NFS Payback's drivers team up for "blockbuster missions"

Creative director William Ho joined us to discuss the trio of characters that will define Need for Speed Payback, describing them to us in our interview as "relatable", and that "they're people you want to hang out with, they're people that you want to be."

"Each of the characters has their own discipline. We have Tyler, who's the racer, the aspiring street racer. We have Mac who's the showman, he's all about extreme driving and drifting and style. And we have Jess, who's the consummate professional driver. She has to deliver the packages on time, deliver the VIP without getting busted. So each of those three characters represents a core motivation for driving fast in Need for Speed."

The game centres around a criminal organisation called The House (of course, we'll have to bring them down), and with action taking place in and around a desert region inspired by Nevada and Las Vegas, players can expect lots of high-speed chases through dusty locales.

"You'll participate in various missions and races for each character," Ho continued, "and what they do is they all contribute to that central goal, right, that central storyline. So you'll see them collaborating in certain what we call "blockbuster missions" - and you've seen that in Highway Heist and played it - and so you saw those characters working together to achieve a goal together. And then they separate, they go their separate ways and they do their various individual quests, and then they come back together and collaborate again."

Need for Speed Payback is heading to PC, PS4 and Xbox One on November 10. Expect hands-on impressions to land on Gamereactor in the near future.