Need for Speed: The Run revs up

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot

Shift 2 Unleashed has been out for only a month, but EA is apparently looking to turn out another Need for Speed in near-record time. European retailer ShopTo.net has posted a product page for Need for Speed: The Run on the Xbox 360, complete with box art and a teaser trailer that reveals a November 18 launch date. The North American version of the video (embedded below) indicates a November 15 domestic launch for the game.

Clocking in at 1 minute, 17 seconds, the trailer shows glimpses of race action intercut with shots of what appears to be a story mode. The trailer suggests New York, Las Vegas, Denver, and San Francisco as locales, with races spiced up by outside factors (like an explosive avalanche or unwanted attention from the cops). As for the story, the trailer's glimpses of the game are spotted in between shots of a man regaining consciousness in a car overturned on railroad tracks. The tagline at the end of the clip is "The race for your life. The race of your life."

This wouldn't be the first time two major Need for Speed games have arrived in the same calendar year. Last year saw the launch of the free-to-play PC game Need for Speed World as well as Criterion Games' Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. In 2009, EA also released the original Need for Speed: Shift and Need for Speed: Nitro, although there was no overlap in the two games' platforms.

[UPDATE]: Electronic Arts has since confirmed the game is in development and the accuracy of the ShopTo listing. More details are expected soon.

It’s called The Run. An illicit, high-stakes race across the country. The only way to get your life back is to be the first from San Francisco to New York. No speed limits. No rules. No allies. All you have are your driving skills and sheer determination as you battle hundreds of the world’s most notorious drivers on the country’s most dangerous roads. In Need for Speed The Run, you’ll weave through dense urban centers, rocket down icy mountain passes and navigate narrow canyons at breakneck speeds, all the while evading a relentless police force prepared – and willing – to use lethal force to take you down.

PLATFORMS: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii, Nintendo 3DS