Need For Speed: The Run SA launch event

On 16 November 2011, EA South Africa hosted a launch event for Need For Speed at Pit 1 and 2, Kyalami Race Track, Johannesburg.

The event kicked off with a video highlighting the features of the game, focussing specifically on the coolness afforded by the Frostbite 2 engine, which Battlefield 3 players should be comfortably familiar with by now.

Wide open maps, panoramic vistas, destructible environments, great sound effects and gorgeous visuals are all promised by Need For Speed: The run.

EA Black Box is the development team behind the game. Veteran developers in the franchise, they have given us titles such as series redefining NFS Underground and the notable-for-not-sucking NFS Most Wanted, among some lesser titles in the franchise.

It will be interesting to see how EA Black Box works with the amazing Frostbite 2 engine to deliver this new cinematic approach to NFS.

The game boasts a cast including Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, Never Back Down’s Sean Faris, 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Model Irina Shayk and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Chrissy Teigen.

Need for Speed The Run takes players on a cross-country race known simply as “The Run.” With $25 million on the line, players take the wheel as Jack Rourke navigating thousands of miles of treacherous terrain from San Francisco to New York, squaring off against 200 other racers all while evading the cops and the mob, who are hot on his trail.

One of the distinguishing gameplay features of The Run is that players will no longer be confined to vehicles, and will be pounding the pavement in a number of cinematic sequences which are woven into the overall racing-themed storyline.

On hand during the launch event were XS Promotions and two racers from the local SupaDrift racing league, Jonathan Rudman and Jason Webb. They took the event attendees out for a spot of yobbish rubber-laying drifting.

Braving almost certain death, MyGaming reviewer Lee Joseph remained cool and collected while he had his picture taken with the promo girls, before hopping into one of the two 6-litre V8 Chevrolet SS drifting cars which danced within feet of each other.

After the drifting, participants returned inside to get some hands-on time with the title before testing their skills in a racing competition. Prizes up for grabs included a PS3 160Gb console from EA, and the Official Xbox 360 racing wheel from Comet Computing.

I didn’t win, and I blame EA Black Box’s apparent AI interference (that bus came out of nowhere).

EA certainly set out to make an impression with this launch event, and MyGaming staffers are eagerly tearing into Need For Speed: The Run to bring you our review on this new spin on the stalwart NFS racing franchise.