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Need for Speed: The Run
I got to play two very different tracks on Need For Speed: The Run’s latest Gamescom build.
There are many legs on the 3,000 mile race from San Francisco to New York. Hundreds of racers are competing and dozens drop out every day. In order to stay in the running, players have to continue to advance in the rankings at every segment.
In the first track I played, I started at 150th place and had to advance 10 spots in the alloted length of desert road. It doesn’t take long to get the feel of driving down as the arcadey gas, brake, nitro, and handbrake options are made to be pick up and play. I zipped down the black asphalt, passing rivals and dodging civilian cars. Every pass nets some XP, 25 if you ride dirty (smashing into the rival) and 50 if you do it clean (no contact). Near the end there’s a huge jump and I went flying off to the side of the road and crashed. The game automaticaly rewound to the previous checkpoint and I was able to cross the finish line with the required 10 passes. The in-game autolog that tracks all your progress makes note of how many rewinds and resets you use. Even though most people will be able to finish every leg, fewer will be able to do it without mistake penalties and get the best times.
The next stage I tried is set on the side of a snow-covered mountain. I only had to pass one car this time to move up from 75th place, but was constantly trying to outrun several man-made avalanches. I played this one with the front of the hood camera view just like the EA demoers showed off at the press conference. It was a lot of fun to see the snow piling up ahead of me and to swerve out of the way of boulders at the last second. The final area of the track showcases one final enormous avalanche that’s coming straight at you instead of from the side. I gunned the nitro and barely made it to the safety of the tunnel underneath.
Both tracks got the blood pumping and the mountain stage reminded me of the excellent Stuntman Ignition with the constant destruction you have to avoid. I didn’t get to play the on-foot sections, but I hope they offer a similar level of exhilaration that driving does.
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