Burnout Paradise Remastered

Burnout 3: Takedown was a major change in direction for the series with its speed, wrecks, and overall addictive gameplay. Criterion’s Burnout Paradise went even further with an open-world environment and the freedom to progress at one’s own pace. This is on top of fully customizable race settings, a reworked damage model, streamlined progression that rewards new cars consistently, and much more. Crash Mode could even be accessed at any time via the new Showtime Mode. With an incredibly well-designed urban playground and fun gameplay, Burnout Paradise stands the test of time.

Undoubtedly, the glory days of EA’s premier, flagship racing brand were the Need for Speed Underground days. The games, which came in the wake of the original Fast and Furious movies, capitalized on all the hysteria surrounding the underground import and tuner culture, offering players the chance to race across urban landscapes in ordinary rides, all jacked up and amped up to be extraordinary.

Need for Speed Underground was arguably the best that Need for Speed has ever been. And now, it may be coming back.

First, the concrete facts- EA has confirmed that it will be showcasing the new Need for Speed game on May 21. The new Need for Speed game will be the first one in two years, since 2013’s Need for Speed: Rivals.

Now for the speculation- the image that you see above has a very faint image darkened in the background, which user iMax on NeoGAF enhanced. When enhanced, this is what we get:

As you can see, that appears to be, plain and simple, Need for Speed Underground. That is not all, either. iMax also dug up an EA employee’s LinkedIn profile (with persona details redacted for privacy), who did not ever work on the original Need for Speed Underground or its sequel, and is yet listed as having worked with EA on NFS: Underground.

Hmmm.

Personally, if Need for Speed Underground is making a comeback, I will be extremely excited. The original still remains one of my favorite games of all time. But whether or not it is true remains to be seen. We’ll know for sure on the 21st. Stay tuned.