Need for Speed: Payback gets a visceral showing at E3 2017

As you likely know, the next evolution in the Need for Speed franchise — and Ghost Games’ third attempt at making it their own — is going to be called Need for Speed: Payback. Furthermore, it’s going to be released this fall.

Thanks to E3 2017, where EA is currently showcasing its wares, we now know more about this latest iteration of what is perhaps gaming’s most well known racing series. One which has lasted for many years now, and doesn’t look like it’s anywhere close to slamming on its proverbial brakes.

In Need for Speed: Payback, players will control three different characters, each with their own specialties. Speed, customization and deft driving skills will once again be of the utmost importance, but Ghost Games has attempted to flesh things out more by introducing new features such as relics. These forgotten, rusted and left to rot vehicles can be discovered, saved and brought back to life. You can even turn them into super cars if you put in the time and effort, or care to do so.

After talking about how Payback will feature Need for Speed‘s largest and most diverse open world environment, things switched to a visceral gameplay video that showed a mission called Highway Heist. Therein, two of the game’s three protagonists hatched a plan to tail, attack and find their way onto a rogue transport truck carrying a special car.

As things progressed, we were treated to some really pretty in-game footage, featuring lots of speed and vehicular combat against the transport’s guard vehicles. Side wipes, crashes and telephone poles were all used to dispatch said asshats, before the player got up close to the speeding transport (which had no qualms about barreling through and viciously destroying all of the vehicles in its way), which allowed his ally to jump onto it and steal the car.

Needless to say, it’s like Need for Speed and The Fast and the Furious got together and had an interactive baby.

As a longtime fan of the series, I’m eagerly anticipating more footage from Need for Speed: Payback, and can’t wait to get my hands on it when it hits Xbox One, PS4 and PC on November 10th. It’s looking good.