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| NFS-Planet Easter Egg Search 2009 |
Monday, 06.04.2009 |
 The annual easter egg search starts again at NFS-Planet! The easter bunny hid 10 easter eggs, just like the one you can see to your right.
Just browse through the site and if you can find at least 5 eggs, you get the chance to win one of the following prizes!
Whereever you find an easter egg, just click on it and it will be marked as "found". Of course you'll need a NFS-Planet account and you have to be logged in. Once you could find at least 5 eggs, you automatically participate in the raffle where you have the chance to win one of the following prizes:
- 2x NFS Sweater
- 2x EA Bag
- 1x Gaming Mouse
- 5x Mirror's Edge Soundtrack
- 10x EA Keychain
The easter egg search is only available from April 7th 2009 to April 13th 2009, each day 0-24h CET. The winners will be announced a few days later.<
 Not registered yet? Get here a free member account!
Rules:
Each person can only participate once. Registration of multiple accounts and unallowed manipulations are not permitted. A valid "discovery" of an egg is only the explicit click on an egg, which opens a popup and processes the discovery.
The winners agree that their names may be published on the NFS-Planet website.
NFS-Planet Easter Egg Search 2009
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Comments (11) |
| Need for Speed Variations |
Friday, 30.01.2009 |
 As it seems Electronic Arts re-structures the Need for Speed series. As  Eurogamer reports, there will be three different NFS games this year for core, casual and 'Play 4 Free' gamers!
Need for Speed: Shift will launch in autumn 2009 on PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP, Need for Speed: Nitro for Wii and DS. Need for Speed: World Online will be released for the asian online PC market this summer, which goes along with this rumours from October 2008.
Need for Speed: Shift
This title focuses on simulation racing and shall become more serious:
Shift focuses on simulation racing - not just the realistic movement of cars, but also driver behaviour. This, EA marketing boss Keith Munro told Eurogamer, is what will set the game apart. Also, less baggy jeans and hip-hop.
"The urban underground was a manifestation of style in some past Need for Speed games for sure, but Shift focuses less on these style cues and more on mirroring the driver experience, that athleticism of being in a wickedly-intense race, and what it really feels like to be behind the wheel," Munro told us.
A flashy 3D HUD that mimics driver head movement, inertia and G-force will help achieve this. There's a cockpit view that lets players freely look around using the right thumbstick, too.
Munro reckons serious car enthusiasts will "love" Shift, and that mainstream racers will also get on board. He's quite excited.
"Need for Speed Shift is amazing and I think it will blow people away," said Munro. "The tech behind that game, the details that only a team with such racing pedigree could accomplish, and the ability to make you feel the intensity of a race is unprecedented. I can't wait for our fans to begin experiencing it!"
And, he added: "Regarding any new Need for Speed girls I can't comment, but I'll definitely mark down one enthusiastic vote for Josie Maran." Steady on.
NFS Shift is being developed by the Slightly Mad Studios which are responsible for GT Legends and GTR 2. They are supportet by EA Black Box producer Michael Mann and EA Games Europe bigwig Patrick Soderlund.
Need for Speed: Nitro
This game will be developed by EA Montreal and focuses on the casual gamer. It's a fast fun-racer with vibrant and eye-catching visuals.
"Need for Speed Nitro on the Wii and DS will not be a Mario Kart clone - Nintendo already does an excellent job with that," sagte Munro. "Instead, we are evolving the arcade racer with a fresh and unique visual style that is very Need for Speed. The game will be rich and deep and will appeal to experienced arcade racers as well as casual players.
What you'll see is that Nitro in no way resembles any other previous Need for Speed title."
Need for Speed: World Online
NFS World Online will be co-developed by Black Box und EA's online studio in Singapore. The game will be released in Asia this summer and if it does well, it should come to the west in winter 2009.
Released to Asia first, this online PC game will let players pick and customise their choice of licensed vehicles and take on the rest of the world - well, Asia, before heading West after a thumbs-up there.
"This is not so much a proof of concept - it is a full-fledged launch in a market that we are very ambitious toward," explained Munro. "This Play 4 Free action racing game will give Need for Speed fans the most licensed cars, parts and game modes ever in Need for Speed's history.
Players will prove their racing supremacy through the sophisticated online matchmaking features and fully customise their profile and their ride."
In an additional article at Eurogamer it is mentioned, that EA Black Box is currently working on a future action title for the NFS franchise. There are not details known yet, but with NFS Shift, Nitro and World Online this would make four different NFS games.
Could this be a case of EA playing safe in the face of the economic crises and milking a safe and proven brand?
Not according to Munro, who said the credit crunch had "not played any role" and that work began "long before" we all began feeling the pinch.
"This isn't about quantity, this is about crafting different games for different audiences and their unique tastes in the driving category," he explained.
"The motivation was purely driven by our understanding of racing gamers and their desire to experience different kinds of racing games. I would say that our strategy is the inverse of milking; it is an intentionally non-traditional approach."
"We took a consumer-first approach and spoke with the fans about what they would like from their Need for Speed. Player feedback was consistent - create custom simulation and arcade experiences but maintain the franchises' core values of street culture, attitude and beautiful licensed cars," he added.
So far, all this sounds quite promising, since it has always been a problem of the Need for Speed series lately, that with such a large audience not every customer could be satisfied. With the separation in the different areas EA might could manage to fill the needs of all gamers.
A simulation-based racing game for PC, X360 and PS3 is something many wished for. The new orientation for the "casual gamer" on Wii and DS is really good thing and World Online is quite a big step, but considering the online boom in Asia this could very well work.
EA tried once an online racer with Motor City Online, but apparently it didn't go well but that was years ago, where the infrastructure wasn't as much developed as it now is. MCO was only available in the USA and was shut down one year later.
So far the mysterious additional title by EA Black Box is still open, but unfortunately there is no new information about that yet.
We will see, how much from all this is really true, but so far it sounds quite promising. We will let you know when we know more.
Eurogamer
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Comments (8) |
| NFS UC: Ringtones for your mobile |
Monday, 10.11.2008 |
 Do you ever wanted to hear police chat or engine sounds from your mobile, when someone calls you? Now you can, because there are 4 NFS Undercover ringtones available, ready for downloading. Now this is a fun feature.
Don't forget using the ringtones will require your mobile phone to support mp3 ringtones:
NFS UC: Ringtones
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Comments (1) |
| Asian Onlineversion of Need for Speed? |
Friday, 24.10.2008 |
EA Singapore recently published a press release regarding Maggie Q, who promoted Need for Speed Undercover on a Media Tour in Hong Kong. Apart from the text about the event, a quite interesting fact has been reveiled in this paragraph:
Maggie will also be appearing in an upcoming online version of Need for Speed, which is currently under development in EA's Asian Studios out of Singapore. The online game is tentatively scheduled for release in 2009 in Asia.
The latest Need for Speed games were developed by EA Black Box in Vancouver, so the asian version could be an additional NFS game, exclusively for Asia. The definition "online version" sounds a bit like the old Motor City Online.
EA Singapure Article
NFSUnlimited (Source)
NFS-Planet Boards
Order Need for Speed Undercover at Amazon.com
Order Need for Speed Undercover at Amazon.co.uk
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| NFS UC: Possible Teaser |
Sunday, 27.07.2008 |
A possible teaser video of Need for Speed Undercover showed up. The following video shows some racing scenes and a criminal story, which could fit into the schema of NFS Undercover. Also the releasedate November 18th 2008 sounds plausible, since the latest NFS games always were released at the end of November.
The video also shows the link to the website of Whichroadtotake.com. This website contains only a video from a surveilance camera recording an interrogation room.
You can find the video at the following link.
Could this be Need for Speed Undercover? What do you think of the teaser?
NFS Uncercover Teaser
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Comments (58) |
| NFS UC: Weird rumours - fake! |
Wednesday, 25.06.2008 |
As we already reported, the new NFS will carry the name Need for Speed: Undercover. Our affiliate NFSGame.net received a flyer of the upcoming E3 expo, with some rumours of NFS Undercover. Although the picture looks quite official, the information can be doubted, since it sounds more like a mixup of Burnout and GTA than Need for Speed:
 - 13 car brands and 3 motor brands
- new prize system of getting cars (non-buy)
- detailed non-switched off damage model
- fully arcade physics engine
- 3D smoke technology
- improved graphics engine
- Undercover-Mode offering to carry out time-trial missions with ability to use weapon
- possibility to improving the hero (increase health points, reaction etc)
- night street racing cups
- racing stadium allowing to show improbable tricks in air and get points
- available on Xbox360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP and DS
Sounds weird? It is. Weapons in Need for Speed? Stunts in a stadium? Heros? Motorcycles? Ok, Motorcycles sound a little bit plausible, but the rest seems to be very fictional. Even the grammar in this flyer doesn't look very official, so don't take it at face value. An official announcement from Electronic Arts is still missing, but we will keep you informed.
Update:
As presumed, we got confirmation that this flyer is definitely a fake. For more information about the game we will have to wait for the official announcement from EA.
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Comments (20) |
| Next NFS will be NFS: Undercover! (Update) |
Wednesday, 18.06.2008 |
EA's Chef John Ricitello reveiled some details of the next Need for Speed at the William Blair & Company's annual growth stock conference: The game is called Need for Speed: Undercover and has a very strong mission structure, similar to "The Transporter". Additionally it has a huge embedded storyline, so it gets a narrative touch.
Since Ricitello was pretty disappointed with NFS ProStreet, we can hope that EA will learn from its mistakes. According to Ricitello the Need for Speed Dev-Team in Vancouver had been working for eight consecutive years on a 12 month development cycle. Last summer the team was split and now there are two teams on a 24 month cycle. Unfortunately NFS:Undercover will be only 16 months development time, but the next year's NFS will be a full two-year development cycle.
"We were torturing a very talented group of people up in Vancouver, which makes it harder to be as innovative every year. So, I think we are going to get better from here.
"I'm confident that Undercover is a much better game than Pro Street, and I expect that from this point forward they will do a lot better."
So, we will see what we can expect from NFS: Undercover. Maybe this name is only a working title, but the mission-based gameplay sounds quite promising. Already in Need for Speed Porsche you had to solve missions as the Porsche test driver, which kept you on the road. I think NFS: Undercover could be quite fun, if you have to achieve missions and get a good story behind it. :)
Update:
Electronic Arts just confirmed that Need for Speed: Undercover will be the title for the next Need for Speed, as well as there has been restructuring of the dev teams. Stay tuned for more...
Gamesindustry.biz (Source)
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Comments (40) |
| NFS PS: Nominated for two AIAS Awards |
Thursday, 07.02.2008 |
 Today the annual Interactive Achievement Awards are being held at the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas. Each year the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences honours good games with the AIAS Awards. The Need for Speed series was nominated several times, but last year Need for Speed Carbon (nominated in "Racing Game of the Year") couldn't win. The year before that NFS Most Wanted was nominated in "Outstanding Character Performance - Female" and "Racing Game of the Year" and even won the award for the best racing game!
This year Need for Speed ProStreet is nominated in the categories "Racing Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design". The Interactive Achievement Awards are being held today (7th February) on 7:30 p.m. PT, which is the 8th February 4:30 a.m. GMT+1. In collaboration with Gamespot and Comcast the awards are being broadcasted live over the internet, so if you're interested, take a look on the following webpage, when the awards show starts.
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Gamespot Live Stream
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Comments (2) |
| NFS PS: Some details about the PSP-Version |
Friday, 18.01.2008 |
 Need for Speed ProStreet was released on all big platforms already last year, but the PSP-version is being awaited for end of February 08. The onlinemagazine IGN made an interview with Gregg McGillivray, the Assistant Producer of NFSPS for the Playstation Portable.
In this interview Gregg revealed some exclusive features for this version, like Driver Intuition, Driver Personas and Speed Mode. In the core the PSP-version is a port of the console-version with more less the same features, like a complete damage model.
But if you take a closer look at the "exclusive" features, there is not so much difference to the regular version. "Driver Personas" is nothing but choosing the difficulty, only that they have the names "Speed King", "Weekend Warrior" and "Adrenaline Junkie". How many assists are enabled, is defined by the "Driver Intuition", like for example the highlighting of the ideal path. "Players choosing the Adrenaline Junkie setting will only see this driving line appear around the most difficult corners, whereas Speed King will allow the driver to toggle this feature on and off as they see fit."
Also the new "Speed Mode" sounds a bit familiar:
Besides Circuit and Grip races, there are also Speed Mode events exclusive to this version. Speed Trap is a mode where racers must race through checkpoints at the highest possible speed to win. Lap Knockout and Gate Knockout are both races where the last person to cross the checkpoint will be eliminated. And finally, Time Attack is a time-based mode where players must race against the clock to reach the next checkpoint. We've tried to add a large variety of events for on-the-go racing on the PSP.
Apart from that, Gregg also announced a new Race Maps Mode. With this mode you can check the schematics of all tracks you've raced. You can see the path you've driven and compare it to the ideal driving line, as well as "zoom in close anywhere on the track to analyze how you drove and where you crashed. It's a cool feature that really allows players to see how they've done and help improve their performance in the future."
You can find the complete interview here:
NFS ProStreet Q&A with Gregg McGillivray @ IGN
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| NFS PS: Interview with Junkie XL at Gamespot |
Monday, 24.12.2007 |
The onlinemagazine Gamespot made an interview with the dutch DJ and musician Junkie XL, who also made the soundtrack for Need for Speed ProStreet.
He talks about his projects, the difference between movies and video games and the future of soundtracks.
Excerpt:
GS: Now you've worked with Microsoft on Forza, but you've most often worked with EA. Need for Speed ProStreet marks your fifth collaboration with the publisher--what brought you back?
JXL: Well in general EA is happy with the games I have worked on. If they are looking for a music approach within a certain style they know I am the guy for it. I’d love to point out that this feels very natural for me, sometimes people ask me, 'How can EA have tricked you into doing music for video games?" But it’s not like that. It fits my style of music and my audience very well.
GS: Often racing game soundtracks just sound like music you'd be listening to on the radio while driving. However, you've composed original electronic tracks for racing games--how do you try and convey a sense of speed in a song?
JXL: It’s not easy. When you make music in these types of games it needs to have a certain vibe and it should work on your nerves so that the experience becomes very intense. It’s always hard to come up with a score that makes everybody happy but I believe that since the music is interactive and is there to enhance the game experience it’s not really a problem if the music doesn’t fit the gamers music taste exactly.
You can find the interview here:
Junkie XL Interview @ Gamespot
Order Need for Speed ProStreet at Amazon.com
Order Need for Speed ProStreet at Amazon.co.uk
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