Xbox

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

EA’s latest addition to the acclaimed Need for Speed series is here and it’s easily one of the best yet – Hot Pursuit 2 mixes exotic super cars, high speed police chases and some hardcore arcade-style racing for a heart-pumping, extremely fun-filled game. The game boasts an impressive track and car roster and has a rather well employed rewards system in place, and is certainly one of the better racers out on Xbox at the moment.

There was a time, before Gran Turismo, when racing games were free from competing in an endless game of "Who’s got the biggest garage?" Back then, all people demanded were some well-designed tracks, a nice selection of sports cars, and solid-feeling control. Games didn’t have to have their physics calculated down to the last drag coefficient, and they didn’t need to make sure they had the original paint colors available for the 1984 Honda Civic. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is a throwback to those days, and is a refreshing alternative to the time-consuming and oftentimes grueling technical driving of Sega GT, Gran Turismo 3 and the like.

Finally this game comes packed with game modes. Hot Pursuit mode puts you in over 30 very different events, ranging from delivering a Lotus Elise to a specific point on the track to being the cop and filling your quota of arrests within the allotted time. Championship mode is similar to Hot Pursuit mode except in this mode it's all about racing.

Xbox-Besitzer werden sich verwundert die Augen reiben. Denn außer dem ausgefeilten Streckendesign, der guten Steuerung und den grundlegenden Spielmodi ist kaum etwas von dem übrig geblieben, was bei der PS2-Fassung für den Award gesorgt hat. Grafisch auf den ersten Blick zwar recht eindrucksvoll, können sich Ruckler hier und da nicht verstecken - was um so unverständlicher ist, wenn man sich die Detailfreude auf der PS2 anschaut, die auf der Xbox bei Weitem nicht erreicht wird. Dass bei dieser Fassung ein anderes Team verantwortlich ist, merkt man dem Spiel schon vom ersten Moment an an. In jeder Hinsicht schwächer als die PS2-Version kann sich Hot Pursuit 2 zwar als recht kurzweiliger, aber letzten Endes wenig langlebiger und nur leicht über dem Durchschnitt liegender Genre-Vertreter präsentieren. Schade, denn hier werden zahllose Möglichkeiten verschenkt und Fans, die neidisch auf die PS2 schauen müssen, gnadenlos hinters Licht geführt.

All in all, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is a pretty fun racing game. It has great controls, awesome cars, cool tracks, and a great multiplayer mode. Playing by yourself could use some work, but if you don't mind the unintelligent cops, or the racers that seem to ignore everything around them, there are 33 cool levels to enjoy. This game is definitely worth a rent, and if you're craving for a racing game right now, this is not a bad option.

Overall, I like the style of this new Need For Speed, but even after countless iterations, there's still room for improvement.

Electronic Arts recently released three versions of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit II, the sequel to the 1998 arcade-style racing game, Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. This fast-paced driving game is currently available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube, with a PC version to follow at the end of the month. You'd expect that the console versions of this game to be identical, but strangely enough, they're not. While the Xbox and GameCube iterations of Hot Pursuit II are in fact exact ports of one another, they're markedly different from their PlayStation 2 cousin, and in this case, "different" doesn't mean "better." In short, the Xbox and GameCube versions of Hot Pursuit II have slightly detuned graphics, mushier controls, and inexplicably, a variety of minute but tangible ommissions from the PlayStation 2 game.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is a decent, but flawed arcade racer. The problem any developer will have when making a racing game for the Xbox is how to make it stand out in an already crowded genre full of excellent racing games. Neither the police-chasing aspect nor the brand name are enough to help elevate this game into the upper-echelon of Xbox racing games.

Despite it's dilapidated state when compared with the PlayStation 2 version, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 for the Xbox is still a fun arcade racer. It's one of those games where it seems like the most illogical thing that can happen regularly does (like a car coming in the other lane at the exact wrong time), but the adrenaline rush from the police chases keeps you coming back for one more try. It's no technical marvel, but with plenty of cars and tracks to unlock and high-speed thrills it's worth a look. But if you own both systems pick up the PlayStation 2 version instead.

La difficulté quasi-inexistante du titre lui nuit terriblement. On a beau prendre pas mal de plaisir à rouler dans des voitures que l'on ne possédera sans doute jamais, le jeu est bien trop court pour tenir sur la durée. De plus, la réalisation graphique n'est pas toujours bluffante par rapport à ce que la console peut offrir.