.: November 18, 2011Mode(s),Need for Speed: The Run is a and the eighteenth title in the series. Published by, it was released on November 15, 2011, with multiple versions - developed versions for, and; developed versions for the,. An version was planned to be developed by, but it was eventually cancelled. The game focuses on point-to-point races involving overtaking opponents, defeating rivals, time attacks, and evading the efforts of both police and criminal gang members to stop them.Unlike previous entries in the series, The Run features an extensive collection of races set against real-life locations, including the cities of New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, and San Francisco, and features a wide variety of real-life cars to drive in. The game's career mode sees players assume the role of street racer taking part in a large-scale race from San Francisco to New York and seeking to win it against various odds.
While the game received extensive marketing and heavy promotion from its developers, it received mixed reviews from critics following its release. 'This is the year that Need for Speed goes to the next level. We think that Need for Speed: The Run is going to surprise people with its intense, thrilling story and big action feel. But the game would be nothing without hot cars and crazy-fast chases. So that is what we're delivering — explosive racing that will have players flirting with disaster at 200-miles an hour.' —Jason DeLong, executive producerThe game was originally set to be revealed at, however, on April 28, 2011, a listing for Need for Speed: The Run appeared on UK retailer site ShopTo. Later, EA released the teaser trailer for all to see.
On April 29, the firm confirmed the game's details. EA Games Label president, Frank Gibeau stated that Need for Speed: The Run would offer 'an edgier experience' than previous entries in the racing series.The Run's lead development platform was the PlayStation 3. At E3 2011, it was announced that the PlayStation 3 version of the game includes seven exclusive cars, including the, and.EA Black Box stated that the Frostbite 2 engine allowed The Run to look stunning, stating that Frostbite 2 was not only the best engine it had used in a game to date, but 'the most versatile' too. According to designer Alex Grimbley, it apparently took a year to re-purpose the tech for driving rather than shooting. The EA Black Box team, especially the artists, coders and designers, for the first time, worked collaboratively in small groups on The Run. Executive producer Jason DeLong stated that the Frostbite engine provided a more detailed cinematic environment and experience to the game.
Need For Speed Prostreet Wii
The Run was the first non-DICE game to use Frostbite 2, but Black Box did collaborate with DICE to make certain that the engine was used properly, with DeLong commenting that the collaboration allowed for a 'very deep racing mechanic of handling physics into the game'. Executive producer Jason DeLong claimed that the studio used DICE's Frostbite 2 engine for The Run as it was intent on making a 'Hollywood' experience and to give the game a more cinematic feel than past story-based Need for Speed titles.The Run's producer Alex Grimbley confirmed that The Run would not feature any form of vehicle customization, stating: 'We decided against customization because that is not what The Run is about. It is an understandable stance given that is a whole new direction for the franchise. We want to focus on the story and the race itself.'
However, this statement was retracted after some trailers and screenshots of the game featured visually modified vehicles. A trailer released on November 2, 2011 officially confirmed that body kits and selectable body paints can be placed on vehicles.When asked why The Run is from San Fran – New York rather than LA – New York, game’s producer Brian Lindley replied: 'That’s a good question. I think we were maybe looking for more of a direct route. It’s more of a straight line route rather than being sort of corner to corner. But also, San Fran has some iconic landmarks and things like the bridge and the downtown. Also, what we can do with the environment with things like fog, it makes it of a bit cooler place to drive than LA. And my experiences driving in LA are largely being stuck in traffic!
So that’s the primary reason, it’s just a cooler looking start for the game.' Black Box PR Manager Dana Sissons stated that The Run was going to be more exciting, more varied, and bigger than ever. The race from San Francisco to New York was full of new race modes, tons of different terrain, and a few 'Michael Bay movie moment' avalanches to keep you on your toes.The Run is powered by 's, making the game the first non-shooter and one of the first console titles to use the engine.Marketing and release. The Limited Edition of the game features three exclusive cars, the (top), the (middle), and the (bottom)Prior to its release, Need for Speed: The Run was marketed and promoted heavily through the use of numerous Internet and TV trailers.
Famed Hollywood action director directed a TV advertisement for the game. The advertisement features explosions, car crashes, supercars and police vehicles. In addition to the standard edition, a Limited Edition of the game was announced, which was available through pre-order. The Limited Edition features numerous bonuses over the standard edition, including exclusive packaging, three exclusive cars (the, and ) and five exclusive challenges with bonus rewards and achievements.There were three pre-order offers through several retail outlets. Each pre-order consisted of two bonus cars and three events inspired by the 'exclusive' Challenge Series, which depended on the outlets the player pre-ordered the game. The three 'exclusive' Challenge Series on offer were inspired by EA Black Box previous Need for Speed games,. The Underground Edition and Underground Edition are included in the Need for Speed The Run Underground Challenge Series as bonus cars, while the Most Wanted Edition and Razor's are included in the Need for Speed The Run Most Wanted Challenge Series as bonus cars, and the Carbon Edition and Darius' are included in the Need for Speed The Run Carbon Challenge Series as bonus cars.
Buying the game through came with two special offers. Those who pre-ordered the game received a PC Digital download for one of five past Need for Speed titles ( Hot Pursuit, Shift 2: Unleashed, Shift, Undercover and Prostreet). The Need for Speed The Run Carbon Challenge Series was also included as a pre-order bonus. This offer was only available until November 14, 2011.
Those who bought the game after November 14 through Origin received a discount on seven EA racing titles, which included The Run, Shift 2: Unleashed, Shift, Hot Pursuit, Undercover, Prostreet and Burnout Paradise. This offer was available until December 31.To promote the game in Europe, EA and Need for Speed conducted the 2011 Need for Speed European Spokesmodel Search. This continent wide search was set to discover two women with boundless energy, an outgoing personality and an edgy style fused with a passion for cars and gaming.
The winners acted as Need for Speed ambassadors at events throughout 2012, including representing Need for Speed products at high-profile gaming events across Europe and the Team Need for Speed racing team in the prestigious FIA GT3 European Championship and Euro Drift program. Models searches were being conducted in five territories: France, Germany, Norway, Russia and the United Kingdom. Finalists was selected from each territory with the final two winners being announced in November 2011 in conjunction with the release of Need for Speed: The Run. To promote the game in US, Canada and UK, EA announced a competition, giving away one 2012 Porsche Carrera S.
All the competitions had to do was enter by logging in with the EA account, or register for free.Electronic Arts and announced a marketing partnership for the Need for Speed franchise, 'bringing together the worlds of fashion, video games, cars and beauty in a first-of-its-kind partnership.' EA announced that the likenesses of 2011 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover model and model appears in the game as part of a promotional deal struck between the game publisher and popular sports magazine. The cross promotion isn't limited to the models appearance in the game.
Sports Illustrated is a featured advertiser on billboards that appear in the gamescape. Sports Illustrated offered a bundle that saw buyers receive a six-month 'All Access' subscription to Sports Illustrated, a copy of Need for Speed: The Run for PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, and a Making of Need for Speed: The Run documentary DVD starring the two swimsuit models. EA also collaborated with to produce 100 pair of shoes tied into Need for Speed: The Run. The first 50 pair of shoes was available at the Adidas Originals Chicago store on October 10, with another 50 available at the San Francisco store on October 22.
The first to purchase the shoes was invited to 'exclusive kick-off' events at the stores a few days later. Promotion at 2011A demo of the game was released on Xbox Live first on October 18 (expired on November 1) and PlayStation Network on October 19 (also expired on November 1), a month ahead of the game's launch. The demo featured two levels: and in a, and supported a 'refer a friend to download the demo' feature giving players access to a 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S. Autolog also implemented in the demo, allowing the player to compare best times with friends across the two tracks. Need for Speed teamed up with and to let fans decide which of the favorite bands they would like to see in The Run. The fans got a choice to vote for their favorite song and artist, which includes the song ' by, 'Solar' by and 'Tropical Depression' by, on The Run's official website.
Downloadable content The first post-launch (DLC) package, titled 'Signature Edition Booster Pack', features nine new cars, all modified to insane levels ranging from a 'Venom' to a 'Falken'. The second post-launch DLC package, titled 'Italian Pack', features seven new cars (, ) and ten new challenge events added into Challenge Series. The third DLC is the Heroes and Villains pack which features all the pre-order vehicles available for download. Reception ReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScore(PC) 69/100(X360) 68/100(3DS) 65/100(Wii) 64/100(PS3) 64/100Review scoresPublicationScoreC+3/105/107.75/106/108/108.4/106.5/1063%VideoGamer.com6/10Need for Speed: The Run was met with mixed reviews. Aggregating review website gave the PlayStation 3 and Wii versions 64/100, the Xbox 360 version 68/100, the Nintendo 3DS version 65/100, and the PC version 69/100.The first review was published by, which gave the game 7.75 out of 10, saying that ' Need for Speed: The Run is by no stretch a bad game; it just fails to capitalize on its chances. San Francisco to New York is a long haul, and it's even longer when not enough happens in between.' A couple more positive reviews include, which gave it an 8.4 out of 10, writing ' Need for Speed: The Run falters with its high-profile but underdeveloped plot as well as some awkward design choices.
However, it overcomes these potholes with courses that are a blast to drive and simple multiplayer that keeps you hooked in.' Gave it a 6.5 'Okay' rating, stating 'All this awesome racing action gets somewhat lost amid the nonexistent story, the dumb/scripted AI, the lack of options, and the overall shortness of the game. The Run is not a marathon racing game, it's a quick and dirty drag race.' Gave it a C+, stating ' The Run takes an awkwardly serious approach to its story (.) to deliver a cross-country campaign that's sometimes exhilarating, but often frustrating and surprisingly banal.' Gave it 5 out of 10, saying 'The worst of the game's technical sins is performance, with appallingly low frame rates in our patched PS3 retail version when you brake suddenly or drift through many a corner.'
Was more positive to the game, which gave it 8 out of 10, and stated 'It's possible Need for Speed The Run won't provide as many hours of entertainment as previous NFS games, but then it packs in unique events and some incredibly exciting chase sequences, meaning it packs a lot of entertainment-per-hour. It's not very forgiving of mistakes, but then it provides greater rewards as a result.' VideoGamer gave it 6 out of 10, saying ' The Run certainly isn't terrible, and a big improvement on Black Box's previous effort, Undercover, but it needed more moments like the avalanche and less monotonous freeways. With the campaign over in an afternoon and the rest of the package failing to offer anything to keep you playing, The Run is some decent throwaway fun that will be forgotten as soon as you move on to something else.'
Gave it 6 out of 10, writing 'The journey across America is beautifully rendered, capturing the varied landscapes spectacularly as you travel over the Sierra, across the Great Plains, and head towards the East Coast. The quality of the movies is very good too, and the characters' faces are nicely rendered to convey emotion. But the story and the gameplay just don't hold up their side of the bargain, and the game ends up falling short of its considerable potential.' Gave it one of its lowest scores, a 3 out of 10, saying 'The notion that playing games is a waste of your time is nonsense, of course, but.
Stuffed with a procession of long-winded loading sequences, protracted menu flipping and unskippable cutscenes, it often feels like there’s as much watching as there is playing. Time wasted, in other words.' They criticized the many technical and graphical glitches, saying 'sometimes the lighting effects mix textures into strange oily swirls, while at other times it feels like you’re driving one big polygon.' However, in the post script, they did concede that, while flawed, the game does have a clever concept and occasionally delivers those rare feelings of escapism that many arcade-style racers strive for: ' The Run may not have much else going for it, but in its unusual approach to the genre it at least tries to do something new.' Retrieved 2011-09-06. ^.
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