This series can’t seem to catch a break
On the one hand, I’m glad EA and Ghost Games waited to open up about Need for Speed Heat. I like to think that we don’t need a year-long marketing rollout for a game like this. We’re 20+ installments into the series; a few months is plenty. But on the other hand, gosh, it sure is easy to forget how close it is.
Here’s a slightly premature launch trailer to remind us that Need for Speed Heat hits PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 8 – and an extra reminder from me that, for what it’s worth, there aren’t loot boxes this time and you can play the game offline. Surely it’ll be a step up from Payback. Surely.
This one is leaning into a night-and-day duality. At night, you’ll try to earn cred in illegal street races and dodge the cops until you reach a safe house. During the day, you’ll try to be an upstanding citizen.
For a lot of players, it’s going to come down to the map. Is it fun to hunt for collectibles? Does the world lend itself to high-speed pursuits? Can you see where you’re going? That’ll be the difference-maker.
Leaving the desert behind, Heat is set in a Miami-inspired area called Palm City. “We wanted a big city location that could deliver dense urban action and open-world cop chases while capturing the feel of fan favorites Need for Speed: Most Wanted ’05 and Underground,” according to Ghost Games.
I can see people using EA Access to get their fill (or waiting for some holiday discounts to kick in). If you’re thinking of going that route, note that the NFS Heat Play First Trial starts on November 5.
