Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (Sony PlayStation 2, 2002)

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit II is the sequel to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, which was released in 1998 and was the third in Electronic Arts' venerable series of arcade-style driving games. Between then and now, however, EA has released two other Need for Speed games--High Stakes and Porsche Unleashed--which makes Hot Pursuit II the sixth game in the series, if you don't count the two V-Rally games that hit the market in the mid-'90s, that is. Confused? Well, never mind all that. All you need to know is that Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit II for the PlayStation 2 is not only one of the best games in this long-running series, but also one of the fastest, most visceral, and most polished racing games currently available for Sony's console.

To be sure, Hot Pursuit II is no driving simulator. It's not the next Gran Turismo, nor does it set out to be. This game is all about arcade-style racing, where car-handling properties are wildly exaggerated, and physics are more like loose suggestions than strict laws. Nonetheless, like all of the previous games in this series, Hot Pursuit II has a number of highly coveted licensed cars from American and European manufacturers like Lotus, Lamborghini, Dodge, Chevy, BMW, Mercedes, and the two most prestigious car makers, Ferrari and Porsche. What's more, all of these cars will take damage if you're too careless, though they'll take a good deal of punishment before they show signs of wear and tear, and no matter how badly you treat them, the cars and their performance will never be affected by the damage they absorb. Realism is not this game's forte, and that's what makes it so fun.

As its name implies, Hot Pursuit II largely focuses on the illegal art of outrunning the law. Actually, Hot Pursuit II is two games in one. Unlike other racing games, this one has two equally large championship modes, only one of which involves the police. Called ultimate racer, this career mode is composed of 30 individual racing events that force you to beat a number of opponents, while contending with the police, through a handful of different race types. Ultimate racer is laid out in a branching manner, and you're required to successfully finish one race before unlocking the next. As you'd expect, your opponents will get tougher, your goals harder to achieve, and the police less forgiving as you progress through this tree. Cops will come after you if you break the speed limit, and since you're tasked with crossing the finish line before your opponents do, you'll be breaking that limit constantly. At first, the cops will just send a couple of Crown Victorias after you, but if you refuse to pull over, they'll pull out all the stops to bust you. Much like in Grand Theft Auto III, the number of cops that are thrown at you is measured by the number of stars in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. When this meter is full, the police will place barricades and spike strips on the roads, they'll chase you with faster cars, and they'll even call in a helicopter that drops, of all things, explosive barrels in front of you. If the police manage to pull you over three times in a given race, you'll have to start all over.

I have had this game for 2 and 1/2 years now and I am still not bored with it.
It has enough variety and challenges built into it to keep me playing it time after time. You can race another player, race against computer generated components, outrun the cops or be a cop chasing speeders. There are many different challenging tracks and very realistic cars to qualify for. The graphics and driving feel are great. You don't have to (and can't) set up the cars. You don't have to win money to get better cars. You just work your way through the championship and as your skills improve and you learn the tracks you get to race faster cars. As you progress through it the tracks keep growing bigger and more complex. You will recognize sections of tracks from previous tracks and some tracks will be reversed so that you are running them in the opposite direction. Don't bother with cheat codes or you will wind up on a track you don't know, with a car you can't handle. Take the time to work your your way through the championship and you will be rewarded with bonus races and cars. There are no maps to navigate, no characters to listen to, no confusing set ups to deal with and no money to earn. Just turn it on, pick a race style, pick a car and pick a track and RACE! I love this game! No B.S. just racing! There are many shortcuts in all the tracks for you to find.
Some will help you and some will not. It is up to you to decide which ones to use. There also is a way to race against other people online but, I have not tried that yet. This is a great game that will probably take you months to master and get all the way through everything and if you make it, you will have 49 different race cars, 5 different cop cars and many different tracks you can run on at any time. Outrunning the cops is the most challenging and exciting way to race! You can hear the cops talking to each other and the dispatcher. Your radar detector will go off when you approach a cop and if you slow down to about 55 mph and stay in your lane and don't do anything to draw their attention they will not bother you unless they are already looking for you. But where's the fun in that??? It is more fun to blow by the cop at high speed and hear the cop say to the dispatcher "I'm chasing a speeder who just flew by me and BLEW MY DOORS IN!" the chatter between the cops and the dispatcher is entertaining and even helpful at times. The cops will set up road blocks and spike chains and call in a helicopter that drops big bouncing bombs in the road that will explode if you hit them. In the upper stages when you get to faster cars the helicopter can even fire heat seeking missiles at you, that are just about impossible to dodge! Every car in this game has different handling characteristics and you must employ different driving styles to win with every car. Some cars are so powerful that you will have to blip the throttle just to get going or you will just spin the tires. This GAME is amazing! If this sounds good to you, then buy it and you won't be dissapointed.

I originally started playing Need For Speed when it first came out for the PC. The graphics were stunning, the cars were amazing, and I've been hooked ever since.

This title, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 for the Xbox is EA's latest title in the series. This game features a few different modes of play, a lot of great exotic cars to choose from, and a staggering number of tracks, which can also be run backwards (the track is reversed) for even more variety.

In a twist to the old standard, you not only can be chased and arrested by police who also drive exotic cars, you can BE the cop in certain gameplay modes. You get points based on how many speeders you bust and you can call in backup cars, helicopter support, and even set up roadblocks.

As I mentioned before there are a few different modes of gameplay. You can start a quickrace, which gets you right into the action. You can start the Hot Pursuit mode, in which you enter a series of events and compete for bronze, silver, or gold medals to move to the next event. You must unlock easier events to move to the harder ones by placing at least 3rd in the race.

You can also race one on one with the computer, and you get to pick what type of car it drives, what type of car you drive, the track, number of laps, put traffic on the road, and whether the police will be out or not.

Of course you can also play head to head with a friend on splitscreen, but only 2 players may race at a time.

All the racing you do accumulates points, which are used to unlock the exotic cars. You can choose which car to unlock, as long as you have the points available. Tracks are unlocked as you win events, and there are cheat codes available to unlock all the tracks. I have not found one for the cars yet, though I am sure it exists.

If there is a con to this game, it's that the police seem to pick on you more than your fellow racers. You can be 3rd in line passing a cop, but they will more than likely single you out and try to stop you. So not only are you racing the fast cars around you, you must deal with the police as well. With patience though you will find that you can beat the cops and beat the other racers. It just takes a little skill and a little luck.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 is a Platinum Hit for Xbox, and you should be able to find this game for $20 or less. While not ground-breaking, driving through the detailed environments at 140 mph, crashing opponents into guardrails, and spinning cop cars out of the chase are more than enough to put a smile on your face while playing this game.

This game was always fun to play but unfortunately i only rented it a few times. I finally thought about it and searched for it on Ebay.com and was very happy to find it for such a great price. The police chases are fun especially with some friends racing one on one.

I bought this game because my husband wanted a racing game or a "shoot 'em up" game. I wasn't for the violence so I went with the speed. He doesn't play the game now. I have completed several levels and feel very frustrated when it takes a bit to finish another. I love this game. Being able to change the view from the car is so fun, it puts you right in the drivers seat. The fall back is when I get in my car I have to remind myself I can't run from the police or drive on the wrong side of the rode, or drive over 100 mph, or wreck other cars and I don't bounce so well when I hit a tree. Other than my mind thinking I am still in the game when I am not playing this game is awesome!