Game Review: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

The Alfa 8C Competizione, as seen in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. Photo / Supplied

Plus: This one's been ripe for a reboot, after an earlier release on PlayStation 2 and PC. The Need for Speed series has been feeling a bit stale of late, and while this title is still an old concept, it's a far superior game to anything that came before it, courtesy of Criterion Games, the company behind the uber-popular Burnout series.

In keeping with the hyper-arcade nature of both series, don't expect a simulator - it's dumbed-down racing, but in a very good way. It's set in Seacrest County - a fictional area with massively varied terrain that's been taken over, Christchurch style, by boy racers, but in ultra-exotic high-speed machinery. You can play as a cop or a racer.

Gameplay includes hot pursuit, straight races, and time-trial modes.

Online play gets a massive boost, courtesy of the social media-friendly Autolog system, and tight integration with online friends who are playing the game increases playability from within career mode and in the web racing world at large. This could spell doom for OCD online achievement-chasers. Both racers and the law are armed with nitrous, spike strips and EMP, while racers also get jammers and an extra turbo boost, and cops get roadblocks and helicopter support. These are upgraded, just like the cars, as you level up through the game.

Audio is thumping, with suitably rorty engine sounds, especially when using the giggle gas. Graphics are stunning, although during race loads, the pre-animation knocked frame rates back. There's a huge amount of road to race or freely explore, and the cars are outstanding - Maseratis, Porsches, Alfa's 8C Competizione and the most powerful road car ever, Bugatti's wicked Veyron.

Minus: There's more than a hint of Burnout in this - especially the navigation map of the county - which should have had at least a cursory makeover. Post-crash catch-ups are often a bit too easy to add challenge. In between races gets a bit annoying with slow animated display of cars, promotion notification and equipment unlocks - another Burnout legacy.

Verdict: Obviously not much to whinge about here, although some are already getting tanty about added costs for EA's online content eco-system. If you buy the Limited Edition package, the bulk of these pay-to-play features are thrown in. All up, a tasty refresh of the original Hot Pursuit, with the added benefits of powerful, high-def current consoles.
Rating: 4/5
Format: Xbox, PS3, PC
Rated: G