Shift 2: Unleashed has been in stores exactly a month and even though it doesn’t carry the Need For Speed name, EA still considers it a Need For Speed game. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that they’re already announcing the next title in the series: Need For Speed: The Run.
The Run is an “illicit, underground race” from San Francisco to New York City where you not only compete against the other drivers, but you put your life at stake as well. Essentially, it’s OutRun / Cruis’n USA with a plot (which EA says is “a new level of immersive storytelling with cutting edge performances”). The Run will run on EA’s Frostbite 2 engine and make use of the Autolog to track every twist and turn of the race through “dense urban traffic, icy mountain passes and narrow canyons at breakneck speeds.”
“This is the year that Need For Speed goes to the next level,” said Jason DeLong, Executive Producer at EA. “We think that Need For Speed: The Run is going to surprise people with its intense, thrilling story and big action feel. But the game would be nothing without hot cars and crazy-fast chases. So that is what we’re delivering — explosive racing that will have players flirting with disaster at 200-miles an hour.”
Need For Speed: The Run is being developed by EA Black Box and it’ll be available for the 3DS, PC, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 on November 15.