I will get it. Good racing game is always welcome. I just hope they will enhance the driving itself with more decent physics ( I know its not Forza or GT5) to be it more challenging and fun. And please no more jumping from one car to another. Good old way of making money and unlocking new things.

deadlymint

Commented on 2013-05-23 22:29:00

There's been years since I played a Racing Game. I liked NFS: Underground 2. A shame that no new NFS game is been made with this theme anymore.

radsy

Commented on 2013-05-23 22:53:42

need for speed : RAIN !!!

twitchfactor

Commented on 2013-05-23 22:55:16 In reply to deafwing

Posted by deafwing

: / - i'm not sure why but I'm jaded.

Here, fixed that for you. ;)

But seriously, what's to be underwhelmed by? It looks amazing. Better than NFSMW2012 and that looked amazing. It'll be more of the same, hopefully, more the same goodness but looking amazing.

Commented on 2013-05-23 22:56:11 In reply to deadlymint

Posted by deadlymint

Agreed. I miss when NFS was about street racing and the "fast & furious culture". High-end supercars are neato and all, but I'd like to take a Joe-average car, sticker it up, boost it to NASA levels and bomb around town.

FemaleTengu

Commented on 2013-05-23 23:08:04

Oh, another Need for Speed already? Guess that means the game will suck?

HR2

Commented on 2013-05-23 23:13:03

at least this one looks nice ..but it's gonna rain forever I guess

Xoar

Commented on 2013-05-23 23:46:31

Looking mighty fine booyah

michaelob

Commented on 2013-05-24 00:05:29

Looks nice enough. Unfortunately, every Need for Speed game simply copy/pastes the description from the previous 10 games and adds a single feature. This time its rain. I typically can only get into one or two racing games per gen before I get burned out, and I don't think "rain" is going to cut it for me...oh and Ferraris.

GangStarr

Commented on 2013-05-24 03:38:27

pics look really nice but are they really in game? looks too sharp and clean to be in-game

itaintrite

Commented on 2013-05-24 04:51:11

Racing games are the best way to show off a new console. Let's see how it turns out.

cma112087

Commented on 2013-05-24 05:10:24

I can still see imperfections in the models.

The first screenshot looks like it could be next gen, however PGR4 captured that graphical quality with weather effects like 4 years ago on 360.

Speaking of which, imo PGR3/4 still has the best handling/controls of any racing game iv'e played this gen. Forza Horizon did pretty well in balancing simulation/arcade in terms of gameplay.

But honestly id be more impressed if these were 360/PS3 screens. And actually they probably are, just taken in the ''photo mode''. Forza Horizon's photo mode made the pictures taken look nearly photo-realistic.

MordeaniisChaos

Commented on 2013-05-24 06:24:27 In reply to cma112087

Posted by cma112087

Well, you're forgetting that this game will be running more than double the resolution of a 360 game, will look much sharper and cleaner as hardware now is able to A) more efficiently use AA and B) produce a much cleaner AA effect because of the resolution, and, and then the fact that all we've really seen are the car models (looking at Forza 5, the thing that really improved was the environmental stuff. The cars look sharper because of the greatly increased resolution, but it was the environments that really impressed). These models look great, and they are being shown much closer than you'll ever see during gameplay.
On top of that, we have no idea how the game will actually look running in real time, in motion.
And trust me, whenever people look at these things, they say "nah, that's not that much better." Truth is, if you looked at them side by side, you'd probably be amazed. Especially because of the resolution and cleaner lines and increases to detail in the environment.
Also, Forza Horizon even in photo mode did not look nearly photorealistic. The textures were poor, the models were pretty good, and the environments were a bit lacking. It was excellent for the hardware it was using, but there's no way that it stands up to this. Even with all of the AA in the world.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-n...
That's what the last Need For Speed game looked like, that's what a 360/PS3 game looks like. Side by side, there's no fuckin' competition. This one beats out Most Wanted by a large margin. And Most Wanted was already a very nice looking game despite it's low resolution and detail. This is the first NFS game on the new generation of hardware. This is just the start. Remember real early 360 games? Kameo, perfect dark, etc? Now look at games like Gears of War 3. If this is where this generation is starting, it's going to be interesting to see where it goes.

[quote=cma112087]I can still see imperfections in the models.

The first screenshot looks like it could be next gen, however PGR4 captured that graphical quality with weather effects like 4 years ago on 360.

Speaking of which, imo PGR3/4 still has the best handling/controls of any racing game iv'e played this gen.  Forza Horizon did pretty well in balancing simulation/arcade in terms of gameplay.

But honestly id be more impressed if these were 360/PS3 screens.  And actually they probably are, just taken in the ''photo mode''.  Forza Horizon's photo mode made the pictures taken look nearly photo-realistic.[/quote]
Well, you're forgetting that this game will be running more than double the resolution of a 360 game, will look much sharper and cleaner as hardware now is able to A) more efficiently use AA and B) produce a much cleaner AA effect because of the resolution, and, and then the fact that all we've really seen are the car models (looking at Forza 5, the thing that really improved was the environmental stuff. The cars look sharper because of the greatly increased resolution, but it was the environments that really impressed). These models look great, and they are being shown much closer than you'll ever see during gameplay.
On top of that, we have no idea how the game will actually look running in real time, in motion.
And trust me, whenever people look at these things, they say "nah, that's not that much better." Truth is, if you looked at them side by side, you'd probably be amazed. Especially because of the resolution and cleaner lines and increases to detail in the environment.
Also, Forza Horizon even in photo mode did not look nearly photorealistic. The textures were poor, the models were pretty good, and the environments were a bit lacking. It was excellent for the hardware it was using, but there's no way that it stands up to this. Even with all of the AA in the world.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-need-for-speed-most-wanted-face-off
That's what the last Need For Speed game looked like, that's what a 360/PS3 game looks like. Side by side, there's no fuckin' competition. This one beats out Most Wanted by a large margin. And Most Wanted was already a very nice looking game despite it's low resolution and detail. This is the first NFS game on the new generation of hardware. This is just the start. Remember real early 360 games? Kameo, perfect dark, etc? Now look at games like Gears of War 3. If this is where this generation is starting, it's going to be interesting to see where it goes.

KhabirM

Commented on 2013-05-24 08:53:51

The Frostbite 3 engine is looking good there. Not that bad actually as the rain/water drops on the cars looks individually distinctive. I hope the weather effects in this game will add more experience to the game. I'm getting this for the PS4.

Also, I guess this is where the "Share" button on the DS4 will come in handy >> "As a racer, the goal is to become infamous for taking risks behind the wheel and capturing your most intense escapes on video for the world to see."

gow_fan

Commented on 2013-05-24 10:07:32

The trailer looks good. This game is going to have nice gfx

pez_Q

Commented on 2013-05-24 12:55:53

Guys, remember what the first NFS looked this generation ?:

http://assets1.ignimgs.com/2005/10/03/need-for-spe...

Need for Speed Rivals should be compared to that. Both are first iterations for the new generation, and both games also came out for the older machines aswell.

So yeah, for a first step...it looks pretty awesome :)