Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 9.0

I was so pumped to hear that Burnout developer Criterion was behind the new Hot Pursuit. What could be better than that? It's like double chocolate chip cookies and half & half cream together. Fans of the series, such as myself, have waited almost a decade for a return to the roots. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to see so many aspects that made other Hot Pursuits great completely removed from the finished product.

First of all, there is no manual transmission. That's right. You get to go through the whole game enjoying lazy automatic transmission. Last I remember, driving are much more engaging, exciting, and nerve-racking when you can control shifting.

The soundtrack, while having some quality tunes, really is not put together well. There is no flow i.e. jam to adrenaline-pumping electronica followed up immediately by slow-paced hip hop. Doesn't exactly transition well and really kills the vibes you get going. You can't pick and choose what tracks you listen to either. You can choose to add your own playlist of custom songs which is an alternative, but they don't fade-in/out and just continuously play as long as the disc is running.

OK, so I can attempt to make due with no manual transmission and an unbalanced soundtrack, at least I can still rocket these cars off some jumps while I'm racing in traditional Hot Pursuit fashion, right? Not this time! Well, I'm over 60% through the Career and I haven't experienced any air time yet, I'm assuming the worst...

All is not lost though, at least I can say I have exclusive cars thanks to ordering the Limited Edition. One of my biggest selling points to purchase on launch was because I could receive the Ford Shelby GT500, "EXCLUSIVE" to my version with the code included with the Limited Edition, one of the sickest in muscle car history. Turns out, you can simply unlock it, as I did before punching in my code, along with different variations, playing through the story mode... Seriously?!

...what ELSE could I also possibly complain about?! Bombs away... NO REPLAYS!!! Whaa...?

Did I say there was no steering wheel support?

While I'm on a roll, other things that annoyed me but didn't necessarily take away from the experience: most time trials are tedious, restrictive (bump into anything, automatic +2 seconds added), and there's a bit too many of them in the game. Mandatory cutscenes and forced in-game advertisements are not classy, EA/Criterion/whoever's idea it was to do that. Oh yeah, Need For Speed: Facebook. As if the common American doesn't spend enough time on normal Facebook, you can enjoy Need For Speed: Facebook by uploading in-game shots to your wall, commenting on them, and also comment on your friends' walls and their pictures instead of actually playing the game. Also, restarting a race results in you having to watch a good portion of the original intro cutscene instead of just restarting at the beginning of the actual race.

I do digress though, this game has some definite highlights. Graphics are stellar. Incredible, really. Handling is a good balance between arcade feel and realism. It seemed only appropriate that Criterion would add a constant nitrous system à la Burnout. The selection of vehicles is top-notch and pretty diverse, at least they kept that positive aspect of the series. The online is actually pretty entertaining and surprisingly smooth without tons of lag. Pre-match wait times seem longer than most online games though. The photo mode is fun and a good distraction, you can capture your special moments but it's really is just there for novelty and an addition to Need For Speed: Facebook. I'm glad to see they included some offensive/defensive choices to use against the law, such as the epic "Turbo", the "Jammer", or your own spike strips to use against the piggies.

Don't get me wrong. This is a fun game... for about a week or less. Actually, it's an amazing game... if you've never played any other Hot Pursuit titles before. In reality, I don't see myself replaying this lackluster title again, let alone finishing it 100% knowing I am missing out on all the standard features. The flat-out boring and "safe" track designs alone make me not want to continue. It's a simple, featureless game that is probably loved by simple gamers. As EA unsurprisingly has been doing largely these days, they are again "feeding the masses" with this one.

I feel I need to be critical and analytical towards a product that has such a strong history. If I'm not, who will? A series of legendary caliber should have simply delivered a better experience. Forwards, not backwards, guys. Let's try to aim for that. I'm sorry EA, but I am going back in time almost a decade ago to enjoy your true racing masterpiece; Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 for PS2, where I can enjoy manual transmission, an excellently balanced soundtrack in which you can choose what songs you listen to, air time and jumps, more creative, detailed, and quantity of tracks, and customizable replays- who's with me?!