Hot Pursuit is a very welcome entry in the series. It is still a little barebones and there are a lot of annoyances, but there is plenty to like about it. Much like the previous entry the tracks are stellar, but the big improvement comes in the driving - cars actually behave in a predictable manner making the core experience of driving fun which makes all the difference. I am less keen on the AI, but let's say they are passable.

There is still very little progression and I feel like the game only hits it's full potential with a really fast car which eliminates a lot of the variety vehicle wise, but once you do pick a good one going around the tracks feels great.

The tracks feel incredibly fast, and yet retain a very dynamic feel of twists and turns. The themes are visually fun and even though the tracklist isn't huge they are suprisingly customizable. Changing the time of day, adding rain and mirroring / reversing the track can create a large amount of combinations that manage to feel rather distinct. This pairs nicely with the new Expert Knockout mode which is basically just a better version of my favourite gamemode from the last game. The key difference here is that the tracks and conditions are randomized so you have a lot of different scenarios thrown at you.

A key addition is also the Hot Pursuit mode which was the first time the series truly focused on police chases. Dodging the police was quite fun on the racer side, although the big tradeoff is that the game wasn't likely able to render a lot of cars at once so police chases are only possible in a 1v1 race making the race part of it a little redundant. The police side is...considerably less fun because I don't really think the engine is suited well for ramming cars off road and you don't have that many gadgets.

Overall I would say I still had an enjoyable time though and I would even say that this is the first good Need for Speed game because as much as there is to complain about I can't deny that I had fun driving.

An improvement over the first game although still a rather lacklustre entry to the series. The stars of the show are the tracks that boast very nice theming and layouts. If only the driving itself was up to par. It ranges from fine if you choose a really good car to poor with a bad one. The physics engine seems to actively try to sabotage everyone at all times with it going wild every time two objects touch. It can be mildly amusing when it happens to the AI and you see big pileups, but most of the time it's just frustrating. I do think that this would lead to a very fun multiplayer experience though. Especially the Knockout mode which was rather fun.