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The thing with Need for speed in the years since the last Hot Pursuit title (which was HP 2 on the PS2) was it drifted away from what Need for Speed really was. It brought in a new era of games with underground, but underground wasn't about the cops and the exotics, it was about fast cars you find on the street every day. Basically, it was Need for Speed: Fast and Furious Edition. The trend continued for a long time, and continued onto the new consoles with Most Wanted, Carbon, and Undercover. The thing was, as they drifted further from the roots of what need for speed was all about, the games lost the essence of what Need for Speed is. And honestly, the name says it all.
Enter NFS: HP, a new revolution or a "reset" to the series, that picks up right where the PS2 dropped it off. Hot Pursuit comes back to what Need for Speed is all about, and why so many of us were hooked on the PS1 and PS2 versions of the games (yes the PC gamers too) Driving fast cars, getting away from the cops, and going so darn fast you have trouble dodging a car because your brain can't register its there before your taillight makes a beeline through your skull.
But, that's enough background, on to the review.
The good:
The Menus:
Simple, easy to read, and coherent, even down to the Autolog, and all of its messages and information. The menu's are very easy to navigate and easy to understand. The Career Map reminds me of Burnout 3, which I'm not surprised about really considering Criterion made the game, the menu works the same too, you highlight a sign and select an event to run. You only start with a few for either Cops or Racers and you earn more as you level up and complete events. The Map doesn't look cluttered, and is presented intuitively (and flashy to boot)if you hate driving around all the time to find events you'll love this. They also included a free roam if you want it. The Career menu has sister menus accessed by the buttons on the controller rather than finding them through the main menu which is also nice. Everything is just, easy.
The Gameplay
The best way i can put this is if you somehow made a lovechild of Burnout 3, and NFS: HP2. you'd get this game. The cars handle weightly like Hot Pursuit 2's do, but they FEEL like Burnout 3 cars, (touchy and drifty)Its actually a surprisingly good balance. The car's are much more subject to speed loss and much less receptive of wall bouncing than Burnout as well. What's the most interesting is the game's approach to damage in normal driving. You can be wrecked, and you can total your car (at least i think so, i never actually managed to do it) but you can cause this by brawling like in burnout. What's so strange, is though you CAN do it, it slows you down so much you'll probably lose if you do it on purpose all the time. Despite its flashy crashes and damage, Hot Pursuit rewards you for driving clean, not dirty in relation to bumping and grinding.
Picking Sides:
You can race as a Racer, or a Cop, in multiple race modes like you would think including time trials, i'm going to say "Burning Laps" as a reference because they feel so burnout. (game calls them Previews BTW) Or cool stuff like taking out the racers before they finish as a cop, with much more. I won't tell you everything, but each mode is attacked a bit differently.
An Arsenal, IN YOUR TRUNK!:
Later you unlock some "Potent Treasures" as a racer or a cop, like EMP, or Spike Strips which gives a new element to races including them, you're not just a danger to the cops or the racers on the opposite faction, you're dangerous to everyone. Imagine its two racers left, the cops are right behind, and you've got a spike, you can shake the cops with a spike and fight your rival to the end, or you can take HIM out and fight the cops yourself, or better yet, get him busted. Its decisions like this that make this game awesome online, and off.
The Bad:
There are issues with everything, HP is an arcade racer, it doesn't behave a predictably or as harshly as a game like Forza, Gran Turismo, of NFS Shift will. They're not the same kind of game That said, there are some issues i have with the game:
Some cars seem underwhelming in a class:
The balance at times will make itself much more evident online but in my experience, some cars seem to be bottom tier in the tier they are in, either due to the fact that they handle like a barge or that they have a rather low top speed. We'll see online soon enough, but i'm sure there will be a "Competitive Car" as any racing game has when it goes mainstream public after about a month or two. Still there are no settings to dial in so maybe we'll see a good mixed community.
Pacing:
Though good, i thought it moved a bit, slow. I got to level 4 racer in about 4 hours, that said, i unlocked a lot of stuff in that time. I guess i just had this notion that i'd level up faster, and then it kind of hit me that to get to max level, i would have to play a long time, and that likely without the online component i'd need to do a lot of re-racing to get there. Though i could be wrong entirely, it certainly does not seem that career will net you max level.
Learning Curve
This game has got some really impressive difficulty, to win, i had to try, to put that in perspective i've had to try to win in Most wanted, once, and that was the last time i did. However for a newcomer, it may be very frustrating to compete with opponents. But once you get the hang of it, its fun.
These things don't take really ANYTHING from the game as a whole. This is the best TRUE Need For Speed title in a decade, and Criterion needs to be praised along with EA for once for finally taking the Need For Speed series back to where it came from. Its a Missing Niche in gaming, and it was very missed.
Excellent title for any age, Strongly Recommended for PC, 360, or PS3
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As someone who has played every single iteration of Need For Speed, as well as every Gran Turismo, Forza, Burnout, and all the small-name titles in between, there's an awful lot that I can compare this recent Need For Speed title to.I felt something as I played the demo. I felt a return to the simple, point-to-point races from the very first NFS, the adrenaline of those tight, narrow-margin photo finishes from Burnout and the last Hot Pursuit titles, and from Most Wanted, the absolute thrill of running from and often into The Man...
And that's what Hot Pursuit is plain and simple. Don't boot it up expecting hardcore driving physics. Don't expect to blow away the competition with highly tuned supercars, and don't expect to spend hours tweaking the layout of vinyls or leafing through dozens of aftermarket wheels and wings. What you can expect is some sweaty palms as you drift the last corner to the finish, a twisted face as you plow into that guardrail you saw one second too late, and a grin from ear-to-ear as you watch the cop car you just plowed into rolling down the road, raining shrapnel along the asphalt.
It's not perfect. I'll concede that. The rubber-banding is still pretty strong I'm zipping at top speed down a straight as an opponent in the same car cruises on by... In addition, the cop chases are still treated too much like a race. I took a gorgeous shortcut in my cop car, got ahead of my suspects, spun the opposite direction and prepared for a head-on collision as the words "WRONG WAY" suddenly lit up the screen... What'ch'you mean wrong way?! I AM the Law!! (Granted, I hit my target at somewhere around a buck-fifty and INSTANTLY wasted the guy... So I wasn't really complaining.) Also, it appears that you're supposed to bring down your targets in order. During one cop event, I wound up between the 1st and 2nd place racers, and could NOT catch up to the first place car. Once I dropped back to take out the 2nd driver, suddenly the first place target was right in front of me. It's a bit more scripted than a flat-out cop chase should be.
But then you round a corner in your six-figure exotic, see ol' Smokey sittin' on the shoulder, and aim for the pig while pumping your engine full of nitrous oxide... A second later you're watching his twisted wreckage flipping down the road, only to be slammed into by your AI opponents who are subsequently knocked off their own course, and as control of your car is returned to you, you just can't help from laughing.
That to me is worth 4 stars.
Don't forget to wear your seatbelts! HAH!
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This game includes a feature called the "Online Pass". As far as I've been able to learn, this is a program to curb used game sales. One "Online Pass" is included in every game purchased new. For the player that buys the game used and wants to play online, they have to buy a $10 (approximate) "Online Pass" from EA.I'm a mom that games. I have two teen boys that game. The "Online Pass" is not just a problem for those buying a game used. I purchased Need for Speed Hot Pursuit NEW! Yet only one out of the three gamers in my household can play this game online. I would have to pay an additional $20 (approximately) in order for all of us to play.
Not only are there restrictions with the "Online Pass". There are restrictions with the DLC. Normally DLC is tied to the gamertag and the console it's purchased on. Not so with NFS. DLC can only be played on the console it was purchased on. The gamertag the DLC was purchased through will not be able to access the DLC on any other console.
There is also the issue of "incompatible versions" during online play. Most other online players online will be using version 1.1. Apparently there is a restriction on version updates as well, as you can only update the console that you entered the code for the "Online Pass"??? What if a gamer wants to take the game to a friends house?
There is no local split screen "multiplayer".
There are no options for more than one saved game per gamertag/ID. So sharing a Gamertag/ID is not an option.
That being said, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit "is" a great game. However these restrictions make the game unplayable in some common situations and very well may be the games undoing.
The multi-gamer household is not uncommon. Along with multi-gamer households comes multi-console households. Publishers should take these issues into consideration. Then again..... Maybe they have. As most of these issues can be fixed by paying a fee/buying more DLC.
Honest reviews on Need for Speed Hot Pursuit - Xbox 360
I have bought the New Version of Pursuit and found it is better then previous not wasting all the time customizing the cars more racing much better version. I wish I'd have waited for a rebate or coupon little pricy for a XBox game but will not tire easily..Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Need for Speed Hot Pursuit - Xbox 360
Need for Speed is an awesome game! You can be either a cop or a racer. If you are a racer, you have to race and run away from the cops. You can not just drive away from the cops only, but that does not bother me. For the cops, you have to try to crash into the racer until the bar above the racer goes down. The cars on the game are so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You get to change the color of the cop and the racer. You have to have Xbox Live to go to the shop. But that does not bother me because you do not have to have Xbox Live to change the color of the cop and the racer. The good thing is that you do not buy the cars. You have to earn the cars which is not hard to do. You can damage your car, but the damage goes away when the race or the chase is done. If you do freedrive, then you do not need to worry about the cops are damaging your car. You can freedrive as a cop and a racer. If you are a cop , then you can change the sound of the siren. You can also turn the lights on and off of a racer and of a cop. You can turn the siren of a cop on and off. If you do a mission for a cop or a racer, then your cop car can get mest up and your racer can get messed up. It can be dry or wet on the game. You can go to different places on the game too. Need for Speed is awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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