Need for Speed: Rivals

Need for Speed: Rivals is an upcoming open-world racing video game in development at Swedish games developer Ghost Games (formerly EA Gothenburg), the twentieth installment in the long-running Need for Speed series. The game is to be released forMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 19 November 2013 and will also be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later in 2013. It is a spiritual successor to 1999's Need for Speed: High Stakes.

Gameplay

Need for Speed: Rivals will feature similar gameplay to 2010's

History of NFS video results

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit title in the Need for Speed franchise with exotic cars and high-speed police chases.^[3] Players take on the role of a racer or a cop, with each side of the law offering its own set of challenges, risks and rewards.^[4]Rivals will feature eleven upgradeable gadgets such as EMPs, shockwaves and the ability to call in roadblocks.^[3] The game takes place in fictional Redview County, an open world area that's host to scraps between cops and robbers.^[3] The open world will feature a similar set-up to 2012's Need for Speed: Most Wanted, with several jumps, speed traps and unlockable cars.^[5]

The game uses Autolog, the competition-between-friends system developed by Criterion for Hot Pursuit, and since used in other titles in the Need for Speed series. It will let players compare stats and challenge friends anytime, anywhere and share the accomplishments with both friends and rivals.^[4] Rivals features a new social system called AllDrive, which allow players to seamlessly transition from playing alone, to playing with friends, described as "destroying the line between single player and multiplayer". This will allow players to in engage co-op gameplay as well as play against each other.^[4] The game also features a dynamic weather system, which is "going to make the world feel alive in a much bigger sense than any other Need for Speed game."^[3]

Rivals will also take on some gameplay styles of earlier Underground titles in the franchise with cues on aesthetic vehicle customizations, as performance upgrades, paint jobs, decals, rims and license plates can be modified. The customization confirmed so far seems limited to texture-based changes (essentially livery decoration).^[5] With the absence of Aston Martin Vanquish, other vehicles will only be available in either racer or police variant.^[6] Ferrari will officially return to the franchise in full form for the first time in eleven years since Hot Pursuit 2 in 2002 (although they've appeared in 2009's Shift as Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable content) with theF12berlinetta being the first Ferrari vehicle confirmed.^[7]

Development

Former Need for Speed Need for Speed Rivals - E3 Gameplay Video (Official E3 2013)_HDdeveloper EA Black Box was set to develop the 2013 installment in the franchise.

In 2010, Criterion Games revived the series with the release of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, a remake of the 1998's Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, as it won several awards, became the highest rated game in Need For Speed's history, and sold more than 8.5 million copies.^[8] Criterion Games executives stated that they wanted to draw from the series' roots and re-introduce old Need for Speed ideals (exotic cars, beautiful scenery, police pursuits, etc). However, in 2011, EA Black Box released Need for Speed: The Run,

which got mixed reviews and was overall considered to be a huge disappointment in comparison to Hot Pursuit.^[9]^[10]^[11]^{[neutrality is disputed]}^{[improper synthesis?]} In 2012, EA Labels president Frank Gibeau said although he was proud of the Black Box-developed installment, "I don't want a 60, I want an 80+". On the subject of EA Black Box, Gibeau said the publisher would not be changing its alternating studio strategy.^[12] However, at E3 2012, Criterion vice president Alex Ward announced that the days of random developers churning out yearly Need for Speed instalment are over. Ward wouldn't confirm that all Need for Speed titles for the future would developed wholly by Criterion, but did say that the studio would have "strong involvement" in them. Ward was, however, clear that Criterion will have control over which Need for Speed titles would come out in the future.^[13]^[14]

Need for Speed™ Rivals _ Teaser Trailer_HD

New studio

Logo for the newly founded Ghost Games, developer for Need for Speed: Rivals.

With EA Canada and Black Box restructured and refocused towards online and free-to-play games in February 2012,^[15] EA had already formed a new studio in 2011, EA Gothenburg. Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, it was reported that the studio would focus on development games using the Frostbite game engine.^[16]^[17]^[18] Also reported was that the studio was developing a game "in the Need For Speed franchise".^[19] According to the CVs of employees, much of the studio's staff had worked previously on major racing titles, including Forza Horizon, Need for Speed: The Run, Project Gotham Racing and RACE Pro.^[19] On 22 October 2012, the series main developer Criterion confirmed that EA Gothenburg was working on a title in the Need for Speed franchise, but did not reveal the level of involvement or when the title would be released.^[20] On 15 November 2012, EA Gothenburg was rebranded as Ghost Games. Ghost's website went live around the same time and called for potential staff to apply for a range of open positions.^[21]^[22]

On 23 May 2013, EA confirmed their next Need for Speed game, Rivals, with a teaser trailer,^[4] following marketing material tease days before.^[23]^[24] It was also confirmed that Rivals was in the works at EA's Swedish games developer Ghost Games in partnership with Criterion Games.^[7] Ghost is headed up by former DICE executive producer Marcus Nilsson, who previously led development on games including Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Battlefield 2142 and Shift 2: Unleashed.^[25] Also Burnout creator Alex Ward is working with Ghost.^[26]

Marketing and release

Need for Speed: Rivals will be released for PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 on 19 November 2013 in North America and on 21 November in Europe. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions are aimed to "be out on launch" for each console. A launch title for Sony and Microsoft's new consoles, it will join DriveClub on PS4 and Forza 5 on Xbox One.^[27]

All pre-orders of the game grant the purchaser with an access code for the Ultimate Cop Pack at no additional cost. It includes "exclusive access to a powerful collection of items", including the Nissan GT-R Black Edition cop car, advanced pursuit technology, and a custom livery.^[7]