There were two tracks to choose from in our hands-on preview of Need for Speed: The Run: a Desert Hills level in California, which takes place in the Death Valley National Park, and the Summit track, which takes place in Independence, Colorado. The levels showed off the different types of terrain that would be featured in NFS: The Run, as well as the different types of game challenges.
The demo we played gave us the choice of two vehicles: The Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 and the Porsche 911 Carrera S. Both of these cars top out at over 200mph , but the twists and turns through each level rarely allow you to get that fast. When asked about how many cars would be in the game, an EA spokesman stated, “We haven’t really said yet, but about as much as [were in] Hot Pursuit.” Before you start the level, there are 4 different difficulty levels to choose from: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Extreme. The Normal difficulty is pretty easy actually, while the Easy difficulty is almost a guaranteed win for anybody who has played a racing game. The Extreme Difficulty is named quite appropriately, having my best finish at 4th place after three attempts.
The AI is obviously altered to fit into each difficulty level, but there is more to it than just that. NFS: The Run introduces a new feature called “Rewind,” where if you make a mistake you can rewind to a point 10-15 seconds prior to your slip-up. It is similar to the Rewind feature in Forza Motorsport 3, however you do not have control over where the game puts you. After a devastating crash, the game simply fades to black with the exception of the “Rewind” icon. The number of rewinds a player has is dictated by the difficulty level. Players playing on Easy will get 9 rewinds, while the Extreme difficulty only grants one rewind.
I needed rewinds too. There was a slight learning curve in NFS: The Run’s handling, which led me to crashing into rocks, crashing into cars, and driving off cliffs. It didn’t run like a simulation, but it also didn’t have an arcade style of handling. The handling felt like it was a mix of the two. After spending an hour with the game, I already had a good sense of how the physics worked, and was able to adjust my play accordingly.
The Run is all about participating in a cross-country race through the United States. Players will race through cities, such as San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City. However, along the way players will be able to take in the scenery of the desert of Death Valley, the Rocky Mountains, the plains of Wisconsin, etc. There are 200 competing AI, so you have to get across the finish line as fast as you can.
This hands-on preview for Need for Speed: The Run continues on the next page, please click Page 2 below read on.
