While the most recent instalment in the Need for Speed franchise, Undercover, wasn't all that well received it hasn't stopped Electronic Arts from attempting to resurrect the franchise with a trio of new games, as we've reported earlier.

While little information has been released regarding any of the games (with the exception of titles, a handful of screenshots, and brief descriptions) - the last few days has seen some new information about Need For Speed: SHIFT and Need For Speed World Online.

The first new information is a bunch of eight screenshots for Need For Speed: SHIFT - and some further information regarding Need For Speed World Online.

For those that didn't catch the initial announcement from Electronic Arts, the "flagship" in the new trio of upcoming Need For Speed Games is Need For Speed: SHIFT - which is set to deliver a "true feeling" of high-end racing with first-person cockput views, and an "all-new" crash mechanic. The new screenshots for the title, which were released today, look quite impressive visually, but it will be interesting to see if the visuals on show translate to a playable framerate on the PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and PSP.





For those awaiting Need For Speed World Online - which will be a free-to-play, micro-transaction based open-world online racer, some news from the development team seems to indicate that a focus on being able to customise the interface and use multiple monitors during play will be an integral feature. In a blog post on the Need For Speed website, this is explained as:

Key to the concept of NFS World Online is the user interface which has been built from the ground up to take advantage of the PC architecture. Instead of a traditional console view of a game, we’re using a user-selectable gadget interface designed specifically for the PC.

The system allows the gamer to choose which components of the interface they want to add to their game. The gadgets are really flexible and offer a wide range of display options: docked/undocked, floating in the game window or just sitting outside of the game space.

A lot of gamers now have more than one monitor so you could keep the game window entirely clean and then have all the gadgets sit in the other monitor. We think it’s about time PC gamers had games that allowed them to arrange their information their way.

The online racer will first launch in Asia, is currently in development at EA Shanghai. Need For Speed World Online is expected to launch in the United States and other regions towards the end of the year. For more information regarding the new titles in the Need for Speed franchise, check out our previous coverage.