Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Cover art of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
European cover art
Developer(s) Criterion Games
Exient (Wii)
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Director(s) Craig Sullivan (creative director)
Henry LaBounta (senior art director)
Producer(s) Matt Webster
Designer(s) Matt Follett
Series Need for Speed
Engine Chameleon[1]
Platform(s) PlayStation 3, Windows, Wii, Xbox 360, iOS (iPhone , iPod touch and iPad)
Release
    Genre(s) Racing
    Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

    Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is a 2010 racing video game in the Need for Speed series developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and iOS (with HD version for iPad).[4][5] A version for Wii was developed by Exient.[6] Hot Pursuit is the 16th title in the franchise and was released in November 2010.

    Contents

    Gameplay[edit]

    Hot Pursuit allows players to control police vehicles and participate in high-speed pursuits, a feature absent from the series since 2002.

    Hot Pursuit goes back to the Need for Speed series' roots and takes on the gameplay style of earlier "Hot Pursuit" titles in the Need for Speed franchise with exotic cars and high-speed police chases. It is primarily inspired by the original Need for Speed on 3DO.[citation needed] Hot Pursuit lets players be either a cop or a racer and features a full career mode for both roles. The relationship between the cops and racers is described as "a dog chasing down a rabbit", with the cops being more powerful compared to the racers. Each side has several power-ups including calling for roadblocks and radar jamming.[7]

    The game takes place in fictional location known as Seacrest County.[7] It's an open world and features over 100 miles (160 km) of open road, four times larger than that of Burnout Paradise, Criterion's previous title.[8] According to Criterion the single-player section is somewhere between 12–15 hours long, but with lots of replay value.[9] Hot Pursuit also features a new social interaction system called "Autolog" described as "Facebook for the game".[10] The game features both single-player and multiplayer game modes with up to eight players; as an option to live multiplayer racing, players can post records and achievements on the Autolog feed for friends to see, which they then can try to beat. Autolog also contains an experience system called "Bounty".[11] Players can also add custom soundtracks to the game.[12]

    The driving model of the game is described as "fun and accessible", not as arcade-styled as Burnout Paradise, but far from a simulator.[7][11] All vehicles in Hot Pursuit are licensed real-world cars and SUVs, described as "all the cars you dreamed of driving, in the way you dreamed of driving them". Most vehicles are available in both racer and police variants, but a few are exclusive to each side.[11][13] Also exclusively featured in the Hot Pursuit is the Porsche 918 Spyder.[14] Ferrari however, last seen in a Shift DLC-pack but notably absent from all other Need for Speed games since Hot Pursuit 2, is also absent from Hot Pursuit.[15]

    Development[edit]

    The game was first hinted at during E3 2009 by EA’s CEO, John Riccitiello. Riccitiello stated that Criterion Games, developers of EA's own Burnout series, was working on a "revolutionary" addition to the Need for Speed franchise, stating "We don't have a plan right now for a separate major launch on Burnout, because the team doing it is working on a revolutionary take on Need for Speed."[16] It was also reported that the game was scheduled for release in Q4 2010.[17] It was officially revealed as Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit at EA's Media Briefing during E3 2010. with a trailer which showed a high-speed police chase involving three different racers. The trailer was followed by a live demo of the game on stage between creative director Craig Sullivan as a cop and producer Matt Webster as a racer.[18] According to Riccitiello, the game was in development for two years.[19]

    In August, before Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was set to take center stage at EA's press conference during Gamescom, it was announced by Art Director Henry LaBounta that Criterion collaborated with DICE in building the massive open world of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.[20] Early in November, Patrick Söderlund, Senior Vice President of EA Games Europe, said this of the collaboration: "I think the most important thing, when you have two high-quality developers working together, for it to work, they need to have mutual respect. They need to have that respect, to say ‘Ok, we trust you to do this.’ This was a case where that was so obvious, where the Criterion team had a full trust in the DICE team to do what they were doing, and vice versa."[21]

    Recent games in the Need for Speed franchise included a story, but Matt Webster, producer of Hot Pursuit said "We didn’t really think it was necessary to include a story. If you’re a cop, the aim is to go up the ranks, while a racer’s aim is to get to the highest rank they can."[22] UK product manager for Need for Speed Kevin Flynn said that "Shift was a great game but different and a bit serious, while Hot Pursuit is more fun and accessible."[23] In October, the trophy list for the PlayStation 3 and soundtrack for Hot Pursuit were leaked onto the internet.[24] Early in November did analyst Mike Hickey say he believes EA's Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit could sell 4.2 million copies during holidays.[25][26]

    Marketing and release[edit]

    System requirements[27]
    Minimum Recommended
    Windows[27]
    Operating system Windows XP (SP3) / Windows Vista / Windows 7
    CPU Intel Core® 2 Duo 1.8 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4 GHZ Intel Core® 2 Duo E6700 2.6 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 6000+ or better
    Memory 1.5 GB Windows® XP / 2 GB Windows Vista® - Windows 7®
    Hard drive 8.0 GB of free space
    Graphics hardware 256 MB DirectX® 9.0 compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher GeForce 8800 GT or ATI Radeon HD 4700 or better
    Sound hardware DirectX 9.0 compliant sound card 5.1 sound card
    Network Internet connection required for activation and multiplayer
    Input device(s) keyboard, optional controller Keyboard, joystick optional (Xbox 360 controller for Windows)

    In early July 2010 EA announced Need for Speed Hot Pursuit on Tour, a seven-city event that took the game around the United States prior to the game's release. Each stop featured recording artists and showcased an assortment of exotic cars. The tour began on 14 July 2010 at the Manhattan Classic Car Club in New York City, headlined by DJ Z-Trip.[28] It then continued to Chicago,[29] Seattle, San Francisco, Austin and Miami, ending with the Hot Pursuit launch party in Los Angeles.[30] EA received a helping hand from UK vehicle wrapping company Totally Dynamic for the UK launch event, held at Totally Dynamic’s South London centre.[31] In addition to the standard edition, a Limited Edition of the game has been announced which features numerous bonuses over the standard edition, including exclusive packaging, two exclusive cars and four unlockable cars.[32]

    The Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit demo was available for download on 26 October on Xbox LIVE Marketplace worldwide and the PlayStation Network in North America and on 27 October 2010 on the PlayStation Network in Europe. The demo was a limited time demo and closed on 9 November 2010.[33][34][35][36] Criterion Games said that "Unlike Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, PC demos require comparatively more resources in order to ensure that they run smoothly across a wide variety of systems." for not getting the chance to release a demo for the PC.[37]

    Trailers[edit]

    In addition to the trailer shown at the official reveal during E3 2010, several other game trailers have been released, each revealing new aspects of the game. One trailer promoted the Limited Edition of the game, which features additional cars.[38] Some trailers explained the game's new Autolog feature.[39] Two trailers released in September 2010 showcased the different aspects of cops vs racer gameplay.[40][41][42] A trailer released on 25 September 2010 promoted the limited-time demo.[43] Three video clips were released on 29 October 2010. Entitled "Fast Needs no Friends", these videos depict two foolish valet parkers, Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara, who have gained a love for fast, exotic cars, by playing Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.[44]

    Three developer diaries were released to promote the game. The first was released on 14 October 2010 which features the game’s Producer detailing the Autolog feature.[45] On 28 October 2010 the second developer diary was released that features the game's Creative Director explaining the contents of the recently released demo.[46] The third developer diary, released on 6 November 2010, details the specifics Seacrest County's terrain and climate, as well as explaining day and night cycles.[47]

    Reception[edit]

    Reception
    Aggregate scores
    Aggregator Score
    GameRankings 89.39% (PS3)[48]
    85.79% (X360)[49]
    87.50% (PC)[50]
    Metacritic 90/100 (PS3)[51]
    88/100 (X360)[52]
    87/100(PC)[53]
    Review scores
    Publication Score
    CVG 9.0/10[61]
    Edge 9/10[56]
    Eurogamer 9/10[57]
    Game Informer 8.75/10[54]
    GameTrailers 9/10[58]
    IGN 9.0/10.[55]
    OPM (US) 10/10[59]
    VideoGamer.com 8.0/10[60]
    Joystiq 5/5 stars[62]
    Destructoid 9.5/10[63]
    GamesMaster 9.3/10[64]
    GamesRadar 10/10[65]

    Pre-release[edit]

    Hot Pursuit was well received by critics at E3 2010 and was most notably awarded with "Best Racing Game" from Game Critics Awards as well as several other media outlets.[66][67][68][69][70][71] Other games in the category included Gran Turismo 5, Test Drive Unlimited 2 and MotorStorm: Apocalypse. IGN said it had "An inspired level of connectivity", and 1UP.com stated "the other racing games at E3 never had a chance". This is the first game in the Need For Speed series since the original Hot Pursuit to win an E3 award.[72] It was also nominated for "Best Xbox 360" and "Best PS3" game by IGN, and "Best Graphics" by Gaming Excellence.[67][71]

    Post-release[edit]

    Hot Pursuit received high praise worldwide from professional reviewers. Aggregate website Metacritic holds the average review for the PlayStation 3 version at 90%, the Xbox 360 version at 88%, and the PC version at 87%.[51] This makes Hot Pursuit the highest rated game in the Need for Speed series history.[73] In the 8 November 2010 edition of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, the first review score was given as 10/10. The reviewer said "It's consistently challenging without feeling difficult. It's immensely rewarding without ever being taxing."[59]

    IGN gave the game 9.0 out of 10 and an Editor's Choice Award, praising the game's visuals and soundtrack as well as the new Autolog feature.[55] Eurogamer gave the game 9 out of 10. Reviewer Tom Bramwell said "It's stuffed with content but rarely for the sake of it, and knowing Criterion it will be handsomely supported for months to come, even though it's already the best pure arcade racing game since Burnout Paradise."[57] GameTrailers also scored the game 9 out of 10. The reviewer stated Hot Pursuit was "excellently crafted, letting you take the world's fastest cars across miles of stunning landscapes. Chases are exhilarating from either perspective, and the autolog feature completely changes how you compete with friends, keeping you hooked until you've wrecked all of their scores."[58] Destructoid gave the game 9.5 out of 10. Reviewer Nick Chester noted that "it delivers a near-perfect competitive experience, in a way that few games - racing or otherwise - can. Hot Pursuit is not only a defining moment for the series, but for arcade-style racing, period."[63] Reviewer Randy Nelson of Joystiq was the second reviewer to give the game a perfect score of 10/10.[62] Reviewer Chris Antista of GamesRadar also gave the game 10 out of 10. Chris stated that "with so many modes and diverse rewards to uncover in Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, it almost feels like 2.5 games in one package."[65]

    Reviewer Tom Orry of VideoGamer gave the game 8 out of 10, and stated "the core driving is never anything but exhilarating, visually it's almost flawless and the Autolog features are genre leading. There's still something missing, though - a reason to explore the open world."[60] Gamespot awarded the game 8.5 out of ten and said "This fast-paced racer keeps you glued to the TV and on the edge of your seat regardless of which side of the law you're playing on. "[74]

    Soundtrack[edit]

    The game's soundtrack includes music from 30 Seconds to Mars, Benny Benassi, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Chiddy Bang, Deadmau5, Klaxons, Lupe Fiasco, M. I. A., Pendulum, Bad Religion, and Travie McCoy. Edge of the Earth by 30 Seconds to Mars plays when the game first loads.


    References[edit]

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    External links[edit]