Once upon a time, Need for Speed was synonymous with some of the best in the car game genre, but it’s starting to get a long time ago now. By all means, the series delivers good features now and then even these days, but we are going far back in the archive to find a truly unique Need for Speed game.
In fact, we have to go all the way back to 2010 and the launch of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, when we clinked with a clear 9/10 on the review dice. And it was with good reason, all the time it was an excellent game with solid variety, excellent driving characteristics and enormous sense of speed.
Then it is perhaps no wonder that it is precisely this game that EA, Criterion and Stellar Entertainment have now chosen to refurbish and re-release in the lord’s year 2020. The game comes to all today’s consoles – Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – as well as PC during November. We have tested the new edition and let ourselves fall in love again.
Driftkongen
If you, like me, do not immediately feel the name Stellar Entertainment, I can state that it is the same studio that was behind 2018 edition of Burnout Paradise. And the makes immediate sense as I throw myself behind the wheel of the 2020 version of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.
Now, as then, we are served a refurbishment that in no way revolutionizes the graphic expression or makes it look like a brand new game, but which still gives us a clear visual upgrade. The biggest improvements are in the cars and the user interface, but also the surroundings you drive through have been given a new coat of paint.
There is great variety in the game’s fictional Seacrest County, from barren deserts and deep forests, to high mountains and long coastlines. It is beautiful and colorful, and the visual whole is especially impressive when you drive by for several hundred kilometers per hour.
Especially the operation feels fantastic.
For there is one thing this game – and this new edition – really “nails”, it is the feeling of speed and excitement. It goes so incredibly fast, and without going at the expense of control: Both on straight country roads, in wide turns and “off-piste” you walk a delicate balance between complete control and loose madness. And it feels absolutely amazing, especially the drifting.
Bilkamp
An important part of this is the exceptionally deer cars you get at your disposal both in the role of police and driver. As in 2010, the game is still divided into two unique campaigns, where you can freely choose whether you want to drive as or from the long arm of the law. The two have slightly different running challenges and playing styles, and the freedom to switch back and forth at any time is very welcome.
They both get access to different weapons eventually, where among other things both can lay down nail mats; robbers can use turbo at irregular intervals; and the police can call for roadblocks and helicopters as the patrol hunts escalate.
As in the Criterion’s Burnout series, there is also a great focus on smashing opponents’ cars, and the violent collisions – where supercars crash into a slow motion film – look better than ever in Hot Pursuit Remastered.
Something new, very old
Otherwise, there is not much new in this edition of the game. The developers have fine-tuned the multiplayer section with crossplay between all versions of the game, both for direct car racing and the built-in Autolog feature.
The latter was an ever so small revolution ten years ago, when one could suddenly cope with friends’ best times and scores anytime and anywhere. It does not feel as groundbreaking these days, but the competitive instinct in me still appreciates the constant reminders of when I can break a record and how many seconds I may have to catch up to do so.
The progression has also changed somewhat, in that all released downloadable content is now baked into the official campaign. This ensures a more streamlined experience, with small quality changes, new challenges and up to six hours of new car fun for those who never invested in the extra content back then.
All in all, in other words, there is a lot to take away from here, and I think both new and returning riders will find plenty to enjoy in Hot Pursuit Remastered.
Conclusion
The new edition of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit seems to be on about the same level as the 2018 edition of Burnout Paradise in terms of refurbishment work, and manages in the same way to capture the phenomenal sense of speed and solid driving experience Criterion delivered around the beginning of last decade.
It’s terribly fast, and it’s incredibly nice to see how both graphics, sound image and driving characteristics come together to create a hectic and uncompromising car game experience, even ten years later. Autolog complements it all by constantly offering new best times, achievements and challenges you can compete with your friends for.
The visual overhaul is not enormously extensive, but it is still quite nice, and all the time the original game was very nice even then, it is a respectable graphic package we are served here. The surroundings still have just as much fun to offer, and the variety is also nothing to complain about.
Extra exciting is that the developers have now baked all of the extra content into the two campaigns, so that you get a holistic experience that really seems to be the ultimate version of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered launches on November 6 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC (tested). The game will then be released on the Nintendo Switch on November 13th.
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