Burnout meets Need For Speed: hands-on with Hot Pursuit

Let's get this out of the way: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit feels like a Burnout game. That's not surprising—it's being developed by Criterion Games—but it's important to note just to make it clear. Somehow, it also feels like a Need For Speed game, which is surprising given the series' recent history in jumping back and forth between realism and street racing. Criterion has taken NFS back to what made it great, and that's a good thing.

I managed to get my hands on the game at a recent press event in Toronto, though only one mode was available: the titular Hot Pursuit. It's a four-car race featuring a team of cops doing their best to ensure nobody comes in first. The police have a variety of tools at their disposal—including road blocks, spiked traffic strips, helicopters, and impossibly fast Zonda roadsters—essentially giving you three problems to deal with: cops, traffic, and, of course, the other racers.

There's a high-tech looking rear view mirror on display at all times, which helps you keep track of any police cruisers that might be on your tail. Each police car also has an easily visible health bar above it so you know just how much damage it will take to get rid of them. You have weapons and power-ups, which are controlled via the d-pad, to help push you ahead of the competition. During the demo, I had access to an incredibly fast turbo boost and the ability to drop spiked strips behind me. These bonuses are limited in number, though, so you have to be careful how and when you use them.

Though the Hot Pursuit mode is distinctly NFS, it didn't take long for the Burnout influences to become apparent. Epic crashes are slowed down so you can see every roll and crumple, and the game simply looks and feels like Paradise, right down to the way you smash fellow racers off the road.

Winning is a balancing act between good driving and reckless endangerment. You'll have to spend as much time worrying about avoiding crashes as disposing of fellow racers and police cars. The game also constantly throws new obstacles at you throughout the race to keep things interesting: I had to weave my way in and out of several road blocks and avoid spike-dropping helicopters.

With Burnout Paradise, it was clear that Criterion was intent on making the game a very social experience, a trend that looks to continue with Hot Pursuit. The game introduces a new feature called the Autolog, which automatically updates you on what your friends are doing in the game. If someone beats one of your high scores, the game will tell you. There's even a message board-like commenting system—accessible both in the game and via a website—where you can trash talk with anyone you know who's also playing the game. During the demo I was able to compare race times with people playing at Gamescom in Germany to get a sense of how it worked, but it was tough to tell just how extensive the Autolog is.

I was told there are several additional game modes in addition to Hot Pursuit, though no one would say exactly what they were. But judging just from the one mode, it seems like the game is on the right track. Somehow Criterion seems to have captured the essence of both Burnout and NFS and combined them into an excellent racing experience.