WeView: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

Hello! It’s my turn to do a WeView post this week, as both Kris and Peter are no doubt stumbling back from Eurogamer, desperately trying to stay awake lest someone mugs them in ‘That London’.

As you can see, the game I have picked for discussion is Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. With Need for Speed: The Run fast approaching, now is a good time to go and check out what is (in my opinion) a fantastic racer. Developed by arcade racing Gods and makers of Burnout, Criterion, the game was released in November of last year, just before that other racing game came out. Gran Turismo something or other.

It scored well in our review, with the conclusion being:

“Hot Pursuit is a refreshing reboot for a series that’s become tired and disjointed, with Criterion’s grip tightly controlling the direction of the game as much as the publisher.  As a result, this latest Need for Speed is the best it’s been for years, and although it’s naturally not going to be a game for everyone (and up against the juggernaut of Sony’s exclusive Gran Turismo 5 next week) anyone looking for a solid racing game this Christmas with a significant emphasis on online competition should find this is well worth investigating.”

As well as the whole ‘Cops and Racers’ angle, Hot Pursuit also introduced us to the Autolog feature, which took friendly rivalry to a whole new level, and weapons, making it easier to take an opponent down.

It wasn’t all chocolates and roses though, with a couple of noticeable issues. Criterion decided to lock the game at thirty frames per second, rather than sixty, so it lost some sensation of speed. The courses were also a bit too open for my liking. The big sticking point, though, was the handling. Some people really couldn’t get on with it, whilst other people had no problems at all.

If you feel like taking part and sharing your thoughts just head over to the forums and leave us your thoughts on the game. Whilst longer reviews won’t be discounted, please remember that the aim is for short, snappy opinions.

Once you’ve written your review make sure you give it a score on the Buy It, Bargain Bin It, Rent It, Avoid It scale. Remember, if you want your score and opinion included in Monday’s verdict post you need to have it done by Sunday afternoon, otherwise Kris will have written it and you’ll be left out in the cold.