Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 193 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 118 out of 193
  2. Mixed: 62 out of 193
  3. Negative: 13 out of 193
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  1. Evan
    Nov 18, 2005
    10
    Sick Game! Super fun in every way. Try using a steering wheel it is so much fun. The cops are way funner in this game than in the first one because they arent perfect. The only thing that could make this better is if my computer didnt crash when i was 70% or so done.
  2. EARACERTHENEED
    Mar 3, 2003
    9
    This is an awesome game buy IT NOW!
  3. StevevandeHeuvel
    Jan 7, 2003
    9
    It lacks the car damage, and the mode A.I is too easy. The graphics and excellent multiplayer make up for it though. Thumbs up from me!
  4. MikeXDevil
    Feb 10, 2003
    8
    I think this game is great, very good graphics, fun fast paced game. The problem i have with it is that you can't tune your car! I loved tuning my car in NFS High Stakes, and my tuned cars kicked ass. Overall, it's a good game, but if you like racing sims like the Gran Turismo series, then stay far away from this game.
  5. Willmo
    Aug 7, 2003
    8
    Very cool graphics, wicked cars.
  6. SlawomirJ.
    Nov 26, 2002
    8
    Well, I give 8.5. If you like arcade racing then it's game for you. It's fast and action-filled. Graphics is fantastic (on GeForce4 Ti4200 and above).
  7. BertT.
    Apr 2, 2003
    10
    :O WOW.
  8. KarlD.
    Nov 5, 2002
    9
    Wow this game is a hell of a ride! The cars are just great ingame, tracks are nice and the soundtrack is absolutely awesome. The modes in the game are entertaining enough to keep you going for some time. Multiplayer is superb as the game runs sooo smooth. Very good racing game.
  9. JamesBond
    Feb 13, 2003
    10
    Finally a game with the all time greatest exotic...Ferrari. The Modena Challenge summs the entire ferrari line-up... Thanks EA for the newest Need for Speed!
  10. PashaSonic
    Feb 26, 2003
    10
    The best game ever!!!
  11. Jack
    Mar 13, 2003
    10
    Awesome game. Unbeatable graphics, timeless tracks, and sweet ass cars. Not much more you could ask for.
  12. Robert
    Mar 22, 2003
    9
    Wow! Very funny game, good graphics and sound effects and a lot of action!
  13. Phil
    Apr 3, 2003
    9
    Beats the ass off GT3. Far more bang for your buck!
  14. AntonZ.
    Jul 23, 2003
    9
    Bad Ass Game !!!!!!
  15. Justin
    Jan 26, 2004
    10
    Great cars, graphics, levels, and every thing!!!!
  16. BanM.
    Apr 14, 2005
    10
    Really cool, and fun. Cool music too. TOTAL ACTION.
  17. RicardoM.
    Nov 12, 2002
    9
    This game is the best of the EA Games. The cars are real we can chage the graphics, controls, etc. Do not forget the patch who is out now. Well, what i have to say more? Is better than the Need For Speed 5 Porsche Unleashed but one problem: the cars. We can't addon different cars who is very bad.
  18. HasaanG.
    Dec 27, 2002
    9
    Well, its the best NFS I've played in a while. I love arcade racers and this one certainly makes its marks. Really enjoyable game.
  19. Kevin-Blueberry
    Nov 16, 2011
    8
    Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, I love this game, and not just because of childhood memories. I've never played the console version of the game, so I can't make that comparison, but I'll say the PC version is no doubt the best NFS game I've played, and I've played everyone to date that was available on the Xbox or Xbox 360 (Besides The Run) including some of the older PC titles. I'mNeed For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, I love this game, and not just because of childhood memories. I've never played the console version of the game, so I can't make that comparison, but I'll say the PC version is no doubt the best NFS game I've played, and I've played everyone to date that was available on the Xbox or Xbox 360 (Besides The Run) including some of the older PC titles. I'm actually ashamed of the newer games butchering the Need For Speed franchise by catering to larger audience by putting in explosions and on foot sequences, which is totally not true Need For Speed. I mean, I think all was going well for Need For Speed up until Undercover, which took the series into a new direction in a bad way. Hot Pursuit 2 features 3 basic modes plus multi-player (which doesn't appear to feature cops at all). There's Hot Pursuit which is a non-story based career mode, where you complete challenges in increasingly faster cars, including circuit, knockout and point to point races. Timed challenges and then Be The Cop where you must ram and arrest a minimum number of racers to succeed. Best of all, unlike the newer games, you don't need to place first, eliminating a lot of the frustration. If you're having trouble getting first, no problem, you can pass with 3rd. Worth mentioning is that in Hot Pursuit mode, all of the challenges have cops somewhere, whether it's the AI or you. There's then Championship mode, which is basically the opposite, a bunch of races with absolutely no cops anywhere. Then there's just the plain race mode, where the game's points system comes in. You gain points both for playing in the custom races mode, or by completing challenges in the career mode. You then spend these to buy new cars and tracks for race mode. In Race mode, you can choose Single Race, Be the Cop, Knockout, Tournament and Free Run. Most of which you can toggle settings like police, traffic and number of racers. However, there is a lack of the "Time of day" option, which was featured in previous games. A couple of tracks take place at night, but most take place during various times of the day, which is disappointing. There's also a new wanted system, as you are in a race and get in multiple pursuits, you will get more stars in the next pursuit. And these affect how the cops behave, not only increasing the pursuit length, but the cops will begin calling in backup including an extra cop to pursue, helicopter and roadblocks/spikestrips (all of which you can use in Be the Cop mode). Also, unlike previous games, there's a larger variety of cop cars, as the majority of the game's cars (but not all) have police variants. All of the cop cars are the same however, they all have this very generic logo and black and white finish, and same lightbar. Luckily though (best part about the PC version, most likely) is mods! Download new skins including mods that make the cop cars headlights flash and even entirely new police cars. Beware however, I would recommend only using skins or modified versions of the cars already in-game. I have seen many issues with downloading entirely new cars such as Dodge Charger for example, which isn't already in game, which usually results in you having to re-install the game. There's also modded tracks and more, all of which are fairly easy to install assuming you can follow instructions. Anyway, that concludes my review of Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2. Buy? Yes. Sad thing is this game is nowhere to be found, probably only way is to pirate it and send an apology letter to EA. Excellent game, buy nao.… Expand
  20. Asoun
    Mar 20, 2013
    10
    Absolutely brilliant, moddable Need for Speed game. On PC with a driving wheel, it was amazing to drive around and run from cops chasing you, to T-bone other cars so they would get booked by the ever present police. With this game you could either play as a racer, or a cop; and this simple detail is what made the game so fun.
    The police were completely balanced, the helicopters dropped    Absolutely brilliant, moddable Need for Speed game. On PC with a driving wheel, it was amazing to drive around and run from cops chasing you, to T-bone other cars so they would get booked by the ever present police. With this game you could either play as a racer, or a cop; and this simple detail is what made the game so fun.
    The police were completely balanced, the helicopters dropped flaming (or smoking, rather) barrels in your path, calling for backup made another two police join the pursuit, and calling for spike traps spawned police and a spike strip in the middle of an avoidable road, if you knew the shortcuts.

    The game had progression and you would earn money to unlock better and better cars, it didn't have an overly-aggressive customisation system, like the newer NFS titles, you picked the colour of the car you wanted to drive, and they were all gathered into 'classes', that you would only race against cars from that class. (Balanced also, mind you, the slowest car in a class could match the fastest car, if you were good enough.)

    Playing as police was extremely fun, there were police-exclusive cars, whose speed and handling were near the top-rated car in each class, and you could ram into the racers to subdue them from damaging or just making them stop next to you. A skilled police officer could slide horizontally infront of cars to make them stop (a good racer can get out of this maneuver, but that's my secret and you can catch as many racers as you want in police mode, as 'on patrol' they keep spawning, and you get face against random cars, they take different shortcuts each time, it never gets old (and it's a very good way to learn the tracks.)

    Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 had a wide selection of tracks to choose from, from Italian winding, hilly roads, to flatland perfect-for-speed demon straights, the library takes you from the mountainous alps, to the american woodland and you can race across the world in as many of the 2002-era exotic Opel Speedsters, Porsche Carreras and Lotus Elises as you want, not to mention the inclusion of many people's favourites, the Dodge Viper and Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

    With Hot Pursuit 2 having open resource files, you can edit .ini files of any car to make it have as much (or as little) speed as you want, give each car 1kg of weight and watch them fly off the highway, or replace any car texture to whatever model or make of dishwasher you find on the internet.

    This game gives countless hours of enjoyment and fun and earns from me a solid ten out of ten.    … Expand
  21. iddqd4
    Jan 20, 2018
    8
    Этот текст здесь для того что бы оценка отобразилась в моем профиле.
  22. XDavidX
    Nov 19, 2015
    10
    Don't know why this game have mixed reviews. Its a awesome game ! You have police chases, amazing fast cars & amazing soundtrack. Handling for me is also good.
  23. gold
    Apr 29, 2018
    9
    По сравнению с предыдущими частями серии, понятна когда конец игры. графика стала в разы лучше. Сюжета нет, локации - 10, геймплей - 10. графика - 8 (с учётом, что графика стала нормальной для современности).
  24. KingJailson
    Apr 12, 2019
    8
    Otimo need for speed, mas ninguem sabia que depois desse nsf ia começar a era de ouro.
  25. Rootthelucarien
    Jan 28, 2020
    10
    This one of my most favorite games in the need for speed series. A game i would highly recommend
  26. storygamer
    Mar 10, 2021
    8
    Hot Pursuit 2 is one of my favourite Need For Speed games to date. Glorious and intense races with beautiful cars, great soundtrack and nice graphics. I wonder if EA ever finds back to the epic roots of the NFS series.
  27. RTCWFAN
    Aug 28, 2023
    8
    Maybe the best NFS title to date. Played it when it was released and some weeks ago. Still fun and has aged very well. Overall rating: 8.3.
  28. xcale
    Mar 6, 2023
    8
    As the first Hot Pursuit game was a hit, its successor had to be that good too. It was not at that level but also was a definite worth to play title.

Awards & Rankings

83
#83 Best PC Game of 2002
14
#14 Most Discussed PC Game of 2002
44
#44 Most Shared PC Game of 2002

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. PC Gamer
    68
    A moderately entertaining, albeit retrograde, arcade driving experience. [Jan 2003, p.112]
  2. PC Gameworld
    79
    The game has an all around solid polished look, and still manages to retain a steady frame rate without any slowdown.
    Read full review
  3. ActionTrip
    80
    The sad thing is that even when you use high res modes such as 1280*1024, you still don't get anywhere near the feeling of a true photo-realistic ambience...All things considered, NfS: HP2 is one heck of racing experience.
    Read full review
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