In Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Criterion swaps collectibles for chaos, turning every race into a cinematic showdown between speed and law.
Back in 1998, EA released Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. Taking what was learned from previous games and adding a new challenge – police – EA created a winning combination which spawned a sequel in 2002. Fast forward to 2010, and EA has a new Hot Pursuit to sink your teeth into. This time EA allowed the people at Criterion Games to take a crack at it. The results are not to be taken lightly. This Need for Speed game fulfills the potential hinted at from the very start of the franchise. With the advent of new technology and amazing social features, it has never been more fun to race exotic cars and narrowly escape the police.
Criterion has managed to take what they learned in the Burnout series and refine it for Need for Speed. Criterion Games are best known for their work on the Burnout series and most recently Burnout: Paradise. These games created a fast and fun sense of speed that kept you and your friends trying to beat best-times, crash cars and earn points. When you crash in Need For Speed, you experience a visceral spectacle of a $200,000 car hitting another at 200MPH – a feature Burnout was renowned for. Criterion has not overdone the visual splendour of such a massacre, but they have mastered the fragile destruction of racing.
Hot Pursuit takes place in the fictional setting of Seacrest County — a strange, dreamlike place that exists only in a car enthusiast’s imagination. Everyone here seems to drive only the best of the best. Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini and Bentley vehicles race along the coastline at top speeds for no reason other than the thrill. The police aren’t left behind either. They’re equipped with state-of-the-art speed machines, creating a high-octane duel between racers and law enforcement. Throw in gadgets on both sides — such as spike strips and EMPs — and you have a racing wonderland ripe for exploration.
Criterion does an excellent job of crafting a beautiful world to drive through. There’s an extreme level of detail across every racetrack. Multiple route options, weather effects and variable driving conditions (day and night) keep each race feeling fresh. With a large map filled with diverse locations, the game easily lends itself to hours of play, and you’ll need those hours to fully experience everything each track has to offer.
You can also explore in a Freedrive mode, which lets you take in all aspects of Seacrest County with little to no consequence. The weather shifts, the sun rises and sets, and any car you’ve unlocked is available. Nothing done in this mode carries over to your career progress, but it’s a great way to admire the tracks, snap a few photos or just cruise and appreciate the world Criterion has created.
Unlike Burnout Paradise, Hot Pursuit is not a true open-world driving game. Freedrive is more of a bonus feature than a gameplay focus. The main experience is in Career mode, which offers the choice of police or racer missions. You can rise through the ranks on either side, and both offer distinct playstyles.
Each area includes a selection of race zones and event types. To unlock new events, you’ll need to earn bounty — awarded for winning races, crashing rivals, escaping the law, or catching speeders (if you’re playing as a cop). As your bounty and rank increase, more events, cars and gadgets become available. Rewards come frequently and consistently, helping maintain a strong sense of progression and accomplishment throughout.
This is not like past Need for Speed titles; it is not about collecting cars or lichened gear. It is about getting into the races and driving really fast. This is what Hot Pursuit does so well. The way the menus work allows you to see exactly what you have done in the career and what is left to do. Little icons representing the Police or race missions are easy to follow and with a few button clicks you can be behind the wheel of an exotic car going 0 – 60 in no-time. The controls also help ensure there is little stopping you from enjoying the game.
If you have picked up a racing game in the last 5 years on consoles you will already be familiar with the control If you have not, it will take you about 10 minutes to get the hang of it. That all being said, this is not a Burnout game, it has an arcade feel to it but the cars also have some resemblance to the real world in regards to weight and balance. You will need to use your brake and acceleration with some finness to come away with gold. But even without full control you can still manage some close races and have a great fun doing it.
Beyond the single player Criterion have created Autolog. This aspect of Hot Pursuit allows players to keep track of all aspects that go on with friends in the world of Seacrest County. You are constantly notified of the friend with the best race time on a track or if they have levelled up. This is a great addition to the game. The only issue I have is that with very few people playing the game on your friends list there is little activity in the Autolog. This could be rectified with some Facebook integration, but since it is a new title, with more people playing the game you can expect this feature to really spark rivalries among friends and will lend itself to some tough completion
The online aspect of the game is just as fast as the career mode. With all aspects even online working towards your overall rank it makes these online parts even more welcome. Racing against cops with friends is great fun and can be a real challenge. It is a great place to take the game once you’re done with the single player offering, or if you want to mix it up for a new challenge. There is a good selection of cars on both sides of the law to choose from and the more you race the more that is unlocked. The online seemed smooth and with a large community already it should only get better with more people playing.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is a title that should re-invigorate the franchise and excite previous players of the serie This game is sure to bring smiles to any car fan playing it, and with some friends the online features create a world of limitless possibilitie You will lose many nights to this game before the new car smell wears off.
