I like it.
Those are words you'll rarely hear me say when talking about racing games. I don't usually take an interest. I have played and enjoyed a few racing games in the past but I've come to the realization that it takes a certain something to make a game about cars appealing to me. For one: It can't be a simulation. I can't play racing games with overly realistic car handling or anything like that. Admittedly, I suck at those games and maybe that's part of my problem with finding enjoyment with them. If you aren't good enough at something to win you aren't going to want to go back and keep playing it are you? I tend to stick to kart racers or games about vehicular arena based combat. But even among those types of games I get picky and I don't play them for long. I'm not a fan of Mario Kart because of it's rubber banding A.I. and I can't play Twisted Metal for too long because I just get tired of it.
Well, even though I'm just talking about the demo for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, I'd like to point out that I do keep going back to it. In fact I have the demo running behind me as I type this. There are a number of things that make the game something I want to keep playing. The driving, of course, is one of those things. It just controls well. It's very similar to another racing game I enjoyed, Burnout: Paradise, which is probably because it was made by Criterion Games. I had a few faults with Burnout: Paradise. One being that you could lose a race far too easily because you had to constantly stop and pop a map screen open and quickly pick a route to follow. The second problem I had with the game was how close the camera was to the back end of your car at certain angles. I found it made driving a little more frustrating than it should have been. Yet another, unrelated problem I had with the game was Guns and Roses. Apart from one or two songs... I don't like Guns and Roses.
Most, if not all of these problems seem to have been fixed (yes, that includes the Guns and Roses problem) with NFS:HP. The default camera sits at just the right height behind your car and the in-car camera adds to the sense of speed. You no longer have to pop a map and route your course mid race anymore, either. It seems like they've done away with that aspect and made a much more traditional, track based, game. And If I'm to believe the current track list for the in game songs, there is no more Guns and Roses.
There is also a strange, social networking aspect that I'm a bit intrigued by. From the main menu you can access a "wall" that acts much like your wall on a number of social networking sites might act. Your online friends who play the game can post to the wall and issue challenges as well as post stats such as track times, cars they've used, who they've beaten recently, etc. It's a feature set that's obviously being used to tie the multiplayer community more closely together and I'm interested to see how that pans out. Personally, I keep going back to races when I see that someone on my friends list has beaten my time. It's fun to try and find shortcuts that can increase your speed and top out the leader board for any given track.
The game impresses me graphically as well. All the cars have a realistic look to them and lighting reflects appropriately. Particle effects from crashes are stunning (the Burnout/Criterion pedigree at work) and little touches on the courses themselves like dust being kicked up off the road look nice. There is a slight motion blur that increases during races that adds to the sense of speed.
Having liked Burnout: Paradise and seeing this game improve on its formula is nice. Its sense of speed, polished visuals and interfaces, as well as it's interesting take on multiplayer leader boards make it a racing game that's well worth a look.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit comes out Nov. 16, 2010. You can expect a full review... someday.
Well, even though I'm just talking about the demo for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, I'd like to point out that I do keep going back to it. In fact I have the demo running behind me as I type this. There are a number of things that make the game something I want to keep playing. The driving, of course, is one of those things. It just controls well. It's very similar to another racing game I enjoyed, Burnout: Paradise, which is probably because it was made by Criterion Games. I had a few faults with Burnout: Paradise. One being that you could lose a race far too easily because you had to constantly stop and pop a map screen open and quickly pick a route to follow. The second problem I had with the game was how close the camera was to the back end of your car at certain angles. I found it made driving a little more frustrating than it should have been. Yet another, unrelated problem I had with the game was Guns and Roses. Apart from one or two songs... I don't like Guns and Roses.
Most, if not all of these problems seem to have been fixed (yes, that includes the Guns and Roses problem) with NFS:HP. The default camera sits at just the right height behind your car and the in-car camera adds to the sense of speed. You no longer have to pop a map and route your course mid race anymore, either. It seems like they've done away with that aspect and made a much more traditional, track based, game. And If I'm to believe the current track list for the in game songs, there is no more Guns and Roses.
There is also a strange, social networking aspect that I'm a bit intrigued by. From the main menu you can access a "wall" that acts much like your wall on a number of social networking sites might act. Your online friends who play the game can post to the wall and issue challenges as well as post stats such as track times, cars they've used, who they've beaten recently, etc. It's a feature set that's obviously being used to tie the multiplayer community more closely together and I'm interested to see how that pans out. Personally, I keep going back to races when I see that someone on my friends list has beaten my time. It's fun to try and find shortcuts that can increase your speed and top out the leader board for any given track.
The game impresses me graphically as well. All the cars have a realistic look to them and lighting reflects appropriately. Particle effects from crashes are stunning (the Burnout/Criterion pedigree at work) and little touches on the courses themselves like dust being kicked up off the road look nice. There is a slight motion blur that increases during races that adds to the sense of speed.
Having liked Burnout: Paradise and seeing this game improve on its formula is nice. Its sense of speed, polished visuals and interfaces, as well as it's interesting take on multiplayer leader boards make it a racing game that's well worth a look.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit comes out Nov. 16, 2010. You can expect a full review... someday.
(Hayden forgot to have pictures in his article, so for the benefit of our stupider readers, I added something for them to look at -editor)
2 comments:
Nice article and nice picture.
Shane drew it, and it kicks ass.
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