Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2010

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Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is the 16th installment in the long-running Need for Speed series of racing games developed by Criterion Games (best known as the makers of the Burnout series), Wii version by Exient Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. Announced in early 2010, the installment is being described as a "revolutionary" addition to NFS and is supposed to capture the nostalgic style and feel of Need for Speed Hot Pursuit while containing more advanced gameplay and modern graphics. This is also the first NFS game to use the new Autolog, which acts as a social networking system for the game, allowing players to challenge their friends, get the latest news and download DLCs.

On November 22, 2010 EA released the Time Savers Pack on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for both SCPD and racer vehicles. On November 26, 2010 the first PC patch was released, which fixes quad-core CPU crashes, corrupted dreamshots in non-16:9 ratios, missing rain, snow and corona effects, CL Eye driver crashing the game and adds a new D-Box motion chair support feature.

Contents

Summary

  • Developer: Criterion Games
  • Publisher: Electronic Arts
  • Release dates: November 16th 2010 (North America) and November 19th 2010 (Europe)
  • Available on: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii

Game features

Gameplay

High-speed police chases and exotic cars, the defining elements of Hot Pursuit, are definitely featured. Primarily inspired by the original Need for Speed on 3DO, it'll feature full career modes for both racer and cop, with both sides having their own power-ups such as calling for roadblocks and radar jamming. It'll also include a social networking feature dubbed "Autolog". An experience system called "Bounty" has been confirmed, although this is unrelated to the bounty seen in Need for Speed Most Wanted (rather, it is used to extend your SCPD cop rank or wanted level, unlocking new equipment, cars and other things on the way). Criterion has described it as more realistic than Burnout Paradise, but less than a simulator, such as Need for Speed SHIFT. Free roam is also available, however unlike in previous installments, the police do not chase you in it, but it is merely for exploring and taking snapshots. There are 20 levels to each side (cops and racers), the highest being "ultimate enforcer" and "most wanted", respectively. Players can add custom soundtracks to the game in the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, but this can't be done on PC and other platforms.

The game features no customization, only paint jobs, thus staying true to NFS's roots. The Wii version, however, has the same customization system carried over from Need for Speed Nitro. Cockpit view is also absent. Each side has its own weapons that they can use against the other. The weapons range in levels, each higher level being more effective and damaging to the opponent. The game also has a rear view mirror for the car you are driving, in order to keep track of the cars behind you and place spike strips as well.

It is worth noting that although Ferraris made a comeback for the first time in the Need for Speed franchise in seven years as part of a Need for Speed SHIFT DLC, they are once again absent in this game, unlike the previous two Hot Pursuit titles. However, the game exclusively features the Porsche 918 Spyder.

A screenshot of the game, taken from "The Ultimate Road Car" preview race featuring the McLaren F1.

Weapons

Racers

  • Radar jamming: Or simply just "jammer", it allows you to disable the police radar for a limited period of time, disabling their map and rendering them unable to use any attacks. This also terminates any EMPs they have locked on you. The higher the level, the longer and more efficiently it works.
  • Spike strips: Can be placed behind a police vehicle. If hit, the cop car will be slowed down and damaged. Exact amount of damage depends. The higher the level, the longer and wider the spike strip will be, as well as the ability to scatter multiple.
  • Turbo: Gives you a sudden and extreme boost of speed that can be used to overtake other racers, cops and evade EMP attacks. They work best on straights when you are already significantly in front, otherwise you risk crashing or getting hit by a spike strip. The higher the level, the faster it lets you accelerate and for a longer time.
  • Electromagnetic pulse: Referred to by its abbreviation "EMP", this allows you to lock on a target and after a few seconds strike them with a high-intensity, short duration burst of electromagnetic energy. It works best when it is hit when your opponent is making a turn, however it is best to know the route, as a sharp turn, shortcut or even your rival simply accelerating faster can cause you to miss. The higher the level, the more damage it causes and the less it takes to lock on.

Police

  • Roadblocks: Allows you to call for a roadblock to try and slow down the racer. There is, however, a gap that the speeder can aim at to escape.
  • Spike strips: Can be placed behind a racer's vehicle. If hit, the car will be slowed down and damaged. Exact amount of damage depends. The higher the level, the longer and wider the spike strip will be, as well as the ability to scatter multiple.
  • Helicopter: Allows you to summon a police helicopter. Although they have a limited amount of fuel, they last for a fair amount of time and are good at following the target. Once they reach a suitable point, they will drop a spike strip for the target to hit, or in some cases (shown in the cutscene), they can drop a spike strip right on top of the speeding vehicle, causing extra damage.
  • Electromagnetic pulse: Referred to by its abbreviation "EMP", this allows you to lock on a target and after a few seconds strike them with a high-intensity, short duration burst of electromagnetic energy. It works best when it is hit when your opponent is making a turn, however it is best to know the route, as a sharp turn, shortcut or even your rival simply accelerating faster can cause you to miss. The higher the level, the more damage it causes and the less it takes to lock on.

Demo

The Need for Speed Hot Pursuit demo was released on October 26th, on the PlayStation Store and the Xbox Live Marketplace. Players got a chance to try out the new Autolog system and get 500 bounty in the full version. The PC version was not released. The demo ended on November 9th.

Setting

A map of Seacrest County.

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is set in Seacrest County, an entirely open world map which is four times larger than Paradise City, seen in Burnout Paradise. The police department in the game is dubbed SCPD (Seacrest County Police Department).

With its vast open-world, Seacrest County is the perfect place to get your fix for high-speed racing (or chasing) action. There are several diverse locales throughout – coast, desert, forest, and mountain – with unique features to provide each side of the law with certain benefits and challenges. One strong suggestion we'd make is to drive around the county a few times on your own before taking part in any pursuits. Get familiar with the beautiful scenery and its many hidden shortcuts.

System requirements

  • Operating system: Windows XP (SP3) / Windows Vista / Windows 7
  • CPU: Intel Core® 2 Duo 1.8 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHZ / 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 space: 8 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 devices: keyboard, optional controller / Keyboard, joystick optional (Xbox 360 controller for Windows)

Source: Wikipedia article

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