Need for Speed bringing back "really deep customisation"

Producer Leanne Loombe from Ghost Games talks us through what's new in the next entry in the Need for Speed series.

"Well this is Need for Speed, there is no subtitle in this game as you know, so we've just called it Need for Speed, and that's because we're really rebooting the franchise," Loombe told us during our interview at E3. "We really want to go back to what fans have been asking for, what the core of Need for Speed is."

One of the key features of the new Need for Speed is the new five-lane narrative, which Loombe describes as "really strong" and offering different ways to play:

"So this game has a really strong narrative, a really strong story that pulls you through the progression. It's all about our five icons, so we have five icons, five acts in the game, which is real life action merged with CG. So that's Style, Speed, Crew, Outlaw, and Build. And they're five different ways to play the game."

While the studio aren't going into too much detail with regards to the story, the producer did add this later on in the interview: "There is five different narratives, so you get to choose which one you do. You can do all of them as well. Each one has a slightly different way to play the game, so it's super exciting."

Here's some details regarding the five different event/story types, via EA:

Speed - Pedal to the metal, high speeds, maximum adrenaline rush. Keep your nerve and never lift off the gas, the fearless always push the limits.
Style - Expression through driving, sliding the car into a corner sideways with ultimate precision. For some, style is all that matters.
Build - Take your car to the extreme through visual and performance modification. The constant need to improve and personalize. Craftsmen build, searching for perfection.
Crew - Ride together with your Crew and never hit the streets alone. Put your faith in others and the skill of close proximity chaos.
Outlaw - Messing with and escaping from the cops. Push the limits and live life on the edge as you crave the thrill of the chase.

It's a racing games, so story will have to take a backseat, at least for some of the time. So what else is important to fans and the studio? This is what Loombe had to say:

"Fans have been asking for customisation for a really long time, so we're really excited about bringing back really deep customisation, both visual, performance and handling as well."

"The handling is something we're really proud of and really excited, because in this game can both do either grip or drift handling," she added. "So grip is from the more classic Need for Speeds, and Drift is from the more modern Need of Speeds, but in this game you can choose to do whichever one you want, which is great."

Need for Speed is heading to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 5.