NFS: Hot Pursuit a Burner's view

OK, so Criterion Games have made a new game... not quite finished but with a release date set we will be playing NFS: Hot Pursuit well before the year is out. So, as BurnoutAholics, what should we expect?

It sounds like there are many things to look forward too for BurnoutAholics. I just got done reading the Gamespot hands on HERE and there are a few things which stuck out.

I remember when Burnout Paradise was in the early stages of development and Criterion Games mentioned that there were going to be power ups in the races. I was really against this as it's just not Burnout. But, it works in other games and blur have used power ups with great success. It seems that Criterion Games put this idea on the back burner and have now brought it out for NFS: Hot Pursuit.

It's not clear how the power ups are earned. There are no pick ups like in blur and it looks like the orange meter at the bottom left of the hud is for power ups... so maybe they are earned like the power plays in split/second.

The Cops will get spike strips, road blocks and air support. They will also be able to send out an EMP to reverse the Racers steering, this idea was banded about as one of the power ups for Burnout Paradise.

The Racers power ups on the other hand will be stealth based, speed boosts, radar jammers, cloaking device and a decoy car to put the Cop chasers off your trail. The nitrous boost will take you faster then any previous NFS game.

The gameplay in general seems to be very much NFS: Road Rage with Power Ups! There will be 8 players in a game, and you can choose the team sizes. We will be able to have 7 Cops v 1 Racer, or any other combination, much like we had in Road Rage on Burnout 3: Takedown (although that was Red v Blue and not Cops v Racers).

Cop cars do not take damage tho, so there wont be any fighting back from the Racers. The Racers mission is purely evade and escape. This means it actually wont be like Road Rage at all... which I think is a shame. I loved nothing more then taking out a Red Euro that was trying to take my Super Blue Assassin down.

And ofcourse it will be an Open World game. As those of you who read my blog know, I struggle with Open World racing, especially in Burnout Paradise. I really hope that the Open World of NFS: Hot Pursuit is fit for purpose, with an intuitive guidance system.

We know from the E3 footage that there is a speed-o-meter, another contentious issue from Burnout Paradise. I like having a speedo, and I guess it means Rofer will be happy!

I really like that there are two progression streams and you can play through the game as a Cop and as a Racer. I am looking forward to being the Cop again, I really enjoyed pursuit mode in Burnout 2 and am surprised that game makers haven't made more car games where you are the good guys.

I am really looking forward to NFS: Hot Pursuit, but because it's not a Burnout game and I don't have a historic passion for NFS I don't think I will experience the same dissapointments I felt about Paradise, should it turn out to not be my kind of game.