Go coast to coast in Need for Speed: The Run

The Cannonball Run, the Gumball 3000, Paris to Dakar--these are the journeys most of us will never get to make, until now.

The Need for Speed video-game series returns on Nov. 15 with NFS: The Run. It pits drivers in a race from San Francisco to New York in some of the most exotic cars available.

Folks who buy the limited-edition version of the game will get a few bonus cars to go along with the Paganis, Fords and Aston Martins--namely, the Lamborghini Aventador, the new supercharged Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and the yet-to-be-revealed Porsche 911 Carrera S. Those are just a few more high-powered horses to get you across the country in "a race for your life," which is the game's tagline.

Limited-edition owners will also have access to five exclusive challenges.

If that's not enough bonus material, customers who preorder the game from GameStop will get the BMW M3 GTS and the Ford Mustang Boss 302. Buyers who preorder from Amazon get the Nissan 370Z and the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34.

The Run moves back into a more arcade-style formula, which Need For Speed seems to do every other game. The last installment was NFS: Shift 2, simulation style, and before that NFS: Hot Pursuit, which was arcade style.

This game will have a running storyline with main characters, as opposed to a nameless driver and a bracket full of races. In the trailer, you can see the wheelman as he's racing through Chicago crash, jump out of his GT500 and snatch a cop car to finish the race with an attack helicopter in pursuit.

The Need for Speed games are always good fun. They're not on the level of a Gran Turismo or Forza for real simulation, but sometimes those games just seem like work. The Run hopes to be a new take on racing games and the first to cover a full 3,000-mile, coast-to-coast race.

If arcade racing isn't your style, just wait a few more months. We're sure EA has something planned for the next Need for Speed.

By Jake Lingeman