Popular online retailers ShopTo.net have leaked a trailer for EA’s new racer, Need for Speed: The Run. Realising it would be hard work denying the project with a EA-stamped trailer zinging around the internet, EA were quick to confirm the game’s existence. We’ve even got a release date of November 18^th.

The trailer shows that we might be in for a more story-driven experience than the recent NFS titles like Shift 2 and Hot Pursuit. All we know is that your driver is called Jack and he looks like he’s about to come to a messy end, thanks to the train that’s speeding towards his overturned car. If the story involves gaining the trust of an underground racing team as a cop or someone looking for an estranged relative, EA should get re-writing that now.

The action looks to have been given a much needed cinematic boost too. Watch closely and you can see exploding manholes, bullets zipping by and an explosion on the side of a mountain. Hopefully this will be integrated into the gameplay like we’ve recently enjoyed in games like Split/Second and MotorStorm: Apocalypse.

The trailer flashes across a few locations including: New York, Denver, Las Vegas and San Francisco, which already sounds better than the mainly desert setting of Hot Pursuit.

While The Run, does look like an exciting prospect, it’s a little surprising to be getting another game so soon after Shift 2. You can’t help but feel that buying a Need for Speed game nowadays is a lot like buying a smartphone, there’s always something potentially better just around the corner. We don’t even know which of EA’s many development teams are working on the project. With the series recent rise in quality though, we’re sure it’ll be in good hands.

[Thanks to Gamespot for the vid]