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This thread has been linked to the game 'Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit'.
I remember a time when Need For Speed was all about racing shiny cars as fast as possible. It was before all these boy racer paint jobs, big bass speakers and bodywork tattoos came in to muddy the waters of racing games. Thankfully, it seems as if Criterion, creators of the Burnout series, remember those days fondly as well because Need For Speed Hot Pursuit is like a breath of fresh air (mixed with a little exhaust fumes and some burnt tyre).
The aim of the game is simple: Chase or be chased and get to the finish as fast as possible. There are some variations on this; Cop missions like Interceptor see you chasing down a single car and damaging it to the point of no repair and Tough Justice does the same for a series of racers, getting them to stop by any means possible before they reach the checkpoint.
To help you in your fight for or against the law you get ‘weapons’. Don’t fear, it’s not Blur all over again (good as that game was), these are spike strips, an EMP to knock out the electrics and, for the cops, a road block. All very useful but all require recharging by driving fast, drifting around corners, slipstreaming and other activities on the road. You also get the all-important Nitro boost which constantly recharges while you’re not using it and sees your car flying at blistering speeds when you do.
Graphically this game isn’t the best I’ve ever seen, but it is certainly up there. Whether it’s the shine on the licensed car models, the weather (which can range from bright sunny skies to raging thunderstorms with lightning lighting up the track) or the dusty road being ripped up by your tyres, this game delivers some fantastic vistas. The tracks are long and well detailed too, not quite as open as in Burnout Paradise (Criterion’s last game) but perfect for driving fast and there are plenty of short cuts to learn.
The biggest feature to set Hot Pursuit aside from all the other racers out there is the Autolog. Autolog takes a log of your timings on each track and posts them in a high score table against all your friends on Xbox Live (or PSN) but it also sets you challenges to beat your friends, whether it’s beating someone to second place or challenging to take down 3 cars in a limited amount of time. It’s a bit like having a multiplayer mode where you don’t need to wait for your friends to be online first and it will have you coming back to the game time and again just to beat your friends scores.
New cars are unlocked as you beat times and tracks and win ‘bounty’. In turn, these faster models will help you go back and set faster times on old tracks. The importance of this is only realised when you start to use the Autolog system but, as Autolog also keeps a list of what cars you’ve beat your opponent in, sometimes it’s just as sweet to get that fastest time in a slower car, just for kudos.
To take account of all the changes there is a Facebook style log screen that posts all the latest activity from your friends list. As soon as you log in and see that someone has taken your place on the last track you played it will have you wanting to get straight back on the track and beat them. Yes, the afore-mentioned Blur did this to some extent, but it never felt as integrated in to the whole game as Autolog does to Hot Pursuit.
Traditional multiplayer hasn’t been forgotton though and there are a series of racing types to play online, including what has to be one of the most entertaining games of cops and robbers ever. Criterion had obviously been practicing their online Cops and Robbers game with the Burnout Paradise update that let you gather treasure, but here they’ve perfected a pure racing version of the game where every knock or nudge brings you one step closer to crashing out of the race.
Need For Speed Hot Pursuit isn’t going to challenge anyone on a technical scale, that job can be left to the serious racers, but as an arcade racer it’s the ultimate thrill ride and nothing can come close to the entertainment of playing cops and robbers in Criterion’s shiny new playground.
9/10
The aim of the game is simple: Chase or be chased and get to the finish as fast as possible. There are some variations on this; Cop missions like Interceptor see you chasing down a single car and damaging it to the point of no repair and Tough Justice does the same for a series of racers, getting them to stop by any means possible before they reach the checkpoint.
To help you in your fight for or against the law you get ‘weapons’. Don’t fear, it’s not Blur all over again (good as that game was), these are spike strips, an EMP to knock out the electrics and, for the cops, a road block. All very useful but all require recharging by driving fast, drifting around corners, slipstreaming and other activities on the road. You also get the all-important Nitro boost which constantly recharges while you’re not using it and sees your car flying at blistering speeds when you do.
Graphically this game isn’t the best I’ve ever seen, but it is certainly up there. Whether it’s the shine on the licensed car models, the weather (which can range from bright sunny skies to raging thunderstorms with lightning lighting up the track) or the dusty road being ripped up by your tyres, this game delivers some fantastic vistas. The tracks are long and well detailed too, not quite as open as in Burnout Paradise (Criterion’s last game) but perfect for driving fast and there are plenty of short cuts to learn.
The biggest feature to set Hot Pursuit aside from all the other racers out there is the Autolog. Autolog takes a log of your timings on each track and posts them in a high score table against all your friends on Xbox Live (or PSN) but it also sets you challenges to beat your friends, whether it’s beating someone to second place or challenging to take down 3 cars in a limited amount of time. It’s a bit like having a multiplayer mode where you don’t need to wait for your friends to be online first and it will have you coming back to the game time and again just to beat your friends scores.
New cars are unlocked as you beat times and tracks and win ‘bounty’. In turn, these faster models will help you go back and set faster times on old tracks. The importance of this is only realised when you start to use the Autolog system but, as Autolog also keeps a list of what cars you’ve beat your opponent in, sometimes it’s just as sweet to get that fastest time in a slower car, just for kudos.
To take account of all the changes there is a Facebook style log screen that posts all the latest activity from your friends list. As soon as you log in and see that someone has taken your place on the last track you played it will have you wanting to get straight back on the track and beat them. Yes, the afore-mentioned Blur did this to some extent, but it never felt as integrated in to the whole game as Autolog does to Hot Pursuit.
Traditional multiplayer hasn’t been forgotton though and there are a series of racing types to play online, including what has to be one of the most entertaining games of cops and robbers ever. Criterion had obviously been practicing their online Cops and Robbers game with the Burnout Paradise update that let you gather treasure, but here they’ve perfected a pure racing version of the game where every knock or nudge brings you one step closer to crashing out of the race.
Need For Speed Hot Pursuit isn’t going to challenge anyone on a technical scale, that job can be left to the serious racers, but as an arcade racer it’s the ultimate thrill ride and nothing can come close to the entertainment of playing cops and robbers in Criterion’s shiny new playground.
9/10
I REALLY want to get this game for my PS3 because i saw the commercial and judging from the 3 perfect ratings it showed it should be pretty good.
Thanks for the replies guys. Still don't think I'll get this, still enjoying NFS: Shift just now anyway. :)
Indeed. I'd say the online element adds a great deal though, even if you can get a lot of enjoyment out of it without going on Live, it's much more fun with Autolog and with online chases.
As for the customisation, As I said in the review, I'm glad it's not there, at least in the same way as those past NFS games which were just over the top.
As for the customisation, As I said in the review, I'm glad it's not there, at least in the same way as those past NFS games which were just over the top.
The question wasn't posed to me, but I can answer it. No car cusomisation, sadly. Not even in the simple "add 3 modifications" way that High Stakes had! Personally, I don't have a problem with that, but I can certainly understand people wanting it. Thing is, it doesn't matter. There are plenty of cars unlocking often enough early on that you won't have time to get a favourite, nor feel the need to alter it. This is arcade fun, not serious sim!
Autolog is superb, and adds a lot to the game, but it isn't the be-all and end-all. You'll still have fun without online, but you'll just have more with autolog enabled. Burnout 2 never had online, and was still glorious. Since this is basically Burnout 2 : Cops and Robbers Edition, all autolog is is a (simply excellent) extra, one which is likely to become standard in race games. (Except for Gran Turismo!)
Autolog is superb, and adds a lot to the game, but it isn't the be-all and end-all. You'll still have fun without online, but you'll just have more with autolog enabled. Burnout 2 never had online, and was still glorious. Since this is basically Burnout 2 : Cops and Robbers Edition, all autolog is is a (simply excellent) extra, one which is likely to become standard in race games. (Except for Gran Turismo!)
Still not sure about this one pb. I've read over your review but I have a couple of questions for you.
Can the cars still be customised?
Would you recommend it to someone who didn't have LIVE?
Cheers mate.
Can the cars still be customised?
Would you recommend it to someone who didn't have LIVE?
Cheers mate.
Heh, yeah, I guess when I first played it very few people were on Autolog which made a difference. It did finally click the second time around (and trying it on 360 for some reason appealed more than playing the demo on PS3)
And to think you were going to give it a miss after the demo.
I like the Autolog, I spent a while last night putting myself back on top of the races I'd done.
The online Hot Pursuit mode is carnage and I'm spending a lot of time in there, great fun.
I like the Autolog, I spent a while last night putting myself back on top of the races I'd done.
The online Hot Pursuit mode is carnage and I'm spending a lot of time in there, great fun.
Thanks. I've been trying to get top of the leaderboards on as many tracks as possible but its tough going.
It's great how you can keep coming back to find more to do though, the system works so well.
It's great how you can keep coming back to find more to do though, the system works so well.
Good grief, you got that written pretty sharpish! Great work. I look forward to battling you on the leaderboards...
I remember a time when Need For Speed was all about racing shiny cars as fast as possible. It was before all these boy racer paint jobs, big bass speakers and bodywork tattoos came in to muddy the waters of racing games. Thankfully, it seems as if Criterion, creators of the Burnout series, remember those days fondly as well because Need For Speed Hot Pursuit is like a breath of fresh air (mixed with a little exhaust fumes and some burnt tyre).
The aim of the game is simple: Chase or be chased and get to the finish as fast as possible. There are some variations on this; Cop missions like Interceptor see you chasing down a single car and damaging it to the point of no repair and Tough Justice does the same for a series of racers, getting them to stop by any means possible before they reach the checkpoint.
To help you in your fight for or against the law you get ‘weapons’. Don’t fear, it’s not Blur all over again (good as that game was), these are spike strips, an EMP to knock out the electrics and, for the cops, a road block. All very useful but all require recharging by driving fast, drifting around corners, slipstreaming and other activities on the road. You also get the all-important Nitro boost which constantly recharges while you’re not using it and sees your car flying at blistering speeds when you do.
Graphically this game isn’t the best I’ve ever seen, but it is certainly up there. Whether it’s the shine on the licensed car models, the weather (which can range from bright sunny skies to raging thunderstorms with lightning lighting up the track) or the dusty road being ripped up by your tyres, this game delivers some fantastic vistas. The tracks are long and well detailed too, not quite as open as in Burnout Paradise (Criterion’s last game) but perfect for driving fast and there are plenty of short cuts to learn.
The biggest feature to set Hot Pursuit aside from all the other racers out there is the Autolog. Autolog takes a log of your timings on each track and posts them in a high score table against all your friends on Xbox Live (or PSN) but it also sets you challenges to beat your friends, whether it’s beating someone to second place or challenging to take down 3 cars in a limited amount of time. It’s a bit like having a multiplayer mode where you don’t need to wait for your friends to be online first and it will have you coming back to the game time and again just to beat your friends scores.
New cars are unlocked as you beat times and tracks and win ‘bounty’. In turn, these faster models will help you go back and set faster times on old tracks. The importance of this is only realised when you start to use the Autolog system but, as Autolog also keeps a list of what cars you’ve beat your opponent in, sometimes it’s just as sweet to get that fastest time in a slower car, just for kudos.
To take account of all the changes there is a Facebook style log screen that posts all the latest activity from your friends list. As soon as you log in and see that someone has taken your place on the last track you played it will have you wanting to get straight back on the track and beat them. Yes, the afore-mentioned Blur did this to some extent, but it never felt as integrated in to the whole game as Autolog does to Hot Pursuit.
Traditional multiplayer hasn’t been forgotton though and there are a series of racing types to play online, including what has to be one of the most entertaining games of cops and robbers ever. Criterion had obviously been practicing their online Cops and Robbers game with the Burnout Paradise update that let you gather treasure, but here they’ve perfected a pure racing version of the game where every knock or nudge brings you one step closer to crashing out of the race.
Need For Speed Hot Pursuit isn’t going to challenge anyone on a technical scale, that job can be left to the serious racers, but as an arcade racer it’s the ultimate thrill ride and nothing can come close to the entertainment of playing cops and robbers in Criterion’s shiny new playground.
9/10
The aim of the game is simple: Chase or be chased and get to the finish as fast as possible. There are some variations on this; Cop missions like Interceptor see you chasing down a single car and damaging it to the point of no repair and Tough Justice does the same for a series of racers, getting them to stop by any means possible before they reach the checkpoint.
To help you in your fight for or against the law you get ‘weapons’. Don’t fear, it’s not Blur all over again (good as that game was), these are spike strips, an EMP to knock out the electrics and, for the cops, a road block. All very useful but all require recharging by driving fast, drifting around corners, slipstreaming and other activities on the road. You also get the all-important Nitro boost which constantly recharges while you’re not using it and sees your car flying at blistering speeds when you do.
Graphically this game isn’t the best I’ve ever seen, but it is certainly up there. Whether it’s the shine on the licensed car models, the weather (which can range from bright sunny skies to raging thunderstorms with lightning lighting up the track) or the dusty road being ripped up by your tyres, this game delivers some fantastic vistas. The tracks are long and well detailed too, not quite as open as in Burnout Paradise (Criterion’s last game) but perfect for driving fast and there are plenty of short cuts to learn.
The biggest feature to set Hot Pursuit aside from all the other racers out there is the Autolog. Autolog takes a log of your timings on each track and posts them in a high score table against all your friends on Xbox Live (or PSN) but it also sets you challenges to beat your friends, whether it’s beating someone to second place or challenging to take down 3 cars in a limited amount of time. It’s a bit like having a multiplayer mode where you don’t need to wait for your friends to be online first and it will have you coming back to the game time and again just to beat your friends scores.
New cars are unlocked as you beat times and tracks and win ‘bounty’. In turn, these faster models will help you go back and set faster times on old tracks. The importance of this is only realised when you start to use the Autolog system but, as Autolog also keeps a list of what cars you’ve beat your opponent in, sometimes it’s just as sweet to get that fastest time in a slower car, just for kudos.
To take account of all the changes there is a Facebook style log screen that posts all the latest activity from your friends list. As soon as you log in and see that someone has taken your place on the last track you played it will have you wanting to get straight back on the track and beat them. Yes, the afore-mentioned Blur did this to some extent, but it never felt as integrated in to the whole game as Autolog does to Hot Pursuit.
Traditional multiplayer hasn’t been forgotton though and there are a series of racing types to play online, including what has to be one of the most entertaining games of cops and robbers ever. Criterion had obviously been practicing their online Cops and Robbers game with the Burnout Paradise update that let you gather treasure, but here they’ve perfected a pure racing version of the game where every knock or nudge brings you one step closer to crashing out of the race.
Need For Speed Hot Pursuit isn’t going to challenge anyone on a technical scale, that job can be left to the serious racers, but as an arcade racer it’s the ultimate thrill ride and nothing can come close to the entertainment of playing cops and robbers in Criterion’s shiny new playground.
9/10