Need For Speed: The Run

Black Box makes a return in the Need For Speed series, with Need For Speed: The Run!

Players take on the role of Jack Rourke, played by Sean Faris, who is a troubled racer in the hands of crime organization The Mob. He has a massive debt to pay to them, and he has no way to pay it until he runs across The Run, a 3000 mile race from San Fran to New York. However, he is faced with a recurring problem throughout the race, with the American Police force and The Mob stopping him in his tracks and preventing him from completing The Run.

The game runs on Battlefield 3's graphics engine, Frostbite 2, famous for its spectacular display of graphics. It also has a wide range of cars to choose from, such as Lamborghini, Porsche, Ford, BMW and more. Gameplay mainly consists of pass races, where you need to pass a certain amount of opponents, checkpoint races, where you must get to the next checkpoint in time, battle races, where you must overtake the opponent before the timer runs out, and a few quicktime events when you're out of the car.

As well as the campaign mode, there's Multiplayer mode, where you race in certain playlists against players from around the globe, and Challenge Series, which takes you through the same tracks you were in, but you have to complete them in a set time.

The verdict:
Originality: 7/10 (The storyline is based off the Cannonball Run.)
Storyline: 9/10 (Though it's inspired by the Cannonball Run, you have to admit, a coast to coast race in the US does sound awesome.)
Graphics: 10/10 (Frostbite 2 does the talking here.)
Pure Awesomeness: 10/10 (Seriously. The Run is a god-awesome game.)

OVERALL: 36/40

Looks like The Run scores a 36 out of 40! Amazing work for a Black Box game, despite their tarnished reputation in Undercover. This earns the "Epic Stamp of Approval!"

Want to play other games like this? Then you're... GOING TO LOVE:
- Forza Motorsport 4
- Split Second
- Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

Well written, although Graphics I've seen don't woe me as much as you make it sound.