Need For Speed: The Rivals shows off Speedlist, return of Ferrari 458

Electronic Arts has shown off new features of Need For Speed Rivals at Gamescom in Cologne. The game will feature the return of car customisation (back by popular demand), with millions of decal combinations available.

Also making a return to the series is the Ferrari 458 Spider, back after a seven-year absence from the series. The game will feature three Police modes: Patrol, Enforcer and 'undercover cop'. There will also be EMP weapons, plus the ability to bank points earned or risk losing them by continuing to earn while the risk of losing them increases.

The other big feature shown off during the presentation was 'Speedlist'. This shows tiered objectives that will progress your career, in a dynamic checklist that acts as your progression system through the game. Persistent online play in 'All Drive' allows you to race in single-player, co-op or competitive multiplayer versus whenever you like. And you can still race with your friends even if your Speedlist is completely different, and any races that attract the attention of the police will require you to lose your tail once the race has concluded and you return seamlessly to open-world driving.

Need For Speed Rivals will be released Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on November 21 and on Xbox One and PS4 (confirmed for launch day on Xbox One) at an unannounced date in 2013. The presentation is still live here so skip to 39:25 to watch the Need For Speed segment for yourself. It looks mighty purty.

Justin Towell

Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.