Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

There has been rumours for quite some time, and at E3 it was made official that Criterion Games are in charge of the next Need for Speed title. And return to the roots of the series, a return to Hot Pursuit. Criminals who floor it and the cops who chase them down. Exotic cars, unbelievable speeds, and crunched up metal.

It has actually been more than two years since Criterion's last game Burnout Paradise. But given the stellar post launch support it got with both free and premium downloadable content you would be forgiven for thinking it came out at a later date.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit takes place in the fictional Seacrest County an open world with more than 100 miles of open roads. A location four times bigger than Paradise City of Burnout Paradise fame.

It may surprise you to learn that this is the first time Criterion are doing a game with actual licensed cars. The Burnout series has always been all about crushing metal, and back in the day it was hard to convince car manufacturers about the necessity of violently dismembering their products in video games. Times have changed, and even though you won't see the same kind of metal mayhem as in the Burnout series, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit will feature licensed cars and there will still be lots of destruction on the roads. The cops that give chase in Hot Pursuits will not just use their patrol cars, but they will also set up road blocks with spikes and use helicopters to track the progress of racers.

While Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is a return to the roots of the series in some ways, this doesn't mean that Criterion aren't pushing the envelope in some areas. Most notably they have focused a lot of effort on the online component. When speaking with Criterion they said they wanted something "social and accessible", much like Burnout Paradise online, but they also wanted the game to have some degree of persistence and rivalries in Hot Pursuit will grow and evolve both while you are online and offline. The autolog feature acts much like a social networking tool as it tracks achievements of your friends and rivals, there is also an experience system, and the game lets you jump straight into a duel with a friend who has been beating your times and records.

This takes us to the only game mode revealed thus far, Inceptor mode, that sees two players square off in a cop versus racer duel. More modes will be revealed at a later date, but it gave us a good taste of what to expect from the racing. From a driving perspective Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit isn't as much of an arcade racer as Burnout Paradise, but still nowhere near the simulation style of Need for Speed: Shift. It will feel familiar to fans of the Burnout series as well as earlier Need for Speed titles.

One of the foundations of the series is the exclusive cars players get to have their way with and so far the confirmed rides include Koenigsegg CCX, McLaren MP4-12C, Pagani Zonda Cinque, Porsche 918 Spyder, Ford Shelby GT500, Bugatti Veyron 16.4 and Lamborghini Reventón.

When speaking with Criterion they confirmed that they will support the game post launch, and although they weren't at liberty to divulge any details they were all smiles when we asked if we could expect a similar post launch support to that of Burnout Paradise.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit will launch this September on all major platforms, and by the looks of things it will be a glorious return to the golden days of the Need for Speed franchise.