Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 5,266 reviews
  • graphics
  • gameplay
  • story
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit Game Cover
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit speeds past the arcade-racing competition with its deeply connected Autolog system, breathtaking visuals, and the thrill that comes with driving exotic cars at 200 mph while chasing, or escaping, your fellow racers.
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In Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, players engage in high-speed police chases, either as racers evading the law or as cops trying to bust them. The game features a variety of cars, diverse landscapes, and both single-player and multiplayer modes. With an emphasis on competitive social interaction, players can compete with friends and climb online leaderboards.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Cloud
  • Ea Origin
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 5,266 reviews
graphics497 positive mentions
story91 negative mentions
  • graphics787 mentions

    The graphics of "Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit" have received widespread praise for their impressive quality, especially considering the game was released in 2010. Many players note that the visuals still hold up well today, with beautiful car models and varied environments that enhance the racing experience. Despite some criticisms regarding limited graphical options and occasional performance issues, the overall consensus is that the game offers eye-catching graphics that remain appealing even over a decade later.

    • “Eye pleasing graphics, decent variety of cars and cool cop/racer gadgets that make pursuits really intense.”
    • “And even this game is 14 years old now, the graphics are still looking good.”
    • “Need for speed: hot pursuit has some impressive graphics for a 2010 game.”
    • “The graphics are completely screwed and pixelated, and the shadows basically fill the entire car, which is great, isn't it?”
    • “Graphics are pretty damn mediocre by today's standards; also, the action cam in the 'career' mode that suddenly pauses the game to zoom in and slow down on any cop cars you come across is really annoying and causes me to crash most of the time.”
    • “The graphics are nowhere near to the store page screenshots - in fact, they are just promo renders.”
  • gameplay480 mentions

    The gameplay of "Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit" is characterized by fast-paced racing and engaging cop-chase mechanics, offering a mix of arcade-style driving and strategic use of equipment like spike strips and EMPs. While many players appreciate the tight controls and satisfying drifting mechanics, some criticize the repetitive nature of the gameplay and the presence of unskippable cutscenes that disrupt the flow. Overall, it delivers an enjoyable experience with impressive graphics, though opinions vary on the handling and depth of gameplay.

    • “The driving mechanics are tight and responsive, making it easy to pull off impressive drifts and maneuvers.”
    • “With tight driving mechanics, impressive graphics, and a great soundtrack, this game is sure to provide hours of entertainment.”
    • “The gameplay is an absolute blast; you should definitely buy it.”
    • “Trash full of bugs and too long cutscenes between each gameplay (like 30 seconds to play 2 minutes).”
    • “Game's a joke and the online gameplay is full of cheaters and software hackers!”
    • “Gameplay is terrible and the driving is horrible.”
  • story370 mentions

    The game's story is largely absent, with players primarily engaging in a series of missions as either a cop or a racer, lacking any significant narrative or character development. While some players appreciate the straightforward racing mechanics and the focus on gameplay over story, many express disappointment over the lack of a cohesive plot or engaging storyline, making the experience feel repetitive and disconnected. Overall, the absence of a compelling story is seen as a major flaw, though the racing itself remains enjoyable for those who prioritize gameplay.

    • “If you have a potato PC but want to play something that has both a good storyline, good graphics, and good gameplay, this is the game for you.”
    • “While the story may not be the game's strongest aspect, it serves its purpose by providing context to the races and challenges.”
    • “The game is very grindy where you need to complete very similar races and missions on the same roads over and over again to proceed only to do it over again with a slightly faster car.”
    • “There is no story or characters.”
    • “There’s no story in this game.”
    • “The bounty progression system and story in general is very one-dimensional, which I think is the game's main flaw.”
  • music324 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising the soundtrack as nostalgic and fitting for racing, while others criticize it as generic, muffled, or poorly curated. Many users express disappointment over the lack of recognizable tracks and the inability to customize the playlist, leading some to prefer playing their own music instead. Overall, while some enjoy the soundtrack, a significant number find it lacking compared to earlier titles in the series.

    • “The game's soundtrack is also top-notch, with a great selection of songs that really get your heart pumping.”
    • “The music is amazing and the physics are better than the newer Need for Speed games.”
    • “The soundtrack is fantastic, too.”
    • “The music in this game is very bad and I mean that.”
    • “The soundtrack is so awful I just switched it off, which is an easy fix, but this is where it gets worse.”
    • “The chase music sounds less like music that would be in a racing game and sounds more like a boss battle that would be in Final Fantasy.”
  • optimization87 mentions

    The game's optimization is a mixed bag, with some players reporting smooth performance and minimal stuttering, while others experience significant frame drops and poor performance even on high-end systems. There is a notable lack of car customization options, which detracts from the overall experience, and some users suggest that the game is better suited for console play due to its optimization issues on PC. Overall, while it runs well for some, many players find it poorly optimized, especially for newer hardware.

    • “It's well optimized.”
    • “The gameplay is rich and full of excitement and the optimization of the world is unbelievable.”
    • “Great game, great graphics, optimized, recommend!”
    • “The game is so poorly optimized for newer hardware, and the fact that it doesn't have controller support makes me want to give up.”
    • “First of all, the performance is lousy despite exceeding the minimum requirements (this game is 8 years old after all), so I guess it's just very poorly optimized for newer machines, at least for mine.”
    • “Other than that, the game runs very poorly in both low and high graphic settings, with common heavy frame drops and stuttering. It shouldn't be the case for an 8-year-old game played on any recent half-decent gaming PC.”
  • stability33 mentions

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with users reporting frequent crashes, bugs, and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay. While some players note that it runs well on various hardware, including older systems, many others experience frustrating freezes and issues, particularly with online features. Overall, the game is described as a buggy mess, detracting from an otherwise enjoyable experience.

    • “It even runs great on most office computers.”
    • “The Need for Speed series are brilliant games and this one runs great on nearly anything made in the last ten years.”
    • “It runs great on modern hardware and looks amazingly good for an old game.”
    • “Awful controls, buggy interface, can't remove keybindings, crashes for no reason.”
    • “This game is riddled with glitches and freezing.”
    • “The game - as a story/concept is great, but the fact that it crashes/freezes is really a pain.”
  • replayability32 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players finding it enjoyable due to the variety of modes and the ability to replay races, while others criticize it for a lack of content beyond the main campaign and repetitive gameplay. Although some users mention decent replay value, particularly with the option to customize vehicles or engage in time trials, many agree that once the main objectives are completed, the game offers limited incentive to return. Overall, it seems to provide around 30-40 hours of entertainment, but the absence of online features and varied challenges diminishes its long-term appeal.

    • “This game has more replayability than any other NFS game.”
    • “Very fun and varied single player campaign with loads of replayability.”
    • “It's an addictive racing game with very good replay value.”
    • “There's very little replay value once you complete both careers and unlock everything there is to unlock.”
    • “No replay value and it's just the same repetitive race over and over and over like 50 times for each side, which I was a cop mostly because of the damn AI.”
    • “What prevents this game from a higher score is the scale of the game; it is very heavily focused on its mechanics without much else, which makes it a bit dry and soulless. Once you're done with the single-player events, there is not much else to do; it does not offer much replayability outside wanting to beat a friend with the autolog feature.”
  • humor29 mentions

    The humor in the game is largely derived from the absurdity of the AI, particularly the police, who often make comically poor decisions, such as rubberbanding into walls or their own spike strips. Players find the chaotic gameplay and exaggerated physics amusing, especially when playing with friends, despite some frustrations with handling and mechanics. Overall, the game is described as a fun, if flawed, experience that elicits laughter through its ridiculous scenarios.

    • “To use spikes, they will rubberband in front of you, even when you're going extremely fast, which is very funny because half the time the extreme speed causes them to rubberband right into a wall, traffic, or even their own spike strips.”
    • “Funny to play with friends.”
    • “This game is so hilarious and fun, even though it's dated.”
  • grinding27 mentions

    Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often requiring them to replay similar races and missions to unlock vehicles and power-ups. The presence of unskippable cutscenes and lengthy progress bars adds to the frustration, making the experience feel unnecessarily drawn out. While some players appreciate the variety in cars and equipment, the overall sentiment leans towards grinding being a significant drawback that detracts from the enjoyment of the game.

    • “It can be a bit grindy sometimes, but the rewards make it worth it.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding, but the progression is satisfying.”
    • “The game is very grindy where you need to complete very similar races and missions on the same roads over and over again to proceed, only to do it over again with a slightly faster car.”
    • “The real turnoff is the fact you will not unlock the best cars or power-ups in the game without excessive grinding or playing online, which the game seems to put a big focus on.”
    • “For every minute of driving, I had to suffer through one minute of non-skippable cutscenes, which after the 10th time watching are beyond infuriatingly boring and tedious.”
  • monetization25 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with users appreciating the absence of microtransactions but criticizing the overwhelming presence of unskippable advertisements and cutscenes. Many feel that the game is more of an interactive advertisement than a standalone experience, with excessive corporate branding detracting from gameplay. Overall, while there are no in-game purchases, the intrusive ads and lengthy intro sequences have left players frustrated.

    • “There are no microtransactions!”
    • “A good NFS series with no in-game purchases.”
    • “No in-game purchases like Most Wanted and all the others, so that's a bonus (and it's sad that I have to say that).”
    • “The game should be called NFS: advertisements and too many unskippable videos.”
    • “Unskippable ads, unskippable tutorial, unskippable intro videos - 15 minutes and that's before you even get to the menu.”
    • “Somewhere under this mess of forced account creation and logins, unskippable videos, advertisements and shoddily shoehorned-in pseudo social networking nonsense, there is a great arcade racing game.”
  • emotional10 mentions

    Players express a lack of emotional investment in the game, citing a boring storyline and frustrating gameplay mechanics that detract from the overall experience. While the racing can be fun, issues like clunky controls, unskippable cutscenes, and the inability to customize cars lead to feelings of disappointment and detachment. Overall, the emotional engagement is hampered by technical flaws and a perceived stagnation in the series' evolution.

    • “The problem with this game is the lack of emotional investment or attachment from the player.”
    • “I have played all the titles coming out since the Need for Speed up until Carbon, which made me feel they just ran out of things to improve.”
    • “Also, you can't customize your car, which to me was kind of heartbreaking.”
    • “The emotional depth of the story felt lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
    • “I found the emotional moments to be forced and unconvincing, which detracted from the overall experience.”
    • “Despite the game's attempts at emotional storytelling, it ultimately fell flat and left me feeling indifferent.”
  • atmosphere9 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning maps and immersive landscapes, reminiscent of classic Need for Speed titles. Reviewers highlight the balance between realistic and cartoony elements, contributing to a thrilling experience filled with adrenaline. However, some cut scenes are noted to detract from the overall atmosphere.

    • “The map is so stunning with amazing roads and atmosphere.”
    • “In my opinion, this is the best Need for Speed game out there - it brings back the atmosphere of the classic NFS games from the 90s.”
    • “Pure adrenaline within great atmospheric landscapes.”
    • “It's killing the atmosphere outright.”
    • “However, it still preserves the feel of speed, handling, and atmosphere of the original.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

89% average critic score

Buy Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

Play time

18hMedian play time
27hAverage play time
14hMain story
31hCompletionist
8-34hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 14 analyzed playthroughs

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