Real Talk By: KJ

Developers Criterion games, are taking a break from Burnout.  Now they are working on the newest Need For Speed Series. In Hot Pursuit, you play yourself, sort of….You are stuck with this generic racer with sunglasses. It kind of stinks when you see everybody with the same dude, whether you’re a cop or not. Also, I thought the online gaming pass was designated to just EA sports titles. Evidently this is not the case anymore. Not only is the BS online Pass present, but if you redeem the trial, it’s no longer a seven-day one. Now you only get two days to experience all of the games features. So if you rent this game, be prepared to play alone.

Now that the bad is out-of-the-way, I have some good news. This is probably my favorite version of Hot Pursuit to date. Every thing is laid out cleanly, so that races are easy to access. Everything is selectable from a world map. Competing with your friends is one of the games most challenging features. On every race you can see who is the top dog on your friends list. The game has its own speedwall, where you can post your accomplishments, and rub your victories in your friends faces. The replay value in this game is ridiculously high just from this feature alone.

Your career is split into two campaigns. You’re either a cop or you’re not. When playing as a racer, expect the cops to try everything in their power to arrest you. literally everything. The Po-Po can call in helicopters to follow you, and drop spike strips from the air. They have EMP’s on their person too (Think 2 Fast 2 Furious). The electric shock from the EMP will shutdown the racers systems. If damaged enough, The EMP will take you out of the race completely. Also, you can set up roadblocks, making it hard for the racer to get around. Chasing down racers in the cop cars can be just as satisfying as fleeing from them, especially when you have of these gadgets at your disposal.  The gadgets never feel cheap either, you have a limited amount of these tools, so it adds for some unique strategies. Don’t worry, Criterion didn’t leave the racers empty-handed. The outlaws get Turbo, allowing the car to go even faster than a car using nitrous. Radar jammers are useful when a pig has the EMP locked on you. Just use the radar jammer and their EMP is gone for good. The device will shutdown all police systems on the road, so they cannot pick you up on their radars. The drivers are also equipped with EMP’s, so sometimes it’s good to give the police a little taste of their own medicine. As your career continues, all of your gadgets will upgrade, making everything more valuable in races.

Hot pursuit is loaded with special game types, so boredom never steps in. From Duels to time trials, and even more that will surprise you along the way. There’s something to be said about doing 235 MPH in a Bugatti on the wrong side of the road. The car selection is superb. Plenty of color options, so your always guaranteed to ride in style. The cars look great, just like the tracks you race on. Its rare in a racing game when both look amazing. Even Forza and GT5 don’t get it right every time.

Multiplayer is good fun. Hot pursuit online is very addictive. One team is the police, the others, the fugitives. It’s magical when you land a spike strip and wreck an actual human player. Little touches like this are flowing all through the game. The online connectivity needs work though. Sometimes, you’ll be in a room that runs fantastic, other times you can see cars disappearing and reappearing on the track. As you can imagine, this makes it very difficult to take somebody out if you’re playing as a cop.

Need For Speed at the end of the day is a must buy for fans of the series, and racing fans alike. Great Gadgets, superb visuals, and Modes make Criterion’s NFS the one to beat. If we could just get the online worked out now. Also can we customize our driver next time? I mean at least a little bit?

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit gets MF MF MF MF M out of five

What’s Legit?

+Nice set of vehicles

+Graphics

+Addictive gameplay

What’s Perpetrating?

-Online game pass = automatic deduction

-Cannot customize your driver at all