Need for Speed is as much about customization as it is racing

The introduction to this latest trailer for Need for Speed, frankly, says it all. Need for Speed is “rooted in urban car culture”; that means stock just isn’t quite good enough. So for as much as our cars are digital, we still can’t help but want to tinker under their hoods.

In creating the, as Ghost Games calls it, most authentic customization experience in Need for Speed history, the team over at Gothenburg, Sweden have thrown in as much as they possibly could, and the latest trailer does its best to sell that concept.

From personalizing your handling to performance overhauls, engine fine tuning and a heck of a lot of cosmetic customization. It’s all there, so expect to spend as much time in the garage as you do on the road, at least when you first get a car you will.

For those of you who prefer to simply get in and ride, as you can see, you’ll likely be at a bit of a disadvantage, particularly against other players who setup their vehicles for individual race types. We just hope that, unlike with so many other racing titles, fiddling with vehicle handling doesn’t just result in the car ultimately feeling “wrong” somehow.

Nevertheless, the cosmetic customization and ‘Wrap Editor’ look fairly appealing. PC gamers are likely to be at a bit of an advantage in this front (what with a mouse, keyboard and, inevitably, modders), but there’s still a lot that can be done. So much so that some of us are more interested in making our cars look “purdy” than actually driving them. Is that weird?

After all, vehicle models in Need for Speed look stunning. So much so that the likes of Project CARS and Forza Motorsport 6 certainly have their work cut out for them. All the better for us, the gamers.