First Impressions – Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
Last week was like a whirl wind. I had to get ready to fly off to England. The crew of Criterion gave us the invite to England to participate in the community day for Need For Speed: Hot pursuit releasing today! This was my first trip abroad and I was super stoked about going. Even though it was only for a couple of days my suitcase bulged with “just in case” apparel. On my connecting flight there, I had the pleasure of a drive by meeting with Lady Luck of Gamertag Radio. We greeted each other and had small chit chat briefly, not actually discussing games. It wasn’t until we landed and we both were waiting for our car that we realized we were headed to the same place. It’s amazing that because of gaming, I have Instant friends all over the world! Both of us toured England for much of that day in awe of how surreal it seemed to be there at that moment, having a blast in such a wonderful city in the name of gaming!
England tour photos
The following day was all business. This was a great chance to chat with the Criterion Games crew and pick their brains to find out their inspiration for this latest installment of the Need For Speed Franchise. We had a great discussion with Criterion Games’ Creative Director Craig Sullivan. They really wanted to emphasize to us how this was their take on Need for Speed and how they wanted to get back to its early roots.
I was absolutely ecstatic to get my hands on this latest Need for speed. Here are my first impressions.
* Aesthetics: The game is beautiful. The open-world joy riding is sure to please. The scenery is so textured and the cars shine as if just waxed. Weather can also create different ambiances that can set the tone for that particular race. A sunny sky can give an eager upbeat feeling, while a rainy day provides a serious mood for a serious race.
* Variety: There are some awesome cars and tracks to choose from. Many of the cars are familiar choices for both those who are extremely knowledgeable about various vehicles and also for the average car enthusiast. I chose to rock the Mazda RX-8 and Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 FSI Quattro frequently, as they are real life preferences of mine. The cars handle differently for each tier but nothing that is too difficult. The faster and more expensive the more slippery it is.
* Game Play: The controls are easy to use. The cars handled well and don’t differ too much from each other, leaving you able to concentrate on the race at hand. Throughout the race your best bet is to stay at tops speeds and in the opposite lane to gain nitrous. Inclement weather can also affect drifting and turns. I felt like Captain Jean Luke Picard – “engage” when I used nitrous to get just the edge I needed to beat my own time or edge out that other racer.
* Fun Factor: For those who enjoy gaming with others, you can look forward to some great hot pursuit fun as you and your friends play as police or racing deviants. We all had great chases and takedowns playing in this mode.
Also, the use of the Autolog feature will prove to be handy. You can use Autolog to track your career progress, know your top times and compare them with your friends, view photos taken in game and enter into game recommended challenges.
Overall this is a solid racing game. The Criterion Crew did what was expected of them. Hot Pursuit is as if Need For Speed and Burnout melded to have an awesome baby, incorporating cool elements from both franchises. As far as first impressions go, it did not disappoint. I had fun playing Need For Speed Hot Pursuit and fun is what gaming is all about. Hot Pursuit hits shelves TODAY! I look forward to playing with you all and delving deeper into the Hot Pursuit.
November 16th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
This game looks awesome
Anything with HOT in it I am gonna like.
November 16th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
LOL @ BPD. I really want to try this game out. Looks pretty darn good in all the info and videos I have seen.
November 16th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
honestly if you guys get it you gotta hit me up. I had a blast. Gaming with a buch of folks is hella fun. http://www.needforspeed.com/media/video/need-speed-hot-pursuit-trailer
November 16th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
I really liked the demo and this is definitely on my list. Too many games to play right now!!!!
November 16th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
loves me some criterion(my fav racer dev), gonna have to check this out. Is there a free roam mp environment? if so i am mega down.
November 16th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
this game looks awesome! i LOVED this game on gamecube/PS2 back in the day
November 16th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
No joke this event is why I didn’t cancel my preorder, even though I didn’t get to go lol. I’m slowly getting a backlog again and I don’t own a money printing machine so I was going to cancel my order and wait for a price drop. Besides the fact that the game looks awesome, I like how EA flew down most of the community sites like this one and showed youz all a good time. Yeah this isn’t new and it’s a dumb reason but saltfish. I visit/listen to Gamertagradio and I know Lady Luck had a good time over there as well as the other sites.
Thanks for the recap, can’t wait to get my copy today.
November 16th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
I miss when Criterion were the proud British makers of Burnout. Up until they ruined it with Need for Speed Paradise. And now they just scrap Burnout altogether. Damn you EA
November 16th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Nice tour photos though Danger
November 16th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
so jealous of those photos
November 16th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Nanakai i know you didnt like burnout paradise, but the free roam 10 player online mp was awesome, perhaps incorporating that into a more traditional burnout mission ui etc. would help to get you back. One thing I will say is there isn’t a dev that supports their games better than Criterion. It’s a top notch company and I hope to be able to these guys stay in business as long as possible.
November 17th, 2010 at 6:36 am
Yeah I hated the sandbox Need for Speed style of it. I like Burnout when it was just a load and race arcade game. I only played Paradise the first time when I played that night with you lol
November 17th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
FYI some of the sites I have looked at and seen show this game on sale for $34.99 on black friday at Best Buy. Excellent price.
November 20th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Yeah you didn’t like the online cruise style with the individual road speed times based on your friends list? win of an idea. And it looks like I may be broke after x-mas once again.
November 21st, 2010 at 12:32 pm
can I play as CHP?
November 25th, 2010 at 12:42 am
only if I can be Ponch!!!!
November 30th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Did anyone pick this up on Black Friday for the discount. This was going to be one of my Black Friday Pickups until I got the FLU over the holiday. I am going to try to get this on Amazon once its on sale for a good price.