Need for Speed Heat
Need for Speed Heat is a racing video game developed by Ghost Games and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is the twenty-fourth installment in the Need for Speed series and commemorates the series' 25th anniversary. It was released on November 8, 2019. The game received mixed reviews from critics.
Gameplay
Need for Speed Heat is a racing game set in an open world environment called Palm City, a fictionalised version of the city of Miami, Florida and its surrounding area. The in-game map features diverse geography, including mountainous areas and open fields. Unlike Need for Speed Payback, the game does not include a 24-hour day-night cycle, but players can switch between day and night. During the day, players can take part in sanctioned race events, which reward players with cash to spend on new cars and upgrades. They can also take part in illegal street races at night, which would earn players REP. The more REP player earns, the more aggressive the police will be during the night. Players must escape the cops and get back to their safehouse, before they are busted, or their car is wrecked. When players return to a safehouse, the REP they have earned during the night will be multiplied by their "Heat Level". If players are arrested, they will lose their REP multiplier, but will still receive their unmultiplied REP. The REP multiplier mechanic works similarly to the Speed Points multiplier from Rivals. The game also features a storyline in which the players interact with the city’s police force, led by authority figure Lt. Frank Mercer. Players can smash neon flamingos hidden within the map, which rewards them with a small amount of money or rep depending on the time of day. They can also find graffiti, referred to as "Street Art" in the game, and send it to the livery editor to use it on their car. Lastly, they can complete activities around the open world such as smashing billboards, beating scores on drift zones, getting the highest speeds passing through speed traps, and going the longest distances when performing long jumps. Players may complete "Crew Time Trials" which allows them to complete short timed events in an attempt to get the #1 spot on the leaderboard in their crew.The game features 127 cars from 33 manufacturers, with Ferrari returning to the game after being absent from Payback due to licensing issues. Unlike Payback, performance upgrades no longer come in random Speedcards and are unlocked by earning REP and winning races. The game will not feature loot boxes; however, time savers, which will reveal collectibles on the map, and paid downloadable content will be included.
Electronic Arts released the NFS Heat Studio app for iOS and Android devices. Users can collect and customise their cars which can be imported into the main game upon release.
On June 8, 2020, it was announced that the game would feature support for cross-platform play starting June 9 as part of the game's final patch.
Plot
The player arrives in Palm City for the Speedhunter Showdown, a citywide exhibition which draws in racers to compete in legally sanctioned races throughout the day, and illegal street races throughout the night. Lt. Frank Mercer, leader of the police's High-Speed Task Force, announces his intent to ruthlessly pursue and arrest all street racers in the city. The player buys their first car from Lucas Rivera, a local mechanic and retired street racer, who also helps the player enter their first Showdown race, and becomes their mechanic and mentor. Lucas's younger sister, Ana Rivera, is a street racer whose crew recently disbanded after the task force nearly killed one of her friends.Ana introduces the player to The League, an exclusive crew of Palm City's best street racers, which she aspires to join, and which Lucas almost joined until he suddenly quit racing after their father died. Ana and the player form a new crew to climb the ranks of Palm City's street racers and earn a place in The League. After winning a race, Ana and the player are confronted by Officer Shaw of Mercer's task force, who has Ana's Nissan 350Z impounded. When Ana calls the city about her car later, they claim to have no record of it.
The player and Ana race The Dreamkillers, another crew vying for The League's attention. After defeating them, they unexpectedly witness Shaw meeting Eva Torres, another task force officer. Shaw shows Torres bags of money in the trunk of his car, extorted from street racers per Mercer's orders. Torres takes one of the bags but warns that Shaw and Mercer's brashness is endangering their unit's activities. Ana steals her father's 1967 Chevrolet Camaro from Lucas's shop so she can join the player in a final showdown against the Dreamkillers, but the race is interrupted by Shaw. The player wrecks Shaw's car, scattering the money from Shaw's trunk onto the street, which creates a publicized spectacle and raises public suspicion about Mercer's and the High-Speed Task Force. However, Lucas is angered by Ana using their father's car without permission.
Ana and the player are contacted by Torres, who admits that the High-Speed Task Force is corrupt, but wishes to have Mercer taken down because he's become too reckless. Torres leads them to a warehouse that acts as an illegal chop shop, stripping cars seized by the High-Speed Task Force, or preparing them to be shipped out of the city. Ana realizes her 350Z has already been processed after finding its license plate.
The player and Ana enlist The League's help to expose Mercer's activity by crashing a publicity event for the Showdown, and leading the police and local media to the warehouse. En route, they are ambushed by the High-Speed Task Force, and news reporters find the warehouse empty. Ana and the player evade the police and return to Lucas's garage to find him bound and tortured by Mercer, who holds them at gunpoint. Mercer reveal he anticipated the Player's plans after observing them on a security camera in his shop. Mercer forces the player and Ana into his police car, but Lucas, having escaped his bonds, intercepts them in his father's Camaro and rams Mercer's car. Ana steals Mercer's laptop and escapes with Lucas and the player. Lucas takes them to a new hideout on the city's outskirts and admits to Ana the reason he quit street racing was that he believes that their father had his fatal heart attack after hearing about him being arrested for street racing that same night.
Ana and Lucas send incriminating files from Mercer's computer to various outlets, proving his corruption and forcing him into hiding, then learn that Mercer is preparing to have the stolen cars in his possession shipped out of Palm City before fleeing as well. As they do not know which cops are complicit or innocent, Ana and Lucas convince The League and other crews across the city to simultaneously goad and draw as many police cars as they can to the port where the cars are being loaded. Confronted by the swarm of police and street racers, Mercer attempts to escape in the BMW M3 GTR from . The player chases down and wrecks Mercer's car, leaving him to be confronted by Torres, who pulls her pistol in response to his threats and is implied to have shot him.
Over a week later, Mercer is missing and presumed dead. Torres has been promoted to lead the High-Speed Task Force, and she announces her commitment to end street racing in Palm City. Lucas, having reconciled with Ana, gives her the keys to their father's repaired Camaro. The player and Ana, now members of The League, plan to continue racing and tackle any future challenges together.