Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 248 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 151 out of 248
  2. Mixed: 59 out of 248
  3. Negative: 38 out of 248
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  1. claychastain
    Nov 24, 2010
    5
    I really was looking forward to this game, but I was really disappointed. The game immediately felt like it was Burnout, which it is for all intents and purposes -- the same developer made it. There's no story, which is fine, but I lack any sense of cohesion. As well, you can't personalize and collect cars in the same way as previous games, which makes the sense of connection less than anyI really was looking forward to this game, but I was really disappointed. The game immediately felt like it was Burnout, which it is for all intents and purposes -- the same developer made it. There's no story, which is fine, but I lack any sense of cohesion. As well, you can't personalize and collect cars in the same way as previous games, which makes the sense of connection less than any racing game I have played in the past few years. I also am frustrated that I paid 64.95 for this game and the first time I loaded it I was forced to watch an ad for another 64.95 game. It's tactless. It just doesn't feel right as a whole and I don't, for once, agree with the reviewers. I would wait until this is in the bargain bin but your mileage may vary.… Expand
  2. idleline
    Jan 2, 2011
    6
    I've been comparing this game to the other two made and I believe it doesn't live up to the other two. My biggest problem with this game is that it's nearly impossible, even in the beginning, to stop racers without completely wrecking them. I'd prefer the tools I have (EMP, Spikes) to put the racer into a position that would allow me to "pull them over". Pros: Awesome menu of carsI've been comparing this game to the other two made and I believe it doesn't live up to the other two. My biggest problem with this game is that it's nearly impossible, even in the beginning, to stop racers without completely wrecking them. I'd prefer the tools I have (EMP, Spikes) to put the racer into a position that would allow me to "pull them over". Pros: Awesome menu of cars
    Graphics are beautiful
    Switching from cop to racer & vice versa is easy
    Progressing is quick


    Cons:
    No chases in freedrive
    Can't stop racers, gotta wreck them
    Map in HUD isn't very helpful
    Would trade helicopter for 'backup' unit
    When racers crash in your roadblock they warp ahead instead of being 'caught'    … Expand
  3. ElfishPresley
    Nov 20, 2010
    5
    This is not a bad game, just very limited and grows tiresome very quickly. The roads are boring, the handling is horrible. It honestly feels like Ridge Racer with weapons. The brakes serve the purpose of creating drift, you can enter a hairpin at 200mph and throw a last second drift and make it. At first glance it seems a lot of fun, and it is. Then you realise that the perception ofThis is not a bad game, just very limited and grows tiresome very quickly. The roads are boring, the handling is horrible. It honestly feels like Ridge Racer with weapons. The brakes serve the purpose of creating drift, you can enter a hairpin at 200mph and throw a last second drift and make it. At first glance it seems a lot of fun, and it is. Then you realise that the perception of variety or replayability is false. Each and every game has you running from or being the cops. Trust me when I say that this may have some appeal for a few hours but when the novelty wears off, you are left with a pretty bare shell of a game. No story, no tuning, no car painting. Again, I dont understand how such a game can get superb critic reviews. All the previous nfs games were better. Burnout was much better. WRC 2010 was a lot better. I just dont get it. I am very dissapointed with this game. Just beware, this is a sub standard, ridiculous, tedious, pointless game that will make you wonder where all your money went, and if you think buying second hand will help, forget it. Only the people who buy the game new can play online. Buy second hand and you must pay EA for the pleasure, as well as MS for the live service. It is called an online pass and is a joke. Not only do they sell me a poor game for my £40, but they then de-value it with this kind of tactic. EA has no respect for the people that buy their games and make them rich. I bought this game, I own it, it is my right to sell it again if I wish. EA wishes to make that difficult for me. What I think of this kind of tactic from a huge company made rich by loyal people over many years is un printable. Use your imagination.… Expand
  4. Miz3k
    Mar 19, 2011
    6
    When this game was revealed I was so excited due to my love for old-school NFS games before their recent decline, with the Hot Pursuit series my favorite. At first I was very pleased, but soon I would be plagued by a single gameplay element that would almost destroy my experience. First, the good. Graphics are stunning, with many of the locales a throwback to the originals ( the woodedWhen this game was revealed I was so excited due to my love for old-school NFS games before their recent decline, with the Hot Pursuit series my favorite. At first I was very pleased, but soon I would be plagued by a single gameplay element that would almost destroy my experience. First, the good. Graphics are stunning, with many of the locales a throwback to the originals ( the wooded state park area was especially cool). Cars all look great and comprise a dream list of supercars any car-nut would kill for. Handling is a lot of fun, with high-speed drifting being the focus. The soundtrack is ok but could have been much better. There are standard race events, time trials, preview events and the like for streetracers. For cops, there are interceptor, preview events and most importantly hot pursuit events. This game plays like a hybrid between NFS and Burnout, which has upset a lot of the purists. Not me, I like both series so I liked this direction. There is an open world to drive around in but races are on closed courses with many shortcuts for each. The cop events are a little more open world and while you have a little more freedom you still can't go everywhere. There are two full careers, one for racers and one for cops. Each can be tackled at the same time or separately. You gain bounty for your placement in each race, the better you place the more bounty you earn, earn enough and you'll level up, with twenty levels for each career mode. Now for the bad. Rubber-band AI has always been a problem for NFS and arcade racers in general. However, with today's advanced technology there is no excuse for it, it is just plain lazy programming. All the cars boast different stats but they mean nothing. You could be driving the fastest car in the game and get blown away by much more inferior cars. All this I'm used to. What I wasn't used to or remotely prepared for is the level of rubber-banding for racers and the sheer ruthlessness of the cops. Challenge is one thing, but this game is blatantly unfair. Rivals seem to have infinite boost, make turns impossible for even the most skilled drivers, if they are in front, most of the time that's where they'll stay, if you have a several second lead they'll catch up during the last few moments of the race even if you haven't made a single mistake. Also you'll be racing against cars in classes above your own, how this is fair I don't know, being as the game tells you what cars are available to you in a given event and the cars they drive almost always aren't on the list. The cops are even worse. They seem to have unlimited resources like spike-strips, choppers and roadblocks, and they always no exactly when to use them without fail. One race I was seconds from the finish, wrecked a cop that had been harassing me most of the race, and had avoided multiple spike-strips and roadblocks. When I wrecked that cop a cutscene played, one always does when you wreck someone, when it ended there was a roadblock just feet from where I was and couldn't be dodged, with the finish in sight. This would have been fine but the roadblock was not on the screen nor on the mini-map before the cutscene, costing me the race. Your skill level has nothing to do with whether you win or lose, the game decides whether or not it will be gracious enough to let you win on any given race. Some days it seems to be in a better mood than others. You will be trying events over and over, not to better your score, but to merely complete an event. At first I was determined to get golds, but by the halfway point in the game all I wanted to do was finish. This is a game that doesn't like to lose in the worst way. I finished the game but was so upset by the time I was through I can't see myself giving it a second playthrough or giving the overpriced DLC a chance. This is a shame because this should have been the perfect arcade racer, but I don't recommend the type of punishment this game hands out to anyone. Hopefully this will be addressed in the sequel.… Expand
  5. jdrandall38
    Jan 24, 2011
    7
    I shouldn't even post on this seeing as i never played the game so i will give it the average user score. That being said, i will never play another Need For Speed game again. I absolutely loved Most Wanted and the Underground series. so my expectations were high for Carbon. That game was ok at best. Drifting was just ridiculous, but in a way fun. So i bought Pro Street thinking itI shouldn't even post on this seeing as i never played the game so i will give it the average user score. That being said, i will never play another Need For Speed game again. I absolutely loved Most Wanted and the Underground series. so my expectations were high for Carbon. That game was ok at best. Drifting was just ridiculous, but in a way fun. So i bought Pro Street thinking it would be ok at best. Absolutely terrible. The repetitiveness of this franchise is terrible. So that being said (i think i missed whatever one came after pro street, but who cares), Ive lost all hope for the NFS series. Tired of spending so much money on the same game over and over and over.… Expand
  6. racing24-7
    Sep 20, 2014
    6
    Decent game, kinda plays like an older burnout game with cops. Sounds pretty cool right? Well the execution doesn't quite match up with the concept. The biggest complaint, in my opinion, is the way the game plays compared to the original. In my opinion Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 was the perfect model for a racing game with cops. Simple yet fun, balanced cars, somewhat realistic-somewhatDecent game, kinda plays like an older burnout game with cops. Sounds pretty cool right? Well the execution doesn't quite match up with the concept. The biggest complaint, in my opinion, is the way the game plays compared to the original. In my opinion Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 was the perfect model for a racing game with cops. Simple yet fun, balanced cars, somewhat realistic-somewhat arcade like feel. This game failed to live up to that model, the game takes all the skill out of driving. Want to take a corner at 200+ mph? No problem, just hit the e-brake then nitro out the other side, and don't even get me started on the power ups. The whole game is more about "EMPing" people than trying to catch up and actually out drive them. Really good concept, just too overdone for it's own good. Overall 6/10 still can be fun to play, but doesn't live up to expectations.,… Expand
  7. Kostas_Spirou
    Dec 29, 2021
    6
    Personally I don't like the whole "cops against racers" theme but this game managed to pull it off well.

    The most exciting thing in racing games in my opinion is the car customization, and unfortunately this game doesn't have car customization at all, which is a shame because everything else about it is pretty good. The gameplay is fun and I liked the power-ups. I also think the fact    Personally I don't like the whole "cops against racers" theme but this game managed to pull it off well.

    The most exciting thing in racing games in my opinion is the car customization, and unfortunately this game doesn't have car customization at all, which is a shame because everything else about it is pretty good.

    The gameplay is fun and I liked the power-ups.
    I also think the fact that you can play as a cop is pretty cool.

    The graphics are ahead of their time, this game looks absolutely great even for todays standards.

    And lastly, there's a decent amount of cars but the progression system is a mess.

    Final Rating: "Decent" ~ 6/10.    … Expand
  8. DME
    Oct 1, 2013
    5
    The online mode is a lot of fun, especially with friends. But the solo modes are nothing but a bunch of awfully boring and tedious time trials. The game just feels empty and lifeless. Also, there is no split-screen multiplayer, which is disappointing.
  9. Captiosus
    Feb 22, 2012
    6
    If you like repetitive arcade racers that look good, but have terrible collision detection and AI that can pull turns on a dime, this is the game for you. Honestly, this game looks great and sounds great, but I cannot let the collision and AI problems go unnoticed considering this entire game is predicated on the concept of stopping racers or not being stopped by the cops. I have, on tooIf you like repetitive arcade racers that look good, but have terrible collision detection and AI that can pull turns on a dime, this is the game for you. Honestly, this game looks great and sounds great, but I cannot let the collision and AI problems go unnoticed considering this entire game is predicated on the concept of stopping racers or not being stopped by the cops. I have, on too many occasions, watched the AI blow through a called in road block, literally bumping the cop car out of the way, take no damage and keep going at full speed when it SHOULD have resulted in significant damage and slow down. I have, on too many occasions, t-boned a drifting car at top speed, as a police officer, only for the AI to take no damage and actually get bumped ahead. The AI never misses a shortcut or a drift, and can magically avoid traffic or simply glance off them (whereas if the player tries glancing off the car, it's damage and slow down). Multiplayer is equally a mess, with the collision detection problems magnified by lag. Maybe worth picking up now that it's in the greatest hits bin, but only if you like playing, essentially, the same tired things over and over with significant amounts of frustration. ||| @BillGR17: Sorry, I can't let this slide... This is NOT "the real Need for Speed". Go back and play the original NFS: Hot Pursuit on PC then come back and play this garbage. The difference is night and day. There was so much more to do in the original Hot Pursuit, and skill played a much larger factor. Not like this one where you have to be LUCKY to get in a position to outsmart the AI who can maneuver in ways you can't, regardless of control scheme. This game is absolutely bland compared to the original Hot Pursuit which, even though that game had its AI issues, was much closer to the ORIGINAL Need for Speed than this mess. This is Burnout Light with better graphics.… Expand
  10. ThomasB1627
    Nov 22, 2011
    5
    When the game was released, I was sceptical about it and if it would match up to NFS Undercover (which I really liked). I only decided to buy the game 2 months ago from my local 2nd hand video game and DVD shop.

    It' had so much potential but it just didn't deliver for me, the car handling was slow and sluggish and differed massivly from the usual arcade style NFS car handling. The    When the game was released, I was sceptical about it and if it would match up to NFS Undercover (which I really liked). I only decided to buy the game 2 months ago from my local 2nd hand video game and DVD shop.

    It' had so much potential but it just didn't deliver for me, the car handling was slow and sluggish and differed massivly from the usual arcade style NFS car handling.

    The whole concept of it was good, but the game let it self down really badly with poor car handling and too many races and not enough other types of events e.g. road rage and pursuits    … Expand
  11. alirezanajd28
    Oct 27, 2016
    7
    It's a good game to fill your empty hours and it's fun. But it could be a lot better. it's very limited and that's bad but also good at some points. in sum, it's a fine game, but not what you expect from this franchise.
  12. Kostas101
    Oct 11, 2021
    6
    The most exciting thing in racing games in my opinion, is the car customization, and unfortunately this game doesn't have car customization at all... at least it's actually a fun game to play, the graphics hold up pretty well and I like how there is an option to play as a cop car hunting down racers.
  13. JJ2FAS4U
    Dec 28, 2021
    7
    Atmosphere: 8
    Enjoyment: 7
    Gameplay: 7
    Graphics: 9
    Music: 7
    Story: 6
    Total: 7.33

Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2010
24
#24 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2010
17
#17 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 73 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 70 out of 73
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 73
  3. Negative: 1 out of 73
  1. PALGN
    Jan 24, 2011
    80
    While Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is a terrific racer, it's also a poignant reminder that Criterion will probably never be able to match the standard they set with Burnout 3.
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  2. Gamekult
    Jan 18, 2011
    70
    A fast, fun, pretty and globally mastered game, even if we could regret a rather short content, and a solo career a bit too classic and repetitive.
    Read full review
  3. Cynamite
    Jan 16, 2011
    85
    Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit reminds me of the first part of the assassin's creed-series. In general, the game is great, but it's missing variety and long-time motivation. Especially the number of time trials shouldn't have been this high. Races and pursuits are much more fun. The small amount of about 100 cars doesn't really matter, because all of them were done well, although some them have only 300 PS. Altogether, it's a great action-racing-game, but there is maybe more potential for Hot Pursuit 2.
    Read full review
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