Reviews

It's been a while since Criterion Games gave us a new Burnout game. That's because they've been busy turning Need For Speed into the new, well, Burnout. This was always going to be the case though, so it's no surprise that Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit plays exactly like Burnout. Is this a bad thing? Hell no, Burnout is one of the finest arcade racing series on the market. Add some of the best bits from Need For Speed and you have yourself a racing game that will certainly cure your need for speed.

The single player campaign is split into two - the street racers and the cops who want to stop them. Both campaigns are open from the get go, so it's your choice if you separate them or alternate between each. As a racer you need to take on your opponents as well as holding off the cops at the same time. Ultimately trying to win each race. As a cop, it's your task to take down these crooked street racers by bashing them off the road.

There are 108 events in total across the two careers, many of which will likely need to be played multiple times in order to gain the top reward for them all. This is especially true in the case of Preview laps (which give you early access to bonus cars) and Rapid Response, where you have to get to the scene of a crime as quickly as possible. Hitting that time only really becomes possible once you've learned the course, found the right vehicle to use (where you have a choice) and determined which shortcuts will help and not hinder your cause. Of course, you have to find the shortcuts first, which isn't so easy when travelling at 200mph.

As you progress through each mission as a racer, you'll earn Bounty Points for being daring and taking down other vehicles. The points act as XP which levels you up (maximum of 20) and unlocks new cars and weapons. You can also earn Bronze, Silver and Gold medals too. As a cop you also level up and earn promotions, which also gives you new cars and abilities. As a cop you are rewarded with a Pass, Merit, or Distinction.

The special abilities and weapons makes the frantic races more interesting. For example, you can lay down a spike strip to see off any chasing cops or opposition racers, or you even set of an EMP to temporarily disable police trackers. Whereas cops can set up road blocks and even call in the helicopters for assistance.

The single player does deliver frantic and fun races, as both a racer and a cop, but it does stray towards the repetitive and lacks any form of depth. Many will no doubt be disappointed with a total lack of story, very little car customisation (you can choose a colour, that's about it), and the absence of split screen play. However, if a simplistic and fast arcade racer is what you're looking for, then you really need look no further than Hot Pursuit.

The new Autolog makes it slightly more interesting. Autolog is a live social network leaderboard that lets you and your friends know everything about the other person's progress. If you beat a friends time on a particular track, Autolog makes sure they know about it, and vice versa. The challenges you set yourself will depend on what your friends have done. Purely because we all want to be better than our friends.

Then there's putting money where your mouth is in the multiplayer. Naturally multiplayer is where the life span is in Hot Pursuit. There are the standard racing and time trial modes, which do the job just fine, but the online highlight is Hot Pursuit mode. Here there are two teams - cops and racers. The aim of the racers is to get to the finish line, and naturally the cops need to stop every last one of them before they do so, utilizing all the awesome abilities seen in the campaign. Needless to say really that this mode can deliver some heart-thumping races, particularly if you work as a team to see off the opposition.

Hot Pursuit may feel and play like Burnout, but that's not something you can't really hold against it. The cars control nicely and both campaigns are enjoyable, even with the lack of customisation, split screen and variety. The real thrills come when you take it online and fight it out in Hot Pursuit. It's here where all the niggles are forgiven and you get on with enjoying what the game wants you to enjoy. We trust Criterion to deliver a great arcade racing game, and that's exactly what they've done with Hot Pursuit.