Need for Speed Rivals' Open World Blurs Singleplayer, Multiplayer

[IanDavis]

Need for Speed Rivals' Open World Blurs Singleplayer, Multiplayer

A new studio drives the Need for Speed franchise into the next generation.

With everyone trotting out their fancy new computerized home entertainment devices, developers are gearing up their best games for the upcoming holiday showdown. EA's brand new [a href=http://ghostgames.com/]Ghost Games[/a] studio has been furiously rubbing Turtle Wax into a fleet of exotic cars as it preps [a href=http://www.needforspeed.com/rivals]Need for Speed Rivals[/a] for release later this year. Equipped with next-gen graphics and the new AllDrive system, Rivals plans to merge singleplayer, co-op, and multiplayer racing in a single open-world experience.

Rivals keeps the classic cops vs racers action the franchise is known for and places it in an open world. The entirety of Redview County is yours to explore in your personalized sports car. To help you putt around in the finest of Italian engineering, Rivals will also be the first Need for Speed game in seven years to feature Ferraris. Similar to Most Wanted, you'll be able to play as either a cop or an underground racer, earning points to unlock new cars and customization options as you either overtake opponents or bust criminals. To help you out, there are also 11 upgradable gadgets to equip, from EMPs and shockwaves, to roadblocks and police helicopters.

Tieing it all together is the new AllDrive system. As Ghost Game's Marcus Nilsson explains, "the idea with this is that you seamlessly, through player action, go from a single-player experience to [a multiplayer one.]" For example, if you're playing at the same time as a friend, you might find yourselves driving in the same race. Meanwhile, the Autolog system makes a return, meaning you can keep track of all your stats and see how well you stack up to the world.

Need for Speed Rivals launches on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC on November 19th, with Xbox One and Playstation 4 versions coming later this year.

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[V8 Ninja]

If the AllDrive system works like how Dark Souls does its multiplayer, this could be a pretty cool game.

 

[jdogtwodolla]

Wow, at first i thought the title read "Need for Speed rivals Blur in open world..."

I kinda thought all the need for speeds were open world games.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

It would be interesting to see how a developer could create an MMO racing game. Has that ever been done? The article almost made it sound like everything was just one cohesive mass.

 

[BrotherRool]

So the guys who made Burnout Paradise are making Burnout Paradise again but sticking the Need for Speed name in front of it this time?

 

[6urk17s]

It would be interesting to see how a developer could create an MMO racing game. Has that ever been done? The article almost made it sound like everything was just one cohesive mass.

Need for Speed World is pretty MMO.

Also, yay Ferraris!

But honestly, new the New Need for Burnouts haven't been that Need for Speedy. Guess I will stick to playing High Stakes with custom cars.

 

[UNHchabo]

Wow, at first i thought the title read "Need for Speed rivals Blur in open world..."

I kinda thought all the need for speeds were open world games.

The last several haven't been. The 2010 Hot Pursuit is much more of a Burnout 3-style, event-driven game. The only open-world events were the Interceptors, and then really only in multiplayer, since in single-player you can only play them as a cop, so you have to chase the racer. I haven't played The Run or Most Wanted, but I'm pretty sure at least The Run is pretty linear, even if Most Wanted is more open.

But honestly, new the New Need for Burnouts haven't been that Need for Speedy. Guess I will stick to playing High Stakes with custom cars.

I really liked Burnout 3, so the 2010 Hot Pursuit is my favorite racer, and I was really excited for Most Wanted until it was announced as Origin-exclusive.

 

[Covarr]

I'm excited for this, EA has a pretty good track record for games that "merge singleplayer, co-op, and multiplayer". I was especially impressed with SimCity, which did a great job at that. It'll be worth the inevitable always-online DRM that such a system would require, but that shouldn't be a problem since EA's servers are pretty reliable and everyone has readily-available internet access these days.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Vetta E-dom]

So the guys who made Burnout Paradise are making Burnout Paradise again but sticking the Need for Speed name in front of it this time?

Pretty much ^^

I bet $5 that it will have a points system setup for crashing into and running other players off the road. Because nothing says Burno--- I mean NFS, like the ability to just destroy stuff instead of race.

 

[aelreth]

I would rather see them do another burnout. If this game is any good I might buy it after I read enough reviews.

No more pre-ordering though. I've been burned too often for that.

 

[RicoADF]

I'm excited for this, EA has a pretty good track record for games that "merge singleplayer, co-op, and multiplayer". I was especially impressed with SimCity, which did a great job at that. It'll be worth the inevitable always-online DRM that such a system would require, but that shouldn't be a problem since EA's servers are pretty reliable and everyone has readily-available internet access these days.

P.S. Thanks

My sarcasm meter is going off the charts!

Seriously thought thats probably the best point to raise, as nice as alot of these features are unless it works offline and most importantly, you can control who enters you instance, it's basically pointless and more trouble than it's worth.

 

[IanDavis]

So the guys who made Burnout Paradise are making Burnout Paradise again but sticking the Need for Speed name in front of it this time?

That's Criterion. This is Ghost Games, a new studio EA put together. They're working closely with Criterion on stuff like car handling and physics, but otherwise it's a different team. FWIW.

 

[Racecarlock]

Has anyone actually gone back and played hot pursuit 2 and the original most wanted? There's a lot of taking down cops in both games. It's not that different with the burnout physics on, but it is better with the burnout physics on.

I want it so badly, so I'm going to get it.

"BUT EA IS THE DEVIL"

Well then I guess I'm making a deal with the devil aren't I? Deal with it.

 

[BrotherRool]

So the guys who made Burnout Paradise are making Burnout Paradise again but sticking the Need for Speed name in front of it this time?

I didn't see Criterion's name in any part of the article, to be honest.

So the guys who made Burnout Paradise are making Burnout Paradise again but sticking the Need for Speed name in front of it this time?

That's Criterion. This is Ghost Games, a new studio EA put together. They're working closely with Criterion on stuff like car handling and physics, but otherwise it's a different team. FWIW.

Sorry I didn't realise that EA made Need for Speed in the same way as CoD, since Criterion made the last one I assumed they'd be making this one.

It does explain why the series is an inconsistent mess though with wildly different tones and quality levels game to game

 

[sushkis2]

Dark spirit Ford Mustang GT has invaded your world