9.25/10

A $200,000 Lamborghini tears down a mountain pass, the pavement beneath its tires barely wider than a goat path (www.lamborghini.com).  Its brakes screeching as it rounds a corner, the Lamborghini overtakes its nemesis, a similarly-priced Porsche Panamera Turbo, and rockets down the mountainside at over 200 miles per hour.  But what’s this? Sirens blare and lights flash as a police car settles into pursuit behind the racing Lambo.  Not any ordinary cop car though, the lawman closing the gap is behind the wheel of…a Ford GT.

This is Need for Speed. Or at least, Need for Speed the way it was meant to be.  Ever since the blockbuster titles Underground 2 and Most Wanted of several years ago, the storied franchise had fallen on hard times.  Games like Prostreet and Undercover failed to capture the high review scores that their predecessors had, while rival franchise Burnout wowed the gaming world with its landmark entry Burnout Paradise (www.ign.com, www.gameinformer.com). Apparently whoever was in charge of the Need for Speed brand decided that “if you can’t beat them, join them.”  Developer Criterion Games, which created Burnout Paradise, was brought in on the Need for Speed bandwagon, and the latest entry in the series, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, is the result.

Some people, though, have a hard time accepting Criterion at the helm of the franchise, such as sophomore Ian Solomon, who said, “Need for Speed was better when it was NFS, not Burnout: Hot Pursuit.”

Hot Pursuit is, at its core, a straight-up arcade-style racer, with at least as much in common with Mario Kart as with Gran Turismo. The graphics are remarkably detailed, both with the cars and surrounding environments, crash damage is thoroughly detailed, and a large stable of supercars is available to choose from.  However, with the obvious inclusion of nitrous boost, in addition to a full weapons loadout for both racers and cops, the game is thoroughly set in the arcade genre.  The fact that cars can effortlessly drift around corners adds to the fun while detracting from realism, as well.

In the end, though, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit knows exactly what it wants to be: a good game.  From heart-pounding pursuits by the ocean to straight-up drag racing in the desert, the game has all the tools necessary to be a lasting addition to any game collection.