This past Monday, EA and Ghost Games officially pulled the wraps off Need for Speed Heat at Gamescom. Now we have a gameplay trailer to walk players through what awaits them later this year.
Set in the fictional Palm City, the 25th installment returns to series to its roots with cops-versus-racers action. By day, players will race in sanctioned events courtesy of the Speedhunter Showdown. Win races and you’ll rake in money to tweak your car’s performance and appearance as you see fit.
Everything changes under the veil of darkness. Here, you’re racing for reputation by competing in street races. The more you win, the higher your heat level rises — meaning you’ll earn more reputation. Regardless of the time of day, push your luck and you’ll find yourself in a police chase. During the day, police patrol the area and play by the rules.
At night, the rulebook is tossed to the side. The higher your heat level, the more aggressive the police become. When things get too hot, the police will use spike strips, helicopters and “Rhino” armored vehicles to stop you in your tracks. Vehicle damage will play a role in pursuit chases as well, so you’ll want to get out of harm’s way — to a hideout or your garage — sooner rather than later.
This wouldn’t be a Need for Speed title without customization, and the feature returns in a big way this time around. Speed Cards from NFS Payback are no more, instead you’ll unlock parts by building your reputation at night. A revamped material editor gives players new material finishes to go with their choice of paintwork. Want a full carbon look with your flip paint? No problems.
Things really interesting with the all-new exhaust tuning system. Making its debut in Heat, the new system lets players fine tune the exhaust note, even allowing for pops and crackles on overrun. Customization extends to the player avatar as well with apparel and footwear options. Whether it be man (or woman) or machine, your look will be all yours — and there’s a free app for Android and Apple devices to create your style.
We’re excited to take the game for a spin ourselves and see how it stacks up. Need for Speed Heat releases on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 8. In the meantime, you can watch the trailer below:
See more articles on Gamescom 2019.
