Tagged: need for speed

EA boss: "We don't want to burn out Burnout developer"

Criterion is best known for the excellent Burnout series and the well received NFS installment Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. However, they work for EA, who are known to make their studios churn out a game every year. EA boss Frank Gibeau, interestingly, noted that would be the “worst possible idea”, adding that it would “limit their creativity and hurt quality.”

Choice words, but what about meeting customer demand? The same formula Activision applies to its cash cow – alternate studios every year. The upcoming NFS title is based on the Frostbite 2 engine, which also powers Battlefield 3. It is being developed by Black Box in Vancouver.

Need for Speed: The Run is set for release this November. It is not known what Criterion is currently working on, but many are speculating a new entry in the Burnout franchise.

Need for Speed Shift Dated

Seeing as how the Need for Speed franchise has become an annual one, what would 2009 be without a NFS game? EA sent out word that Need for Speed SHIFT, the latest entry in the series, will hit stores on September 18.

Deviating from the arcade gameplay of the series, the game will offer simulation gameplay, featuring some of the world’s most iconic racing tracks, including the storied Brand’s Hatch in the UK. It will also include high-performance cars such as the Pagani Zonda, Porsche 911 GT2 and Lotus Elise.

The game is being developed by Slightly Mad Studios in collaboration with Black Box and Patrick Soderlund. Slightly Mad consists of people who worked on the critically acclaimed games GT Legends and GTR 2.

NFS Shift is due out on PC, PSP, PS3 and Xbox 360.

NFS Undercover Patch Released

The first patch for the PC edition of Need for Speed Undercover can now be downloaded from the game’s official website; PS3 and Xbox 360 owners of the game can get the patch automatically from PSN and Xbox Live, respectively.

The developers note that now the patch is complete, they are going to focus on producing some DLC for the game. Here’s a bit on what they had to say for the patch:

When he spoke to me last week Scott said that, while patch was mainly focused on improving the frame-rate, his team worked particularly hard to get as many other fixes into it as possible. A great example of this is the new difficulty system for expert gamers. If you’ve played the game a lot you’ll notice that the difficulty level ramps up much earlier than previously making the game much more of a challenge.

NFS ProStreet Soundtrack

The full soundtrack for Need for Speed: ProStreet has been unveiled by EA. The racing game will feature over 35 songs from artists representing a wide variety of styles, along with an original score provided by Junkie XL. Here’s the full list:

  • Airbourne – Blackjack
  • Avenged Sevenfold – Almost Easy
  • Bloc Party – Player (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix)
  • Chromeo – Fancy Footwork (Guns ‘N Bombs Remix
  • Clutch – Power Player
  • CSS – Odio Odio Odio Sorry C
  • Datarock – I Used To Dance With My Daddy (Karma Harvest Mix)
  • Digitalism – Pogo
  • Dude ‘N Nem – Watch My Feet
  • DUNE – A Blast Blast
  • Foreign Islands – We Know You Know It
  • Junkie XL feat. Lauren Rocket – More (Junk O Flamenco Remix)
  • Junkie XL feat. Lauren Rocket – More (Junk O Rock Remix)
  • Junkie XL feat. Lauren Rocket – More (Junk O Rock Remix)
  • Junkie XL feat. Lauren Rocket – More
  • Klaxons – Atlantis To Interzone
  • MSTRKRFT – Neon Knights
  • Neon Plastix – On Fire
  • Peaches – Boys Wanna Be Her (Tommie Sunshine’s Brooklyn Fire Retouch)
  • Plan B – More Is Enough feat. Epic Man
  • Plan B – No Good (Chase & Status and Benni G Remix)
  • Smallwhitelight – Spite
  • The Faint – Dropkick The Punks
  • The Horrors – Draw Japan
  • The Rapture – The Sound
  • The Toxic Avenger – Escape (Bloody Beetroots Remix)
  • TV On The Radio – Wolf Like Me
  • UNKLE – Restless feat. Josh Homme
  • We Are Wolves – Fight And Kiss
  • Wiley – Bow E3
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Kiss Kiss
  • Year Long Disaster – Leda Atomica
  • Yelle – A Cause Des Garcons (Riot In Belgium Remix)

The game is due out on November 23 on almost every platform imaginable.

NFS ProStreet Gets Release Date

EA has dated another title: Need for Speed ProStreet. The next entry in the popular racing series will be released to stores in North America on October 31 and across Europe on November 2. It will be available for the PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, DS, PC and mobile.

Need for Speed ProStreet is a racing experience like no other. For the first time, you’re designing and building a car, competing in iconic locations from around the globe and battling in four distinct racing styles- grip, drag, drift and the all-new speed challenge. The atmosphere is electric – complete with energetic crowds, photo-realistic vehicles and billowing smoke – all designed to embody the pressure and intensity of the gladiatorial challenge known as Show Down. Need for Speed ProStreet is the realization of the power, aggression and rivalry that embodies street racing culture.

NFS Carbon Content Hits Xbox Live

Since Need for Speed: Carbon is now available, EA rolled out a bevy of upgrades and vehicles for the Xbox 360 version of the game via Xbox Live. Sadly, these aren’t free, having gamers pony up for cars and other unlockable stuff present in the boxed copy of the game. However, they did release a “Collector’s Edition” upgrade for those who bought the regular version of the game: going for 800 points ($10), the upgrade contains 12 tracks, 6 challenge missions and 10 cars. The content of the pack is exclusive and cannot be obtained in the game through other means.

EA also released Performance bundles: Drivetrain, Engine Boost and Handling, with each going for 400 points ($5). There is also an Ultimate bundle which contains all the content from the aforementioned packs for a discounted price of $10. Some of the content in the performance bundles can, however, be acquired in-game through other means.

There are also body modification kits for each of the car classes: Tuner, Exotic and Muscle. The three kits run for $3.75 each. Lastly, there are also three standalone cars for 80 points ($1) each: 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago, 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 and the 1999 Nissan Skyline GR-R R34. These cars can also be unlocked in the game’s Career mode.

Carbon, Madden Making Wii Launch; Blitz Not Blitzing

Confirmation comes from EA that Need for Speed: Carbon and Madden NFL 07 will be launching alongside the Wii on November 19. However, former launch title Blitz: The League by Midway has lost its status. No new release date was given, but it is known that the game will not be a launch title for the Nintendo console next month.

Need for Speed: Carbon Soundtrack

Hoping to see the likes of Mudvayne, Static-X or Paul Oakenfold in the next Need for Speed game? Well, EA just dashed your dreams then. The company revealed the soundtrack listing for Carbon, offering up 30 tracks from three major genres: hip-hop, rock and electronica. These genres also reflect the game’s three distinct car classes: exotics, muscles and tuners. Muscle cars get the rock treatment from Kyuss, Eagles of Death metal and Wolfmother, while Japanese Tuner cars get the electronica groove from Ladytron, Goldfrapp and others. Exotic cars are represented by hip-hop from Pharell, Lady Sovereign and others.

Below is the full listing:

  1. Dynamite MC – Bounce
  2. Dynamite MC – After Party
  3. Eagles Of Death Metal – Don’t Speak (I Came to Make A Bang!)
  4. Ekstrak feat. Know-1 – Hard Drivers
  5. Every Move A Picture – Signs Of Life
  6. Gary Numan/Tubeway Army – Are ‘Friends’ Electric
  7. Grandmaster Flash And The Furious – Scorpio Five
  8. Goldfrapp – Ride A White Horse (Serge Santiago Remix)
  9. Kyuss – Hurricane
  10. Lady Sovereign – Luv Me Or Hate Me
  11. Ladytron – Sugar (Jagz Kooner Remix)
  12. Ladytron – Fighting In Built Up Areas
  13. melody. – FEEL THE RUSH (Junkie XL Remix)
  14. Metro Riots – Thee Small Faces
  15. Part 2 feat. Fallacy – One Of Dem Days (Remix)
  16. Pharrell feat. Lauren – Skateboard P Presents: Show You How To Hustle
  17. Priestess – I Am The Night, Colour Me Black
  18. Roots Manuva – No Love
  19. Spank Rock – What It Look Like
  20. Sway – Hype Boys
  21. The Bronx – Around The Horn
  22. The Presets – Steamworks
  23. The Vacation – I’m No Good
  24. Tiga – Good As Gold
  25. Tigarah – Girl Fight (Mr. D Hyphy Mix)
  26. Tomas Andersson – Washing Up (Tiga Remix)
  27. Valient Thorr – Heatseeker
  28. Vitalic – My Friend Dario
  29. Wolfmother – Joker And The Thief
  30. Yonderboi – People Always Talk About The Weather (Junkie XL Remix)

Need for Speed: Carbon is marked for release on November 1 for PS2, PSP, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox, Gamecube, GBA, DS, PC and mobile.