365//365: Day 358 – Need For Speed Hot Pursuit (360) [PP]

"Burnout Paradise: Hot Pursuit"

It’s been years since the Need For Speed franchise has been regarded as a hot commodity. With Criterion Games at the helm (who made a little game called Burnout Paradise) the Need For Speed franchise has once again barreled down the highway at blazing speeds of entertainment and thrills. With some of the best overall visuals on the system for this genre, Hot Pursuit burns up players screens with highly detailed scenery and commendable vehicular detail, both pre and post destruction. Handling these vehicles comes with very little fuss, with a heavy focus on drifting and nitro boosting to gain the upper hand, all while some rather fitting musical selections help guide you through each track. With two separate ways to play Hot Pursuit (the everyday high speed racer or the law enforcement chasing them down) players will have enough variety in what they do offline, as well as online. The two things that seem to slow down your momentum has to do with AI and deja vu. While not a true open world racer like Burnout Paradise, you can almost taste the burning rubber of the franchise laced upon Hot Pursuit, whether its conquering friends best times or the ambitious crashing/methods of taking down the opposition. Finally, the difficulty early on is a bit tame, then ramps up to ridiculous levels. There’s little in the way of insecurity in terms of not catching up to a few racers up ahead of you by a few seconds, with one mile or less to go, not to mention the very unevasive maneuvers racers will take when you’re trying to take them down in a cop car. As you progress however, the AI becomes a bit too sadistic, making tack strips practically useless in most situations. What’s present though in an overall package, is still an exhilarating racing title that’s augmented by some solid online competition, community sharing (photos, record setting/breaking) and a plethora of unlockables that will keep you charging in full speed for quite some time. Used gamers beware — Need For Speed Hot Pursuit is yet another title that requires a code entry from the back of the booklet to access the online portions. If used, you’ll have to fork over $10 just to race alongside, or against your friends.

Rating: 8.3