Need for Speed Payback

Need for Speed Payback is a racing video game developed by Ghost Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. It is the twenty-third installment in the Need for Speed series. The game was released worldwide on November 10, 2017,[1] with mixed reviews from critics. The game was succeeded by Need for Speed Heat in 2019.

Need for Speed Payback
Cover art featuring a Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R V·Spec, BMW M5 and Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe 265 V8 escaping from the police.
Developer(s)Ghost Games[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Director(s)William Ho
Producer(s)
  • Jeremy Chubb
  • Patrick Honnoraty
  • Johan Peitz
  • John Wikberg
Designer(s)Riley Cooper
Programmer(s)Jonathan Janesjö
Artist(s)Abdul Khaliq
Writer(s)
  • Daniel Roy
  • Zack Betka
  • Ben Blumenthal
  • Mikael Hedberg
Composer(s)Joseph Trapanese
SeriesNeed for Speed
EngineFrostbite 3
Platform(s)PlayStation 4
Windows
Xbox One
ReleaseNovember 10, 2017
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Need for Speed Payback is a racing game set in an open world environment of Fortune Valley; a fictional version of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is focused on "action driving" and has three playable characters (each with different sets of skills) working together to pull off action movie-like sequences. In contrast with the previous game, it also features a 24-hour day-night cycle.[2] Unlike the 2015 Need for Speed reboot, Payback includes an offline single-player mode.[3]

Payback features a total of 74 vehicles with downloadable contents. Toyota, Scion and Ferrari are not involved in the game due to licensing issues. However, the Subaru BRZ appears in the game.[4] Aston Martin, Audi, Buick, Jaguar, Koenigsegg, Land Rover, Mercury, Pagani, and Plymouth make their return after their absence from the 2015 installment, while Alfa Romeo, Infiniti, Mini and Pontiac were added via downloadable content.

Plot

Tyler "Ty" Morgan (Jack Derges), Sean "Mac" McAlister (David Ajala), Jessica "Jess" Miller (Jessica Madsen) and mechanic Ravindra "Rav" Chaudhry (Ramon Tikaram) are part of a crew in Silver Rock, Fortune Valley. Fixer Lina Navarro (Dominique Tipper) tasks them with stealing a precious Koenigsegg Regera belonging to Marcus "The Gambler" Weir. However, as Tyler arrives at the drop point, he finds Rav knocked out. Lina appears, revealing that she set up Tyler and his crew to take the fall for the stolen car and she drives away, leaving them at the mercy of the oncoming police force. Upon learning that Lina betrayed both of them, Weir initially considers leaving Tyler to be arrested, but instead protects Tyler, planning their revenge.

Six months later, working as a valet for Weir, Tyler spots Lina threatening Weir to hand over the casino to The House, a cartel who controls Fortune Valley's underworld. Frustrated at the lack of progress, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Contacting The House as a racer, he enters a race and wins it, despite Lina having rigged the race for profit. Weir proposes Tyler a way to take down The House and Lina along with it. Tyler is to enter and win "The Outlaw's Rush", a massive street racing event that has the nation's top racers participating, which The House plans to rig for their own ends. Tyler reassembles his old crew and they successfully defeat all rivaling racing leagues and are thus allowed to enter "The Outlaw's Rush". Simultaneously, Jess infiltrates the House and learns of their plans to take over the entire city.

At "The Outlaw's Rush", Tyler manages to win both the street and the offroad event with the help of all the race crews they allied with during the game, and in the end, defeats Navarro herself. Thus, Navarro and "The Collector" are defeated and the House's hold over Silver Rock is broken.

In a post-credits scene, Mr. Kobashi, a customer whom Jess had driven, calls Weir and tells him his gamble worked, and that "The Collector" is finished. He welcomes Weir to Arkwright, the true power behind the House.

Development

In January 2016, Ghost Games began development on the next Need for Speed game to be released in 2017.[5] Electronic Arts later confirmed in their January 2017 earnings call that the next game in the franchise was in development and set to be launched during EA's fiscal year 2018 (comprising from April 2017 to March 2018).[6]

Reception

Need for Speed Payback received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[8][9][7]

Luke Reilly of IGN praised Electronic Arts for repairing the problems of the game's predecessor, Need for Speed, but criticized its "scripted" story, lack of police chases during free roam, scripted police chases, loot box-like mechanisms during customization, poor car handling, unrealistic car damage and several other issues.[13] PC World criticized the game for being full of microtransactions, the severely limited customizability of cars, gameplay mechanics, a lack of cockpit view and several more issues, and compared it harshly to the Forza Horizon series.[15]

According to The NPD Group, Payback was the eighth best-selling title in the United States in November 2017.[16]

YearAwardCategoryResultRef
2017 Game Critics Awards Best Racing Game Nominated [17]
Gamescom 2017 Best Racing Game Nominated [18]
2018 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards Song Collection Nominated [19]

Notes
  1. Additional work done by Lucid Games.

References
  1. McCormick, Rich (June 2, 2017). "EA's new Need for Speed: Payback looks very fast and fairly furious". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  2. Reilly, Luke (June 2, 2017). "Need For Speed Payback Looks Faster, More Furious". IGN. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  3. Yin-Poole, Wesley (May 10, 2017). "The New Need for Speed Lets You Play Single-Player Offline". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  4. "Toyota's absence from the game was confirmed on Reddit". Archived from the original on 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  5. "New Need For Speed Officially Announced With First Trailer And Screens". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  6. EA Confirms New Need for Speed Will Be Out in Next Fiscal Year - IGN, February 2017, archived from the original on 2021-02-14, retrieved 2021-02-10
  7. "Need for Speed Payback for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  8. "Need for Speed Payback for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  9. "Need for Speed Payback for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  10. Carsillo, Ray (November 7, 2017). "Need for Speed Payback review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. EGM Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  11. Wakeling, Richard (November 6, 2017). "Need for Speed Payback Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  12. Loveridge, Sam (November 7, 2017). "Need for Speed Payback review: "Silly, over the top and a little bit self-indulgent, but in a fantastic action movie way."". GamesRadar. Future plc. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  13. Reilly, Luke (November 6, 2017). "Need for Speed Payback Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  14. Good, Owen S. (November 11, 2017). "Need for Speed Payback review". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  15. Dingman, Hayden (November 10, 2017). "Need for Speed: Payback review: Pouring loot boxes on a tire fire". PC World. International Data Group. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  16. Makuch, Eddie (December 14, 2017). "Top 20 Best-Selling Games In The US For November 2017". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  17. "Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2017 (2017 Nominees)". Game Critics Awards. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  18. Khan, Zubi (August 21, 2017). "Gamescom 2017 Award Nominees". CGM. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  19. "Nominee List for 2017". Archived from the original on 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
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