Need For Speed Payback

EA's street racing franchise is back with a vengeance and a bang as the latest Need For Speed installment is an all-or-nothing gamble of the maddest racers ever assembled to claim what's rightfully theirs. So, let's fill in more on the most explosive installment in the Need For Speed franchise.

Need For Speed Payback (PS4)

Need For Speed Payback (XBOX One)

There is not much reason why this latest installment is called NEED FOR SPEED PAYBACK but I suspect the producers behind the Need For Speed franchise became very angry over the past year. Is it because with Porsche and EA called a divorce and ended up in different racing games? Whatever that is, the producers became apoplectic with anger because of Porsche, they made this for one purpose; revenge.

Yes. Revenge. In NFS Payback, you revolve the tale of three drivers; Ty, Jess, and Mac, as they will gain vengeance against The House, a shadowy organization that controls Fortune Valley's cities, criminals, and cops. These three drivers feature different ways to experience NFS Payback like for instance, Ty prefers racing, Jess is a getaway driver, and Mac tries to impress everyone with his drift and offroading skills. Whatever driving style they're doing, they have one thing in common; to bring The House down to its knees.

As you focus on the story missions, you need to do some things to progress towards your ultimate objective. Take on against Fortune Valley's best street racers in Street Leagues, outrun the cops, those are the usual stuff you should do as you progress through the story and if you need a break, you can always take on optional races to earn some cash and upgrades for your car. If you are confident with your driving abilities, you can place your bet before the race. If you win, you'll earn big, but lose, you will pay a painful price. And with Autolog back, every day's a gamble in Fortune Valley as you are taking on friends and rivals for a spot at rankings.

Payback features a wide selection of cars ranging from tuners, muscles, and exotics, and each car works well in different events such as street racing, drag racing, offroading, escaping the cops, or drifting. It takes knowledge to understand your dream ride's potential but if you need to flex your muscles, you need to modify your ride inside and out. From performance upgrades, wheels, tires, bodykits, even the exterior design of course, every car is a work of art if you put your mind and muscle over it.

Also keep an eye out of derelicts as it scattered across different parts of Fortune Valley. If you found it, Rav will tell you the parts you'll need to complete it. Of course, as you race, you will receive clues on the parts you'll need for your Derelict you're working on. As you found all the parts, the Derelict is restored to its former glory and you can assign which class suits best like for instance, you want the S30Z to become a drag racer or the Chevy Bel Air as an offroader. Be wary though that once picked, it will set to stone and if you believe you made a mistake, don't worry because the revived Derelict can now be available to purchase at the dealership.

As your car collection grows, you'd better need some garages because having a single garage in the beginning is not enough. As you progress, you can purchase different garages to expand your collection and if you bought all five garages, you can keep as many cars if you want. Pretty neat, isn't it?

Oh, and did I mention that the new F90 BMW M5 makes its first appearance exclusively on NFS Payback? Yes, really. NFS Payback grants players the keys to the next-generation BMW M5. With its turbocharged V8 engine that produces 600PS of power and M xDrive that makes it behave like two cars, put this new M5 to your advantage as you race towards the streets of Fortune Valley. You're going to need it.

So, thoughts about the newest Need For Speed game? Well, with the producers desperately seeking revenge against game makers stealing away their Porsches, they tried so hard to make a game that behaves like a brutal regime of a foreign nation but it's not quite as bellicose as they hoped for and even though it's not as engaging as other racing games, it's still worth trying. From races to getaways, every inch of gameplay is unique and every single way and this is worth a thriller you're going to get hooked on. It may not be enough to launch provocations against the opposition but NFS Payback is one of the reasons why we all love the Need For Speed games to the end.