Need For Speed Hot Pursuit: Burning Out

Unlike the majority of gamers across the world, I never got around to playing the Need For Speed series on a ritualistic basis. Maybe it’s because I’m so used to arcade racing perfection from developers like Sega and Criterion that NFS flew under the radar. Speaking of the latter, the developers behind Burnout are now given the creative reins for the next Need For Speed game; with their background of arcade-style theatrics and propensity for destruction, their upcoming re-imagining of NFS: Hot Pursuit is anything but tame.

The staples of the creators are laid bare from the demo I played at EA’s Asia Showcase yesterday.The sense of speed when you’re pushing 140MPH, the nitrous boost, the damage you inflict (and receive) that really shows: it’s all in there as I was playing the part of the cop in a tricked-up Lamborghini ReventÃ³n chasing after a Koenigsegg CCX. Instead of standard “reach the finish line” conventions, you have two roles to play: Cop and Racer. The Racer outruns the Cop by getting out of his/her detection range, while the Cop takes down the Racer by any means necessary. In addition to the nitrous boost mentioned above, each side has power-ups you can use via the controller’s D-pad. Cops have hit squads on air and roadblocks they can deploy, while the Racer has radar-jamming and decoys.

The way I see it, I’ll side more with the Cop since destruction and crashing into vehicles at high speeds is something I just do over and over in racing games. The Racer, with its “get out of Cop’s radar circle” mechanic, reminds me of those times I outrun cops in games like Grand Theft Auto IV, so that might gel well with some people who like to outrun people with their knowledge of track shortcuts. As a bonus, Racers can sometimes hide somewhere quiet, let the Cop drive by, and proceed to speed away at a different direction.

I should also point out that this is the first time Criterion’s working with an assortment of famous car brands. Current favorite speedsters (based on my viewing of Top Gear anyway) like the Bugatti Veryon, Lamborghini Murcielago, Porche 918 Spyder and Pagani Zonda will be selectable, though I’m not sure if it’ll take a while to unlock these bad boys in the full game.

The developers aren’t going to stop there. Creative Director Craig Sullivan mentioned that the “connected world” aspect of their past game Burnout Paradise will be present in Hot Pursuit. The system’s called Autolog, where you have a space that lets you know what achievements your friends have done in the game while you’re in a racing session. Just think of it as your own little Hot Pursuit-themed Facebook page, only with different high scores and bounties from your many friends on display. Online mode will be a blast; you can have up to eight players in any configuration like seven cops against one racer, four-against-four matches, and so forth.

Criterion’s entry into the Need For Speed franchise is looking up to be something fresh for the series that relies too much on its past “pimp my ride” and driving simulation gimmicks. With a potential open-world style of track selection and player-challenging, the Cops/Racers gameplay, and the arcade-style feel of the game, I’m already a believer. November 16th can’t come soon enough.

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5 Responses to “Need For Speed Hot Pursuit: Burning Out”

Automotive Update says:

March 13, 2011 at 1:27 pm

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akuma sho says:

September 11, 2010 at 6:25 pm

sounds good! glad to see this change of pace after need for speed: shift sucked whatever integrity’s left in the series.

Kenta says:

September 11, 2010 at 6:21 pm

I played at the EA Games Showcase 10 yesterday, and I did play the Hot Pursuit… by the way to people who went there in the morning, I was the guy with the red steelseries headphones

for me that game was something like a dream come true as one of my first PC games I ever played was the original Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit, and I have been waiting FOREVER for a new iteration of Hot Pursuit to come out…

although for me it was a pity that at the showcase, it was only available on the consoles as I am a PC gamer…but still it was still mostly worth it…

the demo that I played had me as a Reventon cop and chasing a Lambo SV… it was OK, except when I saw a few people playing, sometimes the AI gets “stuck” and does not move and this makes it really easy to catch them…I found that idea very idiotic and it seems more like a bug that EA should change so that it is a proper chase…

unlike the original, you would also have weapons to play around with…in the demo you only had a blockade but in the real one, you would have a heli, spike strip, and something else which I can’t remember…so there is some strategy involved

I agree with Mr. Toffee that it is better that this game is more arcade… which shows at stuff like the infinite nitros… which is ESSENTIAL in the game… although I wish criterion emphasized the effect that it had on the car such as blurriness or bigger flames XD…

in terms of the choice of cars, there will also be Infiniti (the high end brand of Nissan) there as well, since while racing, one of the cars I crashed into was that… so I believe that the player would also be able to drive that car.

- raptorstriker says:
  
  September 12, 2010 at 2:39 pm
  
  Kinda ironic how you liked the original Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, yet you want the latest game to be more arcade / gimmicky like Burnout. I would have thought that an old fan of the series would truly understand the soul of the Need for Speed franchise.
  
  While Hot Pursuit is not a simulation racer by nature, there is still a certain amount of respect given to manufacturers and their cars. In essence, NFS is about enjoying the sense of speed in a fun yet still believable way, which is why you are able to perform those powerslides around turns. Remember that unlike Burnout where the cars are entirely fictional, NFS deals with proper exotics and some level of realism has to remain, not just for gameplay-graphical reasons, but also reasons on the manufacturers’ part.
  
  - raptorstriker says:
    
    September 12, 2010 at 2:46 pm
    
    Also, how is infinite nitrous ‘essential’ to an arcade racer?
    
    The first few games did not feature nitrous at all and they were very well-received, in fact more so than the more recent titles. Nitrous only became popular around the time of underground racing / illegal street racing culture became prominent with shows like Fast and the Furious.
    
    Hot Pursuit is in a different class of racer – I don’t see any reason why a 200mph supercar would need nitrous to achieve the level of speed desired. It totally ruins the image of a proper supercar – so much effort has been put in to engineering and design in order to achieve the kind of acceleration and top speeds only to be insulted by nitrous.
    
    I can only assume Criterion is trying to attract the younger generation with the inclusion of nitrous in this year’s Hot Pursuit.