8 fabulous leading ladies of E3 2017

Jess – Need for Speed Payback

Need for Speed Payback actually features a trio: Tyler, Mac, and Jess, reunited by a vengeful goal to bring down The House, a cartel that runs the entire city. But I loved that Jess took the wheel for the majority of this gameplay trailer, zipping down the road, smashing into other cars, and causing general explosions and mayhem. She’s even the one giving the orders on this mission! She jumps out of a car, climbs a semi, and steals a car from inside. How often do we get women smashing up cars in games? Judging by all the other titles I played at E3, not nearly as often, and not often enough in the spotlight.

I’ll admit that I’m not super into games like Need for Speed. If I’m playing a car game, I either need some serious blue shells at my disposal or else I’m just going to drive wherever the hell I want and forget the missions. But something about Jess’s sass and confidence made me want to demo Need for Speed at E3 2017 — Unfortunately, I missed out on that chance. I’ll have to content myself with watching this gameplay trailer over and over to remind myself that yes, chicks can love to drive fast cars, too.