1. Electronics & Gadgets
About.com
Xbox Games

Discuss in my forum

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Review (X360)

About.com Rating 4 Star Rating
Be the first to write a review

By , About.com Guide

See More About:
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Review (X360)EA
The new Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit feels a lot like the old Need for Speed, and that is a good thing. You don't have to worry about customizing your cars or playing through a goofy story mode. It is just you and your car driving around at breakneck speeds, usually with a couple of police cars filling up your rearview mirror. It is solid old-school racing fun.
Game Details

  • Publisher: EA
  • Developer: Criterion
  • ESRB Rating: “E10" Everyone 10+
  • Genre: Racing
  • Pros: Old-school NFS feel; great visuals and sound; police chases; online play; two distinct careers
  • Cons: Autolog a bit intrusive; normal races only so-so; controls take getting used to

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit doesn't have a story. It is just you driving around, earning XP to increase you level so you can earn new cars and equipment. It is nice and simple. There are two separate careers - one where you are a street racer, and the other where you are a cop. They each have their own XP and levels and unlocks, and are both a lot of fun in their own way.

There is no customization here, other than paint color. It is marginally disappointing not being able to upgrade, but this is how Need for Speed used to be back on the good ol' days. The first NFS games I ever played were NFS III: Hot Pursuit, and NFS: High Stakes on the PC, so I felt right at home here. Younger players might be put off by the simplicity of it all, though, as it is "just" a racing game in a world where customization and tuning are usually the top bullet points on the back of the box.

Instead, you get two distinct career modes. Tons of beautifully detailed licensed supercars. And miles and miles of scenic highway to tear up through deserts, snowy mountains, forests, and more. All of the roads are connected, and you can drive around the open world if you want in free drive (and some game modes) but this is a menu-driven, choose your event and race on one section of road, type of game.

Gameplay

EA
The handling of the cars takes a little getting used to at first. The controls feel very stiff, and the cars understeer pretty badly (as in, you turn hard over, the wheels only turn a little), but you do get used to it eventually. The tracks are fairly wide with big sweeping corners, so it isn't as if the handling puts you at any sort of disadvantage. It is just a different feel you have to get used to. When you do get used to it, and master drifting around corners, driving dangerously to build up nitrous (drive in oncoming traffic, narrowly miss accidents, drift, draft, etc.) and earn some of the faster cars, the game is an absolute thrill and you couldn't imagine the controls being any other way. There are also tons of alternate routes you can take off the main roads in many races, but they aren't always shortcuts so you have to use them wisely.

The police chase hook of the game makes for some interesting races. As both a racer or a cop you unlock tools like spike strips and EMPs, as well as air support and road blocks as a cop and radar jammers and a super turbo boost as a racer. Using these tools correctly and at the right time (they are all activated with different directions on the D-pad and you only have a limited number of each for each event) drastically changes the way races play out. Threading the needle through a road block, using a spike strip on a cop behind you trying to get an EMP lock, or just plain driving rough and wrecking the cops and your opponents (this is a game made by Criterion of Burnout fame, after all), is just awesome.

A bit too awesome, maybe. Standard races, where you're just driving from point A to point B against other racers or doing time trials are honestly kind of boring and generic feeling. There is no thrill racing against opponents with dumb A.I. on mile wide roads. When you are being chased by tons of cops and dodging spike strips and road blocks and barely surviving (the police chases get pretty darn difficult!), the game is completely awesome. And playing as the police in the other career is pretty much always a good time. I just wish the normal races were better.

Online races are absolutely 100% more fun than against the A.I., but even with human opponents the police chase modes are a lot more fun than the races. The online play is remarkably smooth, and well worth a look.

The other main feature of NFS: Hot Pursuit is the Autolog. This is a feature that constantly tracks your times and progress against your friends and updates you when one of you beats the other. You can even take in-game photos and post stuff on a shared Facebook-style wall for everyone on your friends list with the game can see. It is fun to be able to so easily track how your friends are doing (and even more fun to talk trash on the wall), but it is also kind of intrusive. I don't really need to see "Your friend "xxxxxxx" beat 10 of your times" (because they had the day off of work and played Xbox all day ...) every time I boot up the game. It is a fun sort of cat and mouse, beat each others' times thing, but after the first day or so I was just sort of annoyed with it.

EA
Graphics

Visually, NFS: Hot Pursuit is a great looking game. The cars look great, the environments you race through are stunning, and there is a great sense of speed when you're tearing along at 200+ MPH. The weather effects for rain and thunderstorms as well as the lighting for different times of day is also very well done. The crashes also look pretty spectacular, in true Criterion style.

Sound

The sound is also quite good. The engine sounds are very good, and the rest of the sound effects are solid as well. The soundtrack is also well suited to the game, but you are free to use custom soundtracks as well, of course.

Bottom Line

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is a great return to the series' roots that we haven't seen for quite some time. It puts the focus back on hot cars and fast racing instead of convoluted stories and excessive customization options that have bogged the series down for far too long. The result is a lean, mean, racing game that is classic Need for Speed mixed with a little Burnout, and it is a heck of a ride. Great presentation, plenty of modes, and solid gameplay make this one worth checking out. At the very least, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is worth a rental, but race fans should be happy with a purchase.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

©2012 About.com. All rights reserved.

A part of The New York Times Company.