Usually a grown man would shed a tear during his wedding day, maybe even when their first child is born but not this man. When I heard the announcement that the Need For Speed series was taking it back to its roots, back to a time where it was at its prime, this man right here shed a tear… Now that Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is not only planning on making its return this year but by Criterion games, its no wonder the game was a secret for this long. I managed to get a hands on demo on the show floor at E3 and let me tell you the experience was good.
Interceptor was the game mode at hand, pitting players in a cat and mouse race with one as a Lamborghini and other a Reventon. The premise is simple enough, do anything to get away in the open world which is the games new setting or completely destroy the one trying to get away. The nostalgia was imminent right when I put the controller in my hand. The game textures and landscape were similar to some of my most pride gaming experiences from the original Hot Pursuit and Hot Pursuit 2. During a race, points can be awarded enabling you to perform actions that either help you escape or capture your opponent. Things like a radar jammer for the escapees and roadblocks for cops are to name a few.
It is quite hard to tell that Criterion made this game, being so far from their successful racing franchise, Burnout. Graphics looked great and the cars had good handling from what we could tell. We were told replays would be back and Criterion is focusing on the online component of the game. Their Autolog system will interact players and friends like never before. The idea is to update stats, information and suggestions on the fly with what other players and friends are doing online.
The game will pack plenty of features, full online play and that cinematic feel that the originals had. We can’t wait for the games release this fall but look for more info in the coming months.
