Electronic Arts and Ghost Games released a new trailer for Need For Speed Heat, clocking in at nearly four minutes as they break down on the game works, how the gameplay operates, how the customization works, how you can use the tie-in app for the customization, how you unlock parts, how they changed the card system, and briefly touch some of the multiplayer features.

The game looks like it’s running on the Frostbite engine given the absolutely superb use of the engine’s unmatched lighting system, but EA nor Ghost Games have talked about that specifically. The color grading and the way the light sources pop are done in a spectacularly exquisite way, so that the materials and liveries shine under the multi-directional light sources.

The downside is that the game looks like it’s steeped in degenerate culture.

You can check out the trailer below.

The trailer goes over the basics of acquiring a car, acquiring money, and then upgrading it.

So upgrades are broken down into two categories. The first is being able to upgrade the performance of your car by completing races during the day.

Cops are out during the day but they’re not as aggressive and they’ll only hound you day and quite moderately if you break the speed limit. Races during the day are legal, however, and winning them will net you some cash that you can spend on improving the performance of your ride.

The game takes on a more dangerous guise at night, where races are illegal but you earn heat instead of money. You use the heat you earn from doing these illegal street races to upgrade your vehicle with aftermarket parts and livery options.

So the question is obviously: why not just always race at night?

Well, the hook for juggling between night and day racing is that at night you have to deal with far more aggressive police forces, who will do more than just perform pit maneuvers to spin you out and ticket you. They will lay down spike strips, they will call in helicopters, and then will ram you off the road using rhinos.

As you compete at night and rack up heat, not unlike Need For Speed World, you will incur more aggressive police forces, but also more opportunities to partake in different races and further upgrade your ride(s).

I really love what DICE’s lighting engineers can pull out of the hat when it comes to the Frostbite engine, but boy oh boy it will be one cold day in the dark depths of Tartarus before I throw money at the coffers of Electronic Arts for a new game after all the shenanigans they pulled.

While the video states that they’re doing away with the kind of microtransaction loot box system that was in Need For Speed Payback, I think anyone who has even the most remote interest in this game should wait to see what sort of scheme they’ve attached to the game’s monetization setup before getting even remotely excited.

Need For Speed Heat is due out on November 8th, 2019. The tie-in app for the game is available to download for free over on the EA NSF Heat page.

You can use the app to customize your car using the parts you’ve unlocked in the game, and then import it into your profile on PC, PS4 or Xbox One. Keep an eye on this app because this is likely how EA will monetize the game instead of using the traditional microtransaction method.

(Thanks for the news tip Kevin Backalive)