One of the highlights during Saturday’s EA Play event at E3 2017 was the introduction to the latest in the storied Need for Speed franchise: Need For Speed: Payback.

The series made its modern console debut a couple of years ago in an admirably solid, but not great effort.

That game was an open world street racer that really didn’t deviate too much from its expected theme. You drove around a stunningly good looking rendition of Los Angeles, challenged other racers, and well, raced.

Need for Speed: Payback is still about racing, but the core of the game goes of in a completely different direction than its predecessor.

Malik Forte and Creative Director, Will Ho stopped by the PlayStation stage at E3 2017 to talk about where Need for Speed: Payback will take players when it releases later this year.

This iteration will focus on what they call “action driving”. They said that the aim was to recreate the feel of a blockbuster action movie and make the player feel like they are an action hero. So pretty much an unofficial Fast and Furious simulator.

The game’s story revolves around revenge – payback if you will. Three leads will take center stage representing different play styles. Tyler is your typical street racer, Matt is the extreme off-roader, and Jess is the professional wheel-lady. The trio embark on a road journey to stop the House, a crime cartel that has pretty much everything in Fortune City under its control.

The demo shown during the EA Play event highlighted this perfectly, showing the player controlling the game’s antagonists as they chased down a stolen super-car that was being hauled inside a semi-trailer.

Need for Speed: Payback looks ridiculously good.

The player’s super charged Ford Mustang bobbed and weaved through traffic occupying the dessert highway. Once they caught up to the semi, Jess, Need for Speed: Payback’s female lead, boarded the semi and quickly burst forth driving a $2 million Koenigsegg.

The differences in power between the Mustang and the elite dream-machine were apparent, as the game’s already excellent sense of speed increased to impossible levels.

Impacts with other vehicles during the chase seen had real impact, with the camera slowing down and panning around for a couple of moments to really highlight the destruction taking place.

No Need for Speed game would be complete without ample customization options, and Need for Speed Payback is no different.

Ho said millions of parts and options would be available for players to use in creating the ultimate ride. They can also create special wraps for their vehicles: customized graphics that they can then upload online for the Need for Speed: Payback community to use.

Visually, Need for Speed: Payback builds upon the wonderful graphics from the previous title. The Frostbite engine allows for an uncanny sense of realism in both the cars and the environments. Unlike the last outing however, Need for Speed: Payback features a 24-hour time cycle, so we’ll actually get to race in daylight!

Online multiplayer modes will continue to feature heavily in the game, with players able to compete in pure racing modes, or challenge each other within the vast open world available.

The change in theme for Need for Speed: Payback is a risky one, but as they say: fortune favors the bold.

We’ll see just how fortunate Need for Speed: Payback is when it launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 10.

Are you ready to be a hero behind the wheel in Need for Speed: Payback? Let us know in the comments section below.

Written by The Watchman

The Watchman is a journeyman gamer who has seen and played a good chunk of gaming history.
He’s also an actor, a reporter, a pro wrestling connoisseur, and some say he’s a cat whisperer.
If you have any questions or just want to drop me a line, hit me up at thewatchman@nerdbacon.com
Or follow me on Twitter @DavetheWatchman
You can also game with me!
Look me up on Xbox Live @ DJKhadoken
Or on PlayStation Network @ Eaglevision_dl