E3 2011: Need for Speed - The Run

During EA's press conference, they revealed a new entry in the Need for Speed franchise. NFS The Run will feature high speed street racing you've come to know and love and, for the first time in the series, on foot segments.

From what they've shown at the press conference and from what I've seen on the show floor demos, the on foot segments are mostly quick time events. It's not just your standard quick time events though, it looks to incorporate some Heavy Rain-esque elements too such as having to look around for the parts you can interact with instead of waiting for the prompts to appear.

The on foot segments add a lot of cinematic flair but for now the concept that they're going with doesn't really sit well with me. The racing graphics however look fantastic. The game will be running on the Frostbite 2 engine. The Frostbite engine, as you know, runs on games such as the upcoming Battlefield 3 which is gorgeous.

I'll keep an open mind about the new direction EA is taking NFS in but for me to be impressed, they have to polish the hell out of this new game and make the on foot segments fun and be more than just QTEs.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HvT5SJzS3w&w=560&h=349]