The Need For Speed: Payback Gameplay Trailer Reminds Us More Than A Little Of Burnout

Electronic Arts finally unveiled the actual gameplay for the upcoming Need For Speed: Payback. The new gameplay footage went live during Electronic Arts' EA Play press conference, and the game reminded us more than a little of EA's other racer, Burnout.

The gameplay trailer isn't necessarily how the game will play, it's actually a cinematic gameplay. The story mode for Need For Speed: Payback combines these cinematic moments with the racing and driving that takes place. Electronic Arts and Ghost Games describe these moments as "Blockbuster" events.

The Blockbuster moments are akin to the sort of cinematic moments you would see on the big screen in movies like _The Fast & Furious. _

The clip starts with Jess and Tyler in a supped up Ford Mustang as they track down a semi with a special supercar in the back.

The mission objective is to chase down the truck, dodge some of the civilian cars and the wrecks, and attempt to catch up to the semi and get Jess onto the side of it. The truck ends up side-tracking the Mustang with some pink smoke and then starts tearing through civilian vehicles.

This is where the game starts to take on Burnout: Takedown qualities, where some additional bodyguards for the semi race in off the road and attempt to blockade the player. The objective is to take out the convoy protecting the semi by shunting them until they blow up.

Many were expecting pit maneuvers and physics-based momentum tactics seen in previous Need For Speed titles. Those kind of tactics are pushed aside for some more simple arcade ones, where you can just bump and shunt the other cars to trigger a crazy cinematic view of the cars getting blown up or crashing into other objects.

The trailer then moves on, with the player attempting to board the semi; Jess manages to climb up the rear trailer while another car comes head on toward Tyler and the Mustang. Jess manages to get the Koenigsegg Regara from the semi-trailer, and blasts out of the back in dynamic fashion.

The game switches from the player handling the Mustang to racing, with the Koenigsegg in the opposite direction. The trailer comes to an end when Jess meets head-on with a fleet of police squad cars and a police helicopter.

The game's story mode literally combines blockbuster cinematic moments with actual gameplay. Although I don't know how well it's going to work out with the game constantly cutting back and forth between cinematics and gameplay. According to Ghost Games, the developers took the classic Need For Speed formula and put it through the "Hollywood lens".

Need For Speed: Payback is due to release this November for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. There's going to be a free trial set to take place on November 2nd that you can learn more about over on the official website.

Will Usher

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.