Format: 360, PS3 (version tested)
Release: Out now
Publisher: EA
Developer: Criterion
Screenshot gallery

Where do we go next? It’s the only question that matters in driving games, and Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit has a brilliant answer, every time you ask: Autolog. This is HP’s beating heart, and an innovation destined to be shamelessly cloned by the competition. Autolog is threaded through and dictates almost every aspect of this diverse racer – a constant encouragement, a merciless interlocutor.

Autolog’s integration into Hot Pursuit is sophisticated, but what it does is simple. It tracks you and your online companions, makes comparisons wherever it can, and suggests what events you should be playing next. Someone’s taken the top spot on Swerve and Protect when we weren’t looking? We’ll soon sort that out. As well as this, it acts as the hub for making boasts and sharing in-game ‘dreamshots’, and even recommends new players that might suit your friends list. It’s far more than a superficial layer over HP’s racing; it’s a miniature social network that influences every in-game choice you make.



And the racing slots right in. HP offers up two expansive careers, as either cop or racer, which incorporate several types of tarmac tussling. While straight-up races and time trials keep the two classes separate, the eponymous Hot Pursuits and one-on-one duels (Interceptor events) bring them together. Events last from two minutes to ten, and with Autolog’s guidance it’s easy to quickly find something that suits your mood and available time. But enough about Autolog. Are these pursuits hot?

Are they ever. Need For Speed has made the same compromise for years: unquestionably it’s the racer with the sales figures, but it’s also the one without a consistent identity. One year it’s urban graffiti and crazy turbos, the next it’s simulation. Criterion has taken the series back to its first principle of cops vs racers, and constructed a high-octane combat racer of beauty and depth that very rarely dips below thrilling. This isn’t just the best Need For Speed in years, it’s the best arcade-style racer of this generation.

The major difference between the cars in HP and, for example, Burnout Paradise is their weight. These machines have heft, and screaming along at 240mph they’re a real presence on the roads. The basics of racing are simple, and the learning curve rests entirely on cornering at top speed and learning when to pick a fight. The sheer quantity of cars on offer (a new one seems to unlock after every race) and the obvious distinction between two- or four-wheel-drive models means there’s plenty of scope to pick favourites, but the step changes only exist between classes. There are five of these waiting to be unlocked for both cops and racers, and generally they get faster; by the time you’re on the ‘Performance’ lineup the vehicles’ capabilities are insane, and taking one of these for a spin without crashing is a genuine achievement.