When I was a younger Watchman, my family would occasionally embark on one of the greatest of American institutions, the family road trip. As the Watchman clan barreled our way across the nation’s asphalt pathways, I recall mentally musing to myself about the future of video games; namely, how long would it take before a racing game would be able to recreate the visual quality of real life? I also wondered if we would ever be able to truly tackle the difficult task of accurately representing what it looks like to drive at night. Would future designers be able to capture the mysterious aura of the night time atmosphere? The way that light reflects off the hood of a car, or the magical way in which light glows on the darkened street? Was there any way to re-create the intangible “feel” of the night air, and how a city responds to that change in atmosphere?

After spending some time with the beta for EA’s upcoming Need For Speed, I can answer that after twenty-some years of waiting for a truly photo-realistic gaming experience, we have gotten really, really close.

When I wrote the preview article for Need For Speed from this year’s E3, I noted that I had engaged in a brief debate with a friend of mine over whether or not the human characters in the game were computer generated, or if they were actual actors. While in retrospect, it seems like a silly debate to have. Yes, of course they are real actors. However when you get a chance to see the quality of the game in motion, and the transitions between the extremely convincing world that EA has crafted in Need For Speed and the almost retro FMV sequences of the story segments, the question seems a little more valid.

The night time vistas take center stage in EA’s reboot of the Need For Speed franchise. Developer Ghost Games has been able to utilize EA’s Frostbite engine to almost shocking results. The visuals in Need For Speed make an immediate, almost shocking impact when first viewed. While other games like Project CARS and Drive Club support fantastic visuals of their own, they still can’t seem to overcome that “gameyness” feeling of their graphics and make the leap to something more photo-realistic. Need For Speed however, does just that. Somehow, some way, Ghost Games has been able to capture the character of a city in the midst of a rain-soaked night. It’s almost as if you can feel the heaviness of the humidity in the night air as you make your way through the digital re-interpretation of L.A’s streets. Anyone who has ever driven long stretches at night will understand that special way that night effects your surroundings, and Need For Speed has done a truly spectacular job of capturing that magic.

One of these images was created using the Frostbite engine in Need For Speed. The other is from real life. Can you tell which one is which?

Ghost Games then capitalizes on the shock value that their engine provides in Need For Speed with the use of actual actors for the game’s story segments. While Full Motion Video segments like these were no longer en-vogue by the mid-nineties, I felt that they were a welcome addition to the immersive aspects of the world in Need For Speed. The segments that I got to see were generally well acted, well scripted, and unlike most early attempts at shoehorning real actors into games (which was a trend that was popular in the fledgling days of cd-rom’s back in the early nineties) were non-cringe worthy. In short, the actors used did a great job of, well, acting, and they added to the experience (at least so far) that I saw.

Of course, great graphics and atmosphere won’t mean much if the actual racing action can’t get past the proverbial starting line.

And that racing action in Need For Speed seems to be progressing nicely. This new take on a twenty year old franchise is now an open-world, always online racing affair. You can cruise around the city to your heart’s content, competing in various races and challenges along the way. You will also encounter other players in your travels and will be able to join or form clubs, and of course challenge them to high speed duels for respect across the city.

Need For Speed also features a leveling system that allows you to earn experience points based off a multitude of actions. Winning races will naturally gain you more experience, but so will other actions, such as clean driving, drifting, achieving a high-speed, leading cops on a chase (and subsequently avoiding arrest) etc. Higher experience levels will unlock more special events, as well as a wider selection of parts from the garage that can be used in upgrading and customizing your ride. There is also an assortment of slick speedsters that can be purchased as well.

There are a few issues in Need For Speed that could use some tweeking prior to launch. The propensity of the computer controlled A.I. exhibiting pretty blatant “rubber banding” during races was the most jarring issue that could still be addressed, however all-in-all, Need For Speed has built a solid foundation and I came away very impressed with what I saw.

Need For Speed Will cross the finish line on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 3rd, 2015.