STACK July 2017 Issue 153

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072 JULY 2017
visit GAMES FEATURE
Need For Speed:
Payback’s game
director William Ho
on casting the three
leads:
Right from the
outset, we were
very keen on these
characters. We
needed to cast
them based on
their chemistry
– they had to be
believable as a unit.
It was an extensive
casting process,
because not only
did they need to
be proficient as
individuals, but
they also had to
spark as a group. It
was a very arduous
but ultimately fun
process.
THE
CREW
Star Wars dogfight sequence,
weaving in and out of ships trying
to get your reticle on an X-Wing.
However, when Iden decides
to board a Rebel transporter to
take out the ION cannons, it’s a
good old laser fire-fight through
tight corridors, launching thermal
detonators at clusters of Rebel
soldiers and discharging well-aimed
head shots.
A nice addition here to the
combat is a mini Imperial probe
droid (launched with the press
of a button), which can override
computers or take out multiple
enemies with bolts of electricity.
Gameplay is optional – play stealth,
or in our case, opt to blast away
everything that moved. It was a
short time with the campaign,
but this is exactly what I want
from a Star Wars game, and I left
feeling excited about the prospect
of playing the entire campaign in
November.
Every year we chat to Matt
Prior about the new FIFA, and
every year he takes the p-ss out of
my football team, Gillingham. So
nothing new in that regard when
I quizzed him on what to expect
with FIFA 18. If we’ve learned
anything about playing FIFA at E3
over the years, it’s not to judge
what we see in June as what we’ll
be playing in September when the
game launches.
Prior tells us that only now,
in the second year of using the
Frostbite engine, are the team
really hitting their straps. Our brief
hands-on impression found a more
realistic and fluid game; visually,
there are noticeable improvements
and the gameplay, at this early
stage, definitely feels more
balanced.
According to Prior, FIFA 18 will
feature a new motion technology
system that will capture in detail
particular player traits. Crowds in
stadiums are more spontaneous
and will react directly to player
celebrations. The Journey is
back to track Alex Hunter’s next
progression through his career as
a professional footballer, and FUT
will feature a host of new legends
(none, I’m reliably informed, from
Gillingham).
It’s a real challenge keeping an
annual sporting franchise fresh,
but one that EA have consistently
managed to do with FIFA over the
last ten years.
Alesha: When the E3 trailer
debuted for Need For Speed:
Payback, there was an obvious
(and with good reason) comparison
to the Fast and Furious films. A
feeling of family and togetherness
resonated from the crew shown
in the EA Play trailer, which,
according to game director William
Ho, was a conscious choice.
“Growing up, I really wanted to
make racing games. I loved Hot
Wheels, TV shows and movies
with cars… I’m basically a walking
encyclopaedia when it comes
to car stunts and how they look
and feel. For Need For Speed:
Payback, it just made sense to tap
into not necessarily one franchise
in particular, but a lifetime of
knowledge and memories. You
could say it’s been 40 years in the
making.”
We jumped in for 20 minutes
with Payback at EA Play, and the
short hands-on we got was highly-
polished. The story mode features
a roster of three characters that
Ho hopes will appeal to every type
of driver. These characters will
need to work together and utilise
their different areas of expertise to
conquer missions. The mission we
played had us fight off a few cars
escorting a semi to an undisclosed
location. It had a rather fast car on
board we wouldn’t mind driving!
The handling is great, and there
were even a few slow-mo crash
sequences thrown in that were
real eyebrow-raisers. Fans of
driving games this year are literally
spoiled for choice.
The inclusion of a campaign mode in Battlefront
is something everyone has pleaded for
Need For Speed: Payback
Need For Speed: Payback
EA PLAY