Need for Speed Heat announced, gets first trailer

By now you’ve seen the reveal trailer (that's it above) and your mind is surely spinning with a number of questions and thoughts, let’s scratch that itch a bit.

Your freedom flows under the veil of darkness, but it comes with a risk. Where there is a risk, there is a reward, so it’s your call.

By day you’ll be competing for bank in the Speedhunter Showdown. A series of events that will have you racing and drifting your way to a big payday. When the sun goes down the heat levels rise.

As the night sky settles across Palm City you’ll be wanting to swap out legitimate events for those of a more underground nature.

Tear up the rulebook and the streets to make them your own. You might be building up your bank balance during the day, but at night is when your REP will be on the line. Take the risks and you’ll own the night.

Cops (cops, cops!) patrol Palm City with various levels of aggression, with their behaviour altering based on the time of day. During the day the Palm City PD will have a more casual presence. They’ll still be there as an ever present threat, but leave them alone and they’ll return the favour.

Once the city descends into darkness, the rulebook changes and you’re not the only ones breaking the rules. As the sun goes down, a rogue task force comes out to play. This task force, led by the ever so charming Lt. Mercer, will need no excuse to hunt you, and your car down. You’ll be meeting more of Mercer and his squad as you play through NFS Heat.

Push your car, and your nerves to the limit as you risk it all. Make one wrong move and your night is over. This is survival of the fastest, hold your nerve and don’t slow down.

The choice between day and night is entirely your call. Had enough of the day? Then simply head to your garage and you’ll be given the option to leave within the veil of darkness. From there you can make your own rules. Play by your rulebook, take chances and take home the prize.

It wouldn’t be NFS without customisation and you’ll be taking your car to new levels of personalization. We’ll be giving more details on this at gamescom next week, so no spoilers just yet.

What we can confirm is that customisation options are earned through the completion of in-game events. For example, you spot a street race on your map and notice it has a new performance part up for grabs. Win the race, win the part. Speed cards from NFS Payback are gone.

Fancy some gameplay? Be sure to keep an eye on the gamescom: Opening Night Live where you’ll get your first look of NFS Heat in action, including cops, day and night events, the garage, customization and our brand new handling model.

Stay Tuned