Games of 2010: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

By Simon Parkin Published 28 December, 2010

Cops and slobbers.

Need for Speed is the Britney Spears of video game brands, a cipher to front whichever hot producer or fashionable trend its owner, EA, wants to hand creative duties to on any given year. As a result, its games may provide a consistent financial yield, but they are also the hardest to pick out from a line-up, flitting from arcade slang street-racer one year to straight-talking sim the next. Who is Need for Speed? It's whoever's driving the development at any given time.

Which makes 2010's entry the most exciting racing game of the year, even if 2009's was lacklustre and if 2011's goes on to fall short of its developer's tall ambition. Most game series present the evolution of a design, the developer behind it growing strengths and diminishing weaknesses with each iteration. But this year, this brand benefitted not from the lessons of Need for Speed entries past, but from Criterion's trailblazing Burnout series, whose DNA can be found splattered over the boot and dashboard of every car within.

Burnout Paradise, the developer's previous title, succeeded in encasing the wind-scream thrills of the arcade racer in an open-world city, one friends and rivals could drop in to and out of in search of impromptu competition. It was smart and impressive but nevertheless a little unwieldy, the drive between missions and races bulking out what was always a series that prized tight focus and efficiency.

1

Hot Pursuit trims away the fat, even while doubling the number of 'campaigns'. There's still a sense of geography to the game world, the game hub a top-down map of an American state, but now switching between missions is done via point and click. Criterion's first sensible move was to revisit the series' first principle: cops vs. robbers. Next, the developer correctly ascertained that the thrill of being chased and the excitement of giving chase are sufficiently different to both warrant inclusion in the game, promptly splitting missions into two categories - police or criminal - and allowing you abstract freedom to jump between roles.

Next, rather than simply bundling endless point-to-point races, the developer pulls ideas from its previous titles, offering a huge variety of mission types to add variety and dodge player ennui. Straight races are interspersed with time attack runs in which every glancing bump or scrape is assigned a penalty, then followed by police chases in which bumps and scrapes are the necessary tools with which to remove your rival from the road. The variety is on a fundamental level, the way in which you play the game shifting in direction in a way that no other racing game has yet managed with such purity and clarity.

The heft of the cars on the road is more distinguished than in any Burnout game before it, while the conveyor belt unlocks of licensed cars grounds in an exciting kind of reality, like Gran Turismo had a head-on collision with Ridge Racer and the impact big-banged a new sort of existence into being in which a Porsche can turbo into a hairpin before skidding around the laws of physics.

All of this would make for one of the exciting racing games of the year, but Autolog, the game's bespoke social network overlay, elevates Hot Pursuit to one of the most exciting games of the decade.

2

Threaded through every aspect of the experience, Autolog turns competitive racing into an asynchronous pursuit. Now, every time you boot up the game, a string of ticker headlines outline who on your friends list has overtaken your score and in which event. If someone you know betters a time on, say, 'Protect and Swerve' while you're busy playing cops and robbers online, the game reports this to you via a Breaking News headline.

It's such a bold, bald challenge that you rarely resist the competitive thrown gauntlet, instead abandoning whatever you're currently doing to dive right into the event in order to take the crown back. Autolog becomes a hothouse for micro-rivalries, which will spill out onto Twitter and Facebook as trash-talking friends underline their in-game achievements each morning.

Autolog is destined to be copied endlessly in the next few years, and EA will no doubt grow the idea for forthcoming titles. An Autolog iPhone and Android app was released a couple of weeks ago, one that notifies you each time a friend beats a time in the game, a machinegun volley of prodding taunts drawing you back in months after release, a cherry-picking of the strengths of Facebook-style asynchronous gaming. But even in this debut, Autolog arrives fully-formed, an endgame to the evolution of leaderboards that first sprouted at the dawn of videogame time, and here blossom into their ideal form.

Even ignoring some of the most enjoyable synchronous multiplayer modes in any racing game or the delicately balanced arsenal of police power-ups, for me, Autolog propels Hot Pursuit to take pole position as one of the most interesting games not only of the year, but of its generation - an extraordinary accolade for a cipher.

Picture of Simon.

About Simon Parkin

Simon Parkin is an author and journalist on video games. A core contributor to Eurogamer since 2005, he is also a critic and columnist on games for The Guardian.

Read more articles from Simon by visiting the Simon Parkin archive page.

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Comments (48) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ozzzy189 #1 1 year ago

    So i pay for xbox live, but if i want to get the full potential out of this game, i have to pay extra for the 'autolog', as my son used the code up ? fuck you ea.

  • Khaidu #2 1 year ago

    How would it be EA's fault that MS charges for online play? Or that your son used up the code for that matter...

  • jack24 #3 1 year ago

    You're shit and so is everyone who likes you.

  • f01re #4 1 year ago

    Not as good as Split/Second I'm afraid. Looks like Criterion's best went to Black Rock.

  • bad09 #5 1 year ago

    I ignored this due to no demo on the PC but I gotta say you lot are marking ozzzy189 down even though he makes a very, very valid point about where this industry is headed with the "10 dollar" nonsense they are pushing lately.

    While many have been suckered by the 2nd hand line and happily feeling they "do their part" while lapping up the 1st hand buyer "reward" bullcrap like this Autolog thing, I'm not really comfortable with a gaming industry who seems perfectly happy going in a direction that charges extra if more than one person in your household wants to play an EA game to it's full. Imagine if the movie industry charged per person for your DVD purchases, family movie night would be pricey.

  • MiY4MOTO #6 1 year ago

    I'd been waiting for this after reading all the pre-release hype. Played the demo and was really disappointed.

    Got it for Christmas and it's not nearly as bad as the demo had lead me to believe!

    It's a solid, competent arcade racer with some stunning visuals and presentation. It has it's lacklustre moments too, but by and large it's well worth a look for anyone into arcade racing. GT / Forza fans need not apply.

    The Autolog however reminds me of all that is bad about Facebook and there's no way to turn it off or put it on mute (so to speak). I don't care that my friends recommended a course, of that so and so has beaten my time. I couldn't give two shits that my nephew has uploaded a photo. Please stop bombarding me with "status updates" that I don't care about!

    I get that some people will thrive to be the best on their friends list, and I do like to see in-game how I rank on a friends leaderboard ala Geometry Wars 2 etc. but quite frankly I find the Autolog too much. Let me earn my "gold medals" and "distinctions" in peace and provide me with the means to challenge friends times if I want. Just stop nagging me about it and highlighting courses with "recommendations" every time I look at the map.

    Also, "cops vs robbers" was not Need For Speeds first principle. The cops didn't show up until the third iteration which shares the same name. Need For Speeds first principle was about driving exotic cars on impossibly scenic, long winding roads, lightly populated with traffic... this it does admirably.

  • Fillem #7 1 year ago

    If only there weren't so many time trials :(

  • lostlain #8 1 year ago

    ozzzy189 could have put it better, but it is ridiculous that I buy one copy of the game, but can only use it under one account. It means me and my brother have to share an account as we often play each others games. This is retarded, I should be able to use the same game on the same console online in different accounts surely? Without paying for more than one account so that everyone in my flat can play it!!

    Ridiculous!

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #9 1 year ago

    @MiY4MOTO

    I think you're overreacting about the Facebook features been forced on you. The real social stuff like photos are in their own section which you don't have to visit. The only stuff that appears in the map screen are the race times and that's no different to Trials HD or Geometry Wars - great stuff.

    I do echo ozzzy and bad09's points though. I bought the game for my son for Xmas and used the code myself as he's a bit too young for online multiplayer, but the fact I can't race against his times without paying more cash is a fucking liberty truth be told.
    Edited by SpaceMidget75 at 28/12/10 @ 20:22

  • jamhead #10 1 year ago

    I think this is a great fun, popcorn game - thoroughly enjoying it. Would also love a british/european version with a few more tight roads, and perhaps some city-based chases (almost GTI Club esque)...

  • Lord_BeeJee #11 1 year ago

    I don't know why but i didn't enjoy this a lot, nothing i can put my finger on but it felt too much a grind/not a real challenge to get through the races for me. Maybe the enthousiasm around it got my expectations set too high.

  • b00n #12 1 year ago

    Microsoft and / or Bizarre: this combined with PGR tracks, 'mission' types and handling, 10/10. Thanks!

  • septimus #13 1 year ago

    Shame about the rubber band AI. Spoils it a lot of times.

  • figaro7 #14 1 year ago

    A class game for sure, but can be very frustrating at times and takes a while to get going. Best arcade racer in a long time!

  • smelly #15 1 year ago

    I soooooooooooo want this game.. but wasted my money buying sonic colours.

    Thanks for the glowing sonic review EG.. waste of bloody money that was.

  • smelly #16 1 year ago

    @bad09 - but surely its no different to buying other downloadable content?

    In fable 3 for example they ask you to pay $3 or something for black clothes dye!

  • thedgam #17 1 year ago

    To each his own, Don't like it then fine but pls. try to avoid preaching your hate on it. But if you do like it, join me in the shouting of
    "YEY! THAT WAS A F*CUKING GREAT GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME!"

  • CaptainQuint #18 1 year ago

    I haven't been able to get into a racer since GT1 and Speed Freaks on the PS1, but this has ended the drought - it's one of the greatest racing games I've ever played. The high end 'exotic' cars take a while to become playable, but fuck me they will blow your head off once you get 'em.

  • Collymilad #19 1 year ago

    Absolutely superb game, way better than Split Second and on par with Blur.

    Yes, Blur was good.
    Edited by Collymilad at 29/12/10 @ 00:28

  • Killerbee #20 1 year ago

    I've never bought a NFS game before so I don't really know (or care) about the series' history, but I got this for Christmas and I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. And since no one seems to be playing my other favourite arcade racer of the year any more (Blur), this looks like being a damn fine game to see me into the new year.

  • Skinme #21 1 year ago

    One thing that I miss, that I loved in Underground, is the purchasing of parts & cars. Although I've enjoyed Hot Pursuit, everything seemed to be spoon fed. Early on, getting gold in any of the events will get you a new car, a new event & often an upgrade too. These rewards become further apart the more you play, but by then you'll have unlocked most of the rewards anyway. Don't get me wrong, I hate games that make you grind for hours for a small reward. I just think Hot Pursuit could've been a better game if you got cash as a reward (or pink slips) & used that to buy new cars & upgrades. It makes the game feel less linear & gives players the chance to customise.

  • b00n #22 1 year ago

    One thing I hate about this game though: the more friends you have that play this game, the slower your progress as it is much harder to get first or 2nd place vs your friends, which means you get less credits (or whatever they are called) vs someone who has only one person playing this game on his or her list.

  • WJF #23 1 year ago

    Hot Pursuit mode = brilliant, brilliant, tense, fun, brilliant
    Interceptor/Gauntlet = good, oo clever, nice, oh nice, Hah! Suck it, Damn! Another go, I think
    Everything else = dull, dull, annoying, WHY THE FUCK WAS THAT A TIME PENALTY?, annoying, boring, not fun

    Alas, the percent of races are 20:20:60 in favour of the shite time trials, standard (ie. dull) races, Burnout 3 (the poor one [controversial]) preview events and the swearfests that are the Rapid Response races. In fact, it feels a lot like Burnout 3's career mode, which also couldn't balance the entertaining events with the rubbish ones and ended up a chore to complete.
    Edited by WJF at 29/12/10 @ 01:53

  • SvennoJ #24 1 year ago

    Great game especially in the exotic series.

    It has a lot of minor gripes though. Extreme rubberband AI feels more like slingshot AI. Losing with a time of 4:30 then winning with a time of 5:20, doesn't feel like you accomplished anything.
    The game gets very glitchy in the hyper series. Spike strips only register 50% of the time and sometimes take a full second to deploy from your car. Hitting other cars results almost randomly into a takedown or a crash.
    The cinematic camera can drive you crazy, especially in the later hot pursuit races. Upto 20 times per race the camera gets yanked away leaving you guessing where you end up when you get back in the drivers seat. I actually prefer the time trials, straight races and duels for not getting yanked out of the car all the time.
    A shame it takes so long to restart a race, and having to sit through all the reward animations after every race, just let me race already. Despite all the little annoyances you just want one more go asap.

    The game looks great day night and rain but ultimately leaves you wanting more. Some European tracks would be nice with cops speaking french and german as in the original hot pursuit.

    It sounds even better. The first time you fire up the turbo with the sound turned up, wow.

  • dnd #25 1 year ago

    Enjoyed the game but well ticked off by the, 'oh btw, no dlc support for pc' two months after release.

  • metalangel #26 1 year ago

    @MIY4Moto: Cops were present in the very first NFS game. You could only be the racer, though.

    Anyway, this is NOT a game of the year. It is an aggravating, cheating, unpolished game with so many "minor gripes" that they form a huge teetering pile that then collapses and crushes what fun there is to be wrung from it.

    Flagrant, brazenly cheating rubberband AI. Traffic that doesn't make any effort to get out of the way for the police. Unskippable cutscenes before each race (pushing skip can still mean watching 20 seconds of it, after a 20 second loading screen). Constant cutscene interruption mid-race. The "autopilot" putting you on a collison course for a wall or traffic after one of these cutscenes. Tedious, unbalanced weapons. Brick-like car handling. Hateful "Rapid Response" missions. A single external view where your own car blocks your view of the road ahead. A stillborn, worthless free roam mode. Terrible music. No activities or things to do outside of the heavily scripted races. "Autolog" servers unreliable. Getting good times based entirely on luck: I got times under 20 seconds on a pursuit that would otherwise take 90 seconds, because the AI crashed headlong into traffic at the start and I was lucky enough to ram them while using nitro and killed them with one hit. A game that demands perfection (especially to beat friends' times) but with no instant restart, long load screens and unskippable cutscene each time. Sometimes you can't even restart from the results screen, as you are forced into yet another cutscene for every single fucking car and item you unlock, before being dumped back to the map screen.

    It's like Burnout Paradise for ADHD kids, and a colossal disappointment.
    Edited by metalangel at 29/12/10 @ 17:24

  • septimus #27 1 year ago

    Without the cheese fest cutscenes, though sometimes funny, I think I prefer the open approach of Most Wanted, I liked to be able to start chases with the police in what felt like a more interactive environment, whenever I felt like it.

  • governmentyard #28 1 year ago

    At times this game is incredibly good fun but these times are not in the majority. Everything metalangel says above is right on the money for me, pointless cons outweigh underused pros and I've taken my copy back to the store, with Blur and Enslaved leaving with me. So far, Blur hasn't seen my get into my controller-mangling state as NFS did.

    My millionth go on a rapid response level, last (blind, drifty) corner with a gold on the clock and what do I meet round the bend? A car in BOTH lanes. Criterion can be dicks, sometimes. The racing is fairer in GTA games.
    Edited by governmentyard at 29/12/10 @ 10:57

  • ozzzy189 #29 1 year ago

    wow. i must've had my post deleted or something ? no it's not ea's fault that ms charges for live- i'm glad they do or it'd be dreadful like psn- but it's totally unfair to charge extra for other users in the same household for parts of a game that cost 40 pounds at launch, that should be there for others to enjoy. I didn't like this game much, but that wsn't the point. the point is that this stinks, and as soon as we move onto downloads only then this ridiculously unfair practice should cease. games have become so devalued now and i can kind of see why these kind of tricks are being played- however unfair i think they are. this game is twenty odd quid now, enslaved, castlevania, vanquish. all good games now 22 quid or so, and have been for ages. and i feel that is because folks are having to play through at speed and sell on if they want to get a bit back before aforementioned happens. It's not good.

  • bionutz #30 1 year ago

    game is awesome, playing it currently. 9/10 because of the weak soundtrack.
    [Edit]: Playing it on alienware mx17i5, 6GB, win7/64 standard graphics card native resolution, max details. No steering wheel til I move into a new apartment in January, so it's hard to win multiplayer races. But the game looks great and feels great.
    Edited by bionutz at 29/12/10 @ 12:21

  • darkmorgado #31 1 year ago

    wow. i must've had my post deleted or something ?

    No, it's still there. The reason you can't see it is because it's been buried by negative karma.

  • ozzzy189 #32 1 year ago

    weird it wasn't there earlier mate. will i get negged for saying kinect is superb and that the whole family have a had a really good time on it over christmas and that i have missed all the tv progs i wanted to watch ? thought so !!!! lol

  • ozzzy189 #33 1 year ago

    that was a hell of a lot of negs, never had any before. i feel quite sick now.

  • CraigMcG #34 1 year ago

    So i pay for xbox live, but if i want to get the full potential out of this game, i have to pay extra for the 'autolog', as my son used the code up ? fuck you ea.

    on ps3 online pass is in your psn download list and can be used with more than 1 psn account

  • local_celebrity #35 1 year ago

    "...whose DNA can be found splattered over the boot and dashboard of every car within"

    Oooer, sounds a bit rude.

  • InfiniteTed #36 1 year ago

    "Without the cheese fest cutscenes, though sometimes funny, I think I prefer the open approach of Most Wanted, I liked to be able to start chases with the police in what felt like a more interactive environment, whenever I felt like it."

    YES. I'm not sure why no one seems to be mentioning Most Wanted in relation to this iteration. The format was so much better, cutscenes aside.

  • freedumb #37 1 year ago

    Amazing game, and I don't even like the need for speed series or burnout after the 2nd one. This is tons of fun, probably the most fun game I've played all year.

  • jack24 #38 1 year ago

    'No, I'm a productive person with a brain'

    No sir you are not. As evidenced by your high end trollage.

    What games, pray tell, do you have to play in order to engage that whopping great brain of yours then?

  • DiamondIce #39 1 year ago

    redbarony: Did the game and/or the developers rape you? Lots of anger on show there.

  • Lawlost #40 1 year ago

    I was glad it was release on the ennui too

  • celery7 #41 1 year ago

    Hey Redbarony, just out of curiosity what is this game if not a racing game? You raging calamity spaz

  • jack24 #42 1 year ago

    @redbarony

    I'd rather be a console tard, than whatever species of elitist tool you are. Who hurt you?

  • vegard #43 1 year ago

    Pro tip: Disable Crossfire! I've got two 5850s and the game runs better with just one running, oddly enough.

  • Caimbeul #44 1 year ago

    Seems like i appear to be the only one who finds the car handling awful, heavy and cumbersome? Also PC performance isn't great. I have a core 2 duo at 3.6Ghz, 4Gb RAM, SSD HDD and a 1GB Radeon 5850 running on Win7 64bit. All the latest drivers etc. To say that performance is lackluster is being far too kind. 60fps is a looooong way off. Clearly optimised for consoles and nothing else. I applaud EA for bringing this to PC to simply adding high res textures (which i have to disable to get a vaguely playable frame-rate) is a poor show.

  • BillMurray #45 1 year ago

    Rubber banding AI ruins the game for me.

  • jack24 #46 1 year ago

    Oh stop waffling on you imbecile. You obviously have attached far greater meaning to this than neccesary, I merely responded to your, initially childish, first comment. Now your regailing your early gaming war stories all of a sudden. Why don't you have a go at crawling out of your own arse, eh? Need for Speed is sick, get over it.

  • DiamondIce #47 1 year ago

    Happy New Year and make sure you enjoy NO games in 2011.

  • Keivz #48 1 year ago

    Well said, metalangel. I'd add lackluster car models to that list of gripes. There are still moments of bliss scattered about here and there, and I haven't given up on it completely yet. But one has to wonder why/how such a flawed game got showered with such praise.