It isn’t trying to be a serious simulation or an authentic experience of racing it’s happy to be a dumb racing game for armchair adrenaline junkies who – like the writers – have overdosed on their Fast and the Furious boxsets. One of the things I like about Payback is that it knows what Need for Speed is. While my worst fears about the game haven’t quite been realised, Need for Speed seems hell-bent on antagonising and boring its players when it could be letting them have fun.īuy Need for Speed Payback from Amazon UK | Īnd fun is what this game should be about.
Need for Speed: Payback might have had a chance to change that, had Ghost and EA not hobbled it with a progression system that’s, at best, unwieldy and counterproductive and, at worst, a cynical bid for extra cash. It’s now years since Need for Speed last dominated the Christmas games charts, and Ghost Games’ previous efforts – Need for Speed: Rivals and plain Need for Speed – did nothing to put the series back on top.
While its heroes are looking for the title’s payback, EA’s racing series is in desperate need of a comeback. Available on PS4, Xbox One and PC November 10
