EA has unveiled a fresh look at Need for Speed: Payback ahead of its release later this year with a new gameplay trailer. EA Games seems to be raising the bar with the upcoming game, which will combine the high-adrenaline chases of Grand Theft Auto with the ambitious (albeit OTT) storylines of the Fast and Furious films. Ghost Games are back for a third entry after the successful reboot of the series and Need for Speed in 2015.

Where some franchises could be accused of running on fumes by their 23rd entry, it looks like Need for Speed is just getting started. Just like the aforementioned Fast and Furious film series, Payback looks like it could jump the shark - but for all the right reasons.

Showcased on the EA Play stage, the trailer features a speedy motorway chase, some slick visuals, and plenty of action. The trailer focuses on the plucky Jess, who after mowing down the "House" cars, takes her life in her hands and climbs aboard the truck. Just when the mission starts to go south, we see Jess burst out of the back of the HGV in her shiny new vehicle and drive off into the sunset. Check out the tease above.

Need for Speed Payback

The trailer ends as the action really picks up, and we leave with Jess facing a police helicopter alongside a convoy of cops. Of course, lifting a supercar from the back of a truck promises to be just one of the many expected missions. Thankfully, we also see the "Relic system" come into play, where you can customize classic cars for a modernized version in-game; although flashy heists are new to the franchise, Need for Speed: Payback looks to keep car modification at the core of its mechanics.

Need for Speed has been absent in recent years, with an underperforming movie adaptation sullying the long-running franchise's name and the traditional racing games feeling out of sorts in the current generation. This reboot looks to reenergize things, with a totally fresh approach to gameplay long promised and finally seen here; it really is following a similar story trajectory to the increasingly ridiculous Fast and Furious movies (although there's no word if the game will involve anything quite as bonkers as stopping World War 3 a la The Fate of the Furious).

Need for Speed: Payback hopes to be a faithful reinvention of the franchise that we have come to play since 1994. We'll find out if it's another all-timer when it's released on November 10th.

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Source: EA Games