14 DAY TRIAL // The Need for Speed series gets back to its roots with the latest installment, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. The game is developed by Criterion, the studio behind the critically acclaimed Burnout: Paradise. The company is trying to fit in the best elements from every title in the franchise, making the game an open-world online experience that can be enjoyed both solo and with one’s friends.
The press release that accompanied the launch of NFS: Hot Pursuit at E3 had Craig Sullivan, creative director of the game, saying, “At Criterion, we’ve been playing Need for Speed since it was first introduced on 3DO. We are honored and excited by the opportunity to reinvent the franchise for today’s connected audience. Our goal has been to create cops vs. racers pursuits that are so fun, fast and exciting it really brings to life the adrenaline and intensity of the high speed cop pursuit experience with your friends.”
The career mode has gamers play as either cops or racers and engage in various race types either online or offline in the game's open-world environment entitled Seacrest Country. The virtual area will feature diverse backdrops like desert, forest, urban and mountainous regions, getting inspiration from California's coastline.
Criterion is aiming to make the title a social affair with Need for Speed Autolog, a system that is meant to connect friends to each other's game, allowing them to share photos, challenges or even race together with tremendous ease. The car roster announced is quite impressive, with names like the Lamborghini Reventon or Pagani Zonda Cinque to be featured in the title. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit will hit the store shelves on the 16th of November in North America and on the 18th of November in Europe for the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the PC. A Nintendo Wii version will be developed by a studio called Exient.