Need for Speed: Rivals is the twentieth title in the Need for Speed series. All releases are being rendered using Frostbite 3 engine developed by Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (DICE).
It was released on November 19th, 2013 release for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PlayStation 4 release was on November 15th, 2013 in North America and November 29th, 2013 in Europe. The Xbox One release was on November 22nd, 2013.
Need for Speed: Rivals has been in development at Ghost Games, a new studio in Sweden staffed by developers from DICE. The title is being developed in collaboration with Criterion Games as the studio's former director - Craig Sullivan - has been part of the team alongside executive producer Marcus Nilsson.
Racing driver and YouTube celebrity Ken Block was announced to be Need for Speed's Racing Advisor[1], and Ken's racing livery will be made available for the Ford Mustang GT.[2]
On September 17th, 2014, Ghost Games announced that a Complete Edition bundled with all DLC packs would be released on October 21st, 2014 in North America and October 24th, 2014 in Europe.[3]
AllDrive
AllDrive is a connectivity suite utilised in Need for Speed: Rivals alongside the Autolog feature seen in previous titles.
The AllDrive system allows players to participate in co-op or multiplayer versus events with up to five players, without having to leave a single player event. The system also allows players to seamlessly join each other during gameplay.
There are three presets to AllDrive to select from before starting the game and these presets can be exchanged at any given point.
- The first pre-set allows connection to all other players; both friends and other players.
- The second restricts the access to friends only.
- The third keeps the game strictly local and does not allow for any online players to join the player's game.
All players will be able to experience a complete single player experience without having to be constantly connected to the internet.
Pre-Order
Several bonus packs were made available as part of pre-ordering Need for Speed: Rivals. The rewarded packs differ between retailer, country and gaming platform.
Cars
Cars featured in Need for Speed: Rivals each have a distinct faction of either Police or Racer.
Personalisation
Players can personalise several of their vehicles with each offering a selection of body paint colours, paint finish, liveries, custom licence plates, rims and performance upgrades.
The available selection differs between the player's progression and play style through each career.[4]
Weapons
Players will be capable of using weaponry against other drivers depending on the faction they represent. There are a total of eleven available weapons with each being upgradable as the player progresses through the game.
Speed Points
Players earn Speed Points as they complete challenges or events during gameplay. Accumulated points can be spent on new personalisation items, upgrading weapons and new vehicles.
Completing objects in a SpeedList will reward the player with additional Speed Points and completing an entire list of objectives will unlock a series of items.
Engaging in any event online adds an additional 20% per participating player to the total amount of Speed Points awarded.
Police Progression
Officers earn Speed Points by completing assignment targets and busting Racers before they can bank their Speed Points. Police units are made aware of racers as they earn un-banked Speed Points with those consolidating a great amount of points becoming a high value target.
Police units are awarded additional Speed Points for team work and responding to pursuits that are already in progress.
Players can progress through three distinct police careers;
- Patrol vehicles are traditional marked police vehicles outfitted with patrol equipment.
- Enforcer vehicles are upgraded variations of patrol vehicles with higher performance capabilities, greater structural integrity and advanced patrol equipment.
- Undercover vehicles are unmarked units that can freely mingle among racers before initiating a pursuit.
Racer Progression
A racer's progress is determined by the amount of Speed Points they've earned. Completing Speed List targets will drastically increase the amount of accumulated points.
The longer a racer stays out will increase the amount of awarded Speed Points but will also attract higher level police units. A number of Safe Houses are scattered across the map that allow racers to bank in their Speed Points and avoid the risk of losing them to the police.
Location
Need for Speed: Rivals takes place in the fictional location of Redview County with over 100 miles of open roads.[5] The area is full of collectables such as jumps and speed cameras.[6]
Dynamic Weather
Need For Speed: Rivals features a dynamic system. The weather can change at a moments notice, forcing the player to adapt to new conditions, despite the possibility of being ill-equipped with non-optimal gear.
Events
Numerous events can be found across Redview County for both players of the police and racer faction. Each event can be accessed in either single player or participated co-operatively through AllDrive.
Awards
PC System Requirements
| Component | Minimum Specifications | Recommended Specifications |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows XP, Windows Vista (SP2), Windows 7 | Windows 8 64-bit |
| Processor (AMD) | 2.6 GHz Athlon X2 | Duo Core CPU |
| Processor (Intel) | 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo | Quad Core CPU |
| RAM | 4GB | 8GB |
| Hard Drive | 30GB | |
| Video (ATi) | AMD Radeon 3870 512MB or better | AMD Radeon 7870 3GB RAM or better |
| Video (Nvidia) | Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB or better | NVIDIA GeForce GT660 3GB or better |
| DirectX | DirectX 10.1 | DirectX 11 |
| Online Connection | 512kbps or faster | |
| Input | Keyboard and Mouse | |
| Installation | DVD ROM Drive | |
Trivia
- The light bar of the DualShock 4 controller on the PlayStation 4 glows red when the player is driving a racer vehicle and blue when driving an RCPD unit.
Trailers
References
- ↑ http://www.needforspeed.com/news/ken-block-partners-need-speed
- ↑ http://www.needforspeed.com/kenblock
- ↑ http://www.needforspeed.com/news/need-speed-rivals-complete-edition-races-streets-starting-october-21
- ↑ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/408626/need-for-speed-rivals-announced-for-current-and-next-gen/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/needforspeed.na/posts/10153147058375298
- ↑ http://www.polygon.com/2013/5/23/4356942/need-for-speed-rivals-customization-alldrive-cars-interview-ghost-games