The words "hot pursuit" as they pertain to the Need for Speed franchise are something like holy ground to those who played HP1 (PS1) and even more so HP2 (PS2). They turned the genre on its ear with their level of polish and commitment to what they were trying to do—create exciting and brutal police chases with excellent vehicle handling and an awesome soundtrack. They were a sizable step forward in a genre that had gotten all too comfortable with rote driving in circles or otherwise non-interactive environments and track elements. Criterion had a tall task before them to live up to the legacy, but with several strong entries in their Burnout franchise under their belt, and an apparent sense that turning a new HP into something too akin to Burnout wouldn't be doing the series justice, I was confident they could handle the responsibility.
But something went wrong.
I remember after logging dozens of hours into Burnout Paradise and admiring the level of polish evident in every aspect of that title — though it wasn't quite perfect, mind you — I remembered another NFS game had come out: Undercover. I was none-too-thrilled with the over-emphasis on story in Most Wanted and Carbon, but if there's well executed, engaging gameplay and striking visuals, I'm inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt. While Most Wanted was decent enough, I got tired of Carbon's irritating challenges and linearity well before the finish. And I think we'd all like to forget about ProStreet.
So I rented Undercover and put up with the tedious acting long enough to get my hands on the steering wheel. That's where it all came apart. The game felt like a late PS2 budget title rather than a proper PS3 game. Jaggies, boring textures, uninspired visuals, tame city design, narcoleptic street layout, dull missions...the whole thing was an insufferable bore. And what with the minimal load times and embracing of the open-world design in Burnout Paradise, Undercover felt like a soulless, half-cooked turd. I played it for about an hour, realized there was nothing there I couldn't find better of someplace else, and shut it down.
I mention all this because I got a terribly strong sense of deja vu when I fired up the new Hot Pursuit.
The interface tries to be slick, tries to mimic the map layout from Burnout Revenge, which I guess shouldn't be unexpected given who the developer was. The title song rocked through the speakers and got me in the mood to give the game a fair shake after an underwhelming demo. I dove into the gameplay and it was nothing but disappointment from there. I honestly don't understand how the game's Metascore is 90 right now; it pales hard in comparison to so many other titles like it.
Article comments
1 - Emile
What a negative review.
I suggest that you learn how to play instead of being critical about this great game. Sure the handling takes time to get to but when you do is handles like a dream!
2 - Mark
If you're into sloppy handling, then yes, this is your dream game. The handling in any and all of the other games mentioned in this review and more (Burnout Paradise, MC:LA, Split/Second, TDU, Fuel, etc.) is far superior. Continue playing a broken game if it makes you happy.
3 - Emile
Well, kind a crazy that every other review is very positive. I don't think that is a coincidence.
and mentioning Fuel as a better handling game... Come on....
But Hey, Everyone is allowed to have an opinion, It's a shame that yours count for an official website like thi.s
4 - Jordan Richardson
Exactly, Mark. On an official website such as this, you need to learn to fall in line with "every other review" and tow the line. You're not not being paid to think, after all!
5 - Mark
Emile, go to Metacritic. Note the current 89 Metascore among "paid" review sites (I'll let you decide for yourself what "paid" means in that context). Then note the reader review section: 6.7. While a number of people flamed it for not supporting steering wheels -- another point I wasn't aware of because I don't use them, but no less valid a complaint for such a high profile title -- others had the same issues I did with subpar handling...people that publishers have no possible influence over. I'm not saying it's another Gerstmann-gate, but there's no history of anything until it happens.
Like Jordan said, why think for oneself when you can let others think for you? And again, if you want to keep playing the game, I'm not here to stop you. I'm here to warn others that it might not be everything the hype would lead you to believe.
6 - Mark
One point on Fuel...yes, there are a handful of cars that handle like ass, and races where you're restricted to those vehicles are painful. However, rides like the Dustgrinder provide solid traction and handling with a balance of speed, drifting, and maneuverability. In any case, the vehicles in Fuel at least handled differently from one another, something I did not find to be true in HP.
Plus, it actually embraced that whole open world thing, which HP completely ignored to its detriment.
7 - Emile
Mark, thanks for your reply.
Well, i have found this review due to www.gamestats.com and was kinda suprised by the low grade.
The game isn't perfect and there is much room for improvement. A single race option were you could choose all kinds of settings would be welcome. Also a splitsscreen option is missed very much.
I also think you have to grow a little into this title. when i first played the demo I thought it sucked very much. I't about getting used to the controls and knowing the sections of the tracks and then you can really fligh through the corners. I agree it has nothing to with realism though.
8 - Mark
Hi Emile. Glad this didn't devolve into a flame war. :) I was disappointed by the demo, but leaned a little too heavily on those words "not representative of final quality" since the demo basically was the first two races of the finished product, pixel for pixel.
I probably will give it another chance at some point -- god knows why -- but I feel like the pedigree of both the franchise and the developers should have produced some gleaming nugget that redeems all the irritating parts. Maybe I'll never find it. Maybe my expectations are too high.
But one thing is absolutely true: no two people like all the same things, one man's trash is another's treasure, and if someone out there is deriving joy from the experience this title offers, more power to them. But there is always a dissenting opinion.
Coincidentally, I also thought The Social Network was overhyped, very average, and had largely irredeemable characters, but that didn't stop it from winning multiple Golden Globes and making a sickening amount of money. If the movie came out 10 years from now rather than at the veritable height of Facebook's popularity, no one would care about it.
9 - trancer_
Wow. How come this review ends up on a site like gamestats is beyond me. Your language is totally innapropriate -especially in the comment section- and yet your aspire to be a professionnal? That is a joke. And on topic, I played every need for speed since I was a kid and I had a blast -like every other reviewer and no, I won't count prepubescent kids lowering the game with flaming.
I am seriously curious about your formation because this blog appears to be very amateur. Best of luck...
10 - Mark
I've played all the Need for Speed games as well, and I had a blast with SOME of them, but not nearly all of them.
Gamestats...hmm, a site that aggregates game review scores -- not sure what the mystery surrounding an appearance is there.
I don't aspire; I already am. I've been writing about games professionally for over a decade across several sites. Had I written a review you actually agreed with, I guarantee my credentials would not have come into question. Funny how that works.
Rather than try to bring me down to your level with lame personal insults, why don't you instead enlighten us all as to what is so fantastic about this utterly mediocre, undercooked title? Please, impart your wisdom on us poor, wretched dolts who clearly don't get it and aren't entitled to form our own opinions outside the tidy confines of advertising hype and "what this other site told me to say."
11 - trancer_
First of all, I did not attack you (apart maybe the sentence on your language but I still think what I said). Do not worry for me, I am fairly educated so I know that popular websites are merely a poor tentative to advertise some games. I like to make my own opinion about games (which are a hobby for me not a professionnal job therefore I can't/do not have the time to provide you with elaborated sentences on why I like this game).
I can safely say though that this iteration of NfS is satisfying enough that I'm confident we will see a sequel of equal if not superior quality. I highly suggest you give the game another try just for the sake of it (hell Criterion is behind it...). That will be all for now, have a good day.
12 - Jared
Mark, I know that you played the demo and not the final game, and although much of your review of the game is accurate, you should know that as the game progresses, your equipment gets upgraded. Helicopters eventually learn to follow a car through a tunnel, and will drop multiple spike strips. The EMP's get stronger and faster. The spike strips get wider, quicker and eventually you drop two at a time. Even the roadblocks upgrade to heavier and larger vehicles. So, eventually that becomes much more fun. On top of that, Criterion is all about the online experience. Hopping into an online game (even with people you don't know) is effortless and tons of fun. That's where this game really shines.
13 - Mark
Yes, I played the demo. Once. I bought the full game based on the insanely good reviews it was getting and (as mentioned) that promise of "this doesn't represent the final quality" disclaimer, and while upgraded gear would improve about 1% of the game, the sloppy vehicle handling and lack of online customization bring it back down for me.
Interesting that you say you "know" I only played the demo, since you don't unlock cars or see many of the event types in the demo, only the final release. How else would I know about all that?
I played the game for about 10 more hours and just didn't find anything more to keep me interested. Glad there are a lot of people apparently digging it, but I'm not among them.
Next bit of heresy -- I find that Treyarch CoD games have more features of interest (more co-op, private bot-matches with friends, etc.) to me than Infinity Ward CoDs.
14 - Jakob
I pretty much agree with the game being an either rushed or lazy rehash, and expect us to buy into it, like it was 50 pound cake for a dollar.
I was quite surprised by the reviews Metacritic had collected. With the sloppy, almost laggy, handling the cars have, and having literally nothing to identify the different cars with other than looks, I can't help but wonder, just how big a check the reviewers got, to kiss the game's butt.
I mean, I could forgive problems like the tedious "career mode", or the lacking point of free-roam, but the game's problems is rooted into the very core: The sloppy handling, the lack of car-individuality and the missing sense of speed, are things that cannot and should not, be forgiven.
Playing this game to drive is like paying for a book to use as a door stop.
15 - Thaniell
totally agree, it's a damn shame I didnt find this review before buying this crap. They've got a lot of interesting cool concepts in the game, yet manage to screw them all up.