Need for Speed 16: Hot Pursuit 2010

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was developed by Criterion Games and released on November 16, 2010. Hot Pursuit focuses on racing and cop chases rather than car customization. Hot Pursuit, as the name implies, return the series back to the roots, and is inspired by the original 3DO Need For Speed game. The game won many awards at the E3 2010, including “Best Racing Game” and other “Best of E3”-awards. It is the first game in the Need For Speed series since the original Hot Pursuit to win an E3 award.

There are 60+ cars: most of them are available to both racers and cops, but a few are exclusive to each side. Most of them are exotics and feature cars such as the Lamborghini Reventon, McLaren F1, Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Zonda Cinque. Unlike previous NFS titles, however, there is no customization, only simple color choices. The game takes place in a fictional county called Seacrest County, where there are no skyscrapers. The scenery ranges from dense forests to snowy mountains to deserts. The “free roam” feature in the game lets you explore Seacrest County. NFS Hot Pursuit lets you play as either a cop or racer, and has a separate career mode for each side. The game’s primary focus is to provide players with high speed cop vs racer chases.

The game also features many weapons. Some are exclusive to the cops or racers. Power-ups include spike strips, which are used by both cops and racers and activate a spike strip from the back of the car and lay it on the road, and EMPs (ElectroMagnetic Pulses) which are used by both cops and racers and can be used for taking down cops or racers, or for performing takedowns (which is an important feature of the Burnout series). Other weapons include helicopters and roadblocks for cops and turbo and jammers for racers.

The biggest feature about NFS Hot Pursuit is NFS Autolog, which track player progressions and statistics compared to other player and recommends players events to play. In addition to its statistical system, Autolog also features Facebook-like speedwalls where players can post their comments and photos while in the game. This autolog feature will carry on in its next generation in Shift 2: Unleashed. NFS Hot Pursuit has received some of the best reviews of the series, which generally praise the Autolog feature of the game and the cop vs racer chases.

The “Limited Edition” gives players exclusive access to the racer version of Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and the racer version of Ford Shelby GT500. There is a lot of downloadable content for the game:

– The Super Sports Pack, features 13 new events, additional trophies/achievements and 3 new cars, Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Gumpert Apollo S and Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

– The Armed & Dangerous Pack, features 2 new online game mode, Most Wanted and “Arms Race”, along with 3 achievements/trophies.

– The Lamborghini Untamed Pack, features 3 Lamborghini cars, Lamborghini Diablo, Countach, and Sesto Elemento, with 10 new events and 4 achievements/trophies.

– The Porsche Unleashed, features 3 Porsche cars, Porsche 911 Turbo (1982 Edition), 959 and 911 Speedster, with 10 new events and 4 achievements/trophies.

Please read the Hot Pursuit 2010 Gamescom Preview