2024 should be a properly good year for Need for Speed fans, with no fewer than four volumes inbound, complete with new modes, new cars and even more customisation.
This is all part of EA’s plan to create the ‘ultimate NFS experience, all in one place’. And if you want to catch a glimpse of what that looks like, you can see the entire Y2 Roadmap (Year 2) for NFS: Unbound here, which outlines when you can expect each volume and a hint of what it brings. And yup, Vol. 7 definitely says ‘inspired by NFS: Underground…’
Right now, we’re going to shift focus towards Vol. 6 – dubbed Head To Head – which goes live today bringing a whole host of extras with it. To make your life a little easier, we’ve gone and outlined exactly what you can expect, and just how these changes influence your gameplay. So, let’s kick it off with an obvious one: the new cars.
The Return Of Audi
After initially being absent from NFS: Unbound, the latest Vol. 6 update proudly welcomes Audi’s return with three models joining the game. These include the 2019 R8 Coupé and 2017 S5 Sportback, as well as the debut of the 2020 Audi RS 6 Avant.
All three models are naturally fully customisable and boast new engine audio as well as an Audi-specific handling model. What’s our favourite? It has to be the RS 6 – specifically the custom ‘Michèle’ edition used in the launch artwork, which draws inspiration from Michèle Mouton’s Sport Quattro rally car complete with period livery and boxed arches.
Dedicated PVP Mode
Bulking up Unbound’s multiplayer capability is the introduction of a dedicated PVP mode, allowing you to jump straight into head-to-head racing either from the multiplayer garage or while free roaming, all designed to make the process much faster and easier.
There are 25 new races to get stuck into right away, but also the addition of three weekly PVP playlists – which unsurprisingly change each week – kicking off with an Audi-specific event and NFS: Legends playlist. While we’re on that subject, a new ‘Global Rank’ system has been implemented as a means of earning respect and showcasing your abilities in both single-player and multiplayer modes too.
Premium Speed Pass
Taking a new approach from previous volumes, the new Premium Speed Pass now offers gamers a single purchase option for premium content (per volume) rather than multiple DLCs. For Vol. 6 there’s a cool 75 tiers of unlocks available – 45 of which are completely free, while the remaining 30 tiers are exclusive to those with the Premium Speed Pass.
What does the Premium Speed Pass include? Aside from immediately unlocking the extra tiers and the 2020 Audi RS 6 (as well as three custom versions of it), there’s an additional playable character skin in multiplayer by the name of Rydell, as well as Infinity cosmetics, new SFX/VFX options and more.
Where Can I Get It?
Vol. 6 can be downloaded across all gaming platforms including Xbox, PlayStation, Steam and the EA App for Windows. Aside from the main features above, there’s also been a massive number of miscellaneous changes too – from various bug fixes and improvements to the overall gameplay and visuals.
And that doesn’t stop with this volume, either. We’ve been given a small glimpse into what you can expect from the other three dropping this year, and we genuinely can’t wait to get stuck in – especially with the Underground-inspired Vol. 7. Let us know what you think of this current update and what you’re most looking forward to in the comments below.
The Speedhunters
Instagram: thespeedhunters
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
Have they added an option to remove all police and police style missions from the game yet ? Its my biggest pet hate of the series and ultimately its why i stopped playing the NFS series.
Also please give us a remaster of Grid or ProStreet !!!! Loved Those NFS games so much !
That's what the game is all about bro, lol
Yeh i know but thats the bit i hate
I meant Nfs Shift sorry and Pro Street
Weirdly, the picture with the red, white and blue car, the blue one is an S5. Not an S7.
Honestly the NFS series hasn't been good since Underground 2 and Most wanted with the exception of the Most Wanted game by Criterion which was Burnout Paradise in NFS clothes(probably why I liked it).
After that game they took the handling in a weird direction and never brought it back. I liked the balance between "real" handling and "arcade" that NFS was really good at providing. Most Wanted 2012 did it perfectly which felt like Underground 2 and NFS Hot Pursuit 2(2 of the best NFS games IMO). Since then driving in game has been really bad and not really that much fun.
My only other gripe is that you can't get all the annoying side characters to shut up. I want to cruise around every now and then and listen to the car and every 5 sec some dipsh!t is telling me which race or shop I need to go to next and it cuts away from the car and environment sounds to make them easier to hear. I don't want to hear them. When I turn their volume down it still cuts out the rest of the volume for their speaking parts. It's quite annoying if you are just wanting to hop on the game from time to time and just "cruise" around the map doing your own thing. Mostly speeding. haha.
All that being said, yeah. It's mostly the handling of the games that I dislike now. So I don't ever play them. Thankfully they let you demo them before buying.
Glad to see unbound getting more updates in 2024, a little bit surprising, but still very good to hear. Will there be anymore updates after vol 7, or is that the end of its lifecycle?
Okay the return of Audi already got me sold on this update better late than never
Now all I have to do is reinstall the game....
To be honest they should do away,with unbound and just re make underground 2 for ps5 which has the better graphics. The whole anime cartoony graphics with the characters and smoke effects is what made me not like it yes you can turnoff the lame smoke effects but the cartoony characters is just stupid. REDO UNDERGROUND 2 BEST NEED FOR SPEED. PERIOD
Pretty. But I like last season's design better
2024 won't be a good year for NFS fans unless they dramatically overhaul the physics to make the cars actually enjoyable to drive. Heat had some great visuals and customisation but felt awful to drive, which is kind of a big deal in a driving game. Forza Horizon has shown how to balance physics between arcade and semi-realism, it's a shame the NFS developers haven't taken note and instead have focused on things nobody asked for - like cartoony graphics and overly aggressive police AI.
Don't forget the unbearably kitschy politically correct dialogue rife with forced subliminal messaging about gender identity (Seriously? It's a racing game) and race theory. Not the car kind either...
Foreal. I had never returned a game on Steam til I bout Unbound. I lasted a single race, and the physics were so wack I uninstalled and returned. Forza figured it out.. just copy their game but add cops and some sorta gangster plot.
NFS Unbound was and is a big flop, NFS payback was my personal favorite.
Nice try EA. Maybe one day y'all will figure out how to make videogames as well as you run a car blog.
Man I miss old NFS.
The last good NFS was Pro Street... NFS 2015, Payback and Heat were all meh but not terrible... though they lost so much of the charm of the original series. It's just politically correct yappanese spread throughout an uninspired plot and forced dialogue using dated terminology the dated humor writers of the game think "all the kids are saying."
Just look at the images shared here. Green burnout smoke? Neon mirror holo wheels? Not to mention the cartoony smoke filled with flashing shapes and colors... it's becoming a mobile game for 13 year olds. Please bring back old school NFS. The franchise can be saved... Until then, I'll be playing Forza.