Much like The Fast & Furious though, the story of Payback is filled with both incredible action pieces and intense cut-scenes that make you want to complete the next event and see what unfolds next. It’s a mix of Fast & Furious and Las Vegas, just without The Rock. After a failed heist shortly into the game, your crew attempt to earn a place in the ‘Outlaw Rush’, a upcoming racing event where you’ll get your chance to seek revenge, or payback as it were, on the person who double-crossed your crew.
#NEED SPEED PAYBACK RATING MAC#
Tyler focuses more on your traditional circuit and drag racing, Mac on drifting and off-road, and Jess in evading pursuits. The game starts by introducing you to three main (playable) characters, Tyler, Mac and Jess, with their own unique personalities and styles of driving. To the dismay of every dudebro, the story of Need For Speed Payback features a distinct lack of both cheese and fist-bumping.
Almost all gripes with the last title are addressed, and it starts as soon into the game as the first cut-scene.
#NEED SPEED PAYBACK RATING SERIES#
Where Rivals was a continuation of Criterion’s formula and Need For Speed was an attempt at bringing the franchise into the modern-era of racers, Payback is a clear indication that series has caught up with the competition.
Simply put, Need For Speed Payback is the fully-fledged package that Ghost Games intended to release when it rebooted the franchise in 2015. So over the last weekend it was that question that I was hoping to answer, possibly, with a yes. Yet, it seems like none of the subsequent games hit the mark. Where the series has tried to reinvent and change the formula, fans have always wanted a return to those epic three games which, for many, defined street racing in the 2000s. While companies like Nintendo have managed to succeed off the back of nostalgia, for Need For Speed, it seems almost like a hindrance. Undoubtedly, it’s an interesting position that Electronic Arts finds itself in. Now that the two-year wait is over, the question on everyone’s mind is, “have we finally seen a true successor to Need For Speed Underground 2?”