Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit – the most unambiguous part of the series. After the first, perhaps, four. While Gleb reflects on “History”, I look back at the long path of the most famous auto racing. Together with Road & Track magazine and under the auspices of Pioneer, a game with a Ferrari wheel on the cover once appeared. At that time, the developers had no idea what they would be doing to entertain the public all these years. They didn’t think, I’m almost sure that the circle of these entertainments will still be closed, and the series will return to its roots. Super unambiguous article – let’s look into the soul for the third time Hot Pursuit.

Paradise City… no, rather, Seacrest County

New Need For Speed – this is a sign. For us – that change has finally come. For EA Black Box — that the studio is unlikely to be allowed to do anything non-online (although the concessions in NFS: World are already alarming; it hasn’t become incredibly popular). The marketing decision turned out to be correct – so that consumers do not suffer while waiting for new races, we will give them several options at once. And you won’t have to put thousands of fake whistles, car sculptures, vinyls and other, to put it mildly, not always necessary junk into one poor game. After the revolutionary Underground and the charming spirit and appearance of the Most Wanted studio Black Box moved: Shift 2 does Slightly Mad, third Hot Pursuit got it Criterion Games. Into a friend’s cauldron Need For Speed splashed a little Burnout. Although, okay, let’s be honest, Burnout can be clearly felt in the smell of burnt rubber – a company with more than fifteen years of development experience can’t help but bring something of its own to the series. On the other hand, Burnout is dearly loved in console lands. The average score for the third part is 93 out of 100.

Press the pedals, accelerate – to A

The first change takes the experienced racer by surprise. After the cinematic cutscene, the game hands over control to us. I press with all my might on the up arrow, and whoosh – just like in F1 2010, the controls have been shuffled. It was proposed to accelerate light fireballs with a space bar, and in Hot Pursuit this is done on A. Brake – on Z. From time immemorial, by the way, these keys were used to change gears. That’s it, traditions have been crossed out – in the world of high speeds and exotic cars there is no place for yanking the box. The default machine is the first fruit of the division Need For Speed into genres. Lots of fun things are still ahead, let’s take a break.

Harmony for lunch

The other day, while streaming on Heavy Rain, I had a chance to notice how perfectly even stationary cars blend with the surrounding space. Of course, the comparison is somewhat incorrect. Rushing at a speed of 300-400 kilometers per hour past the landscape and scenery is another thing. However, back in 1999, it was noted that speed is good, since you don’t have time to look around and don’t see the ugliness around you. More than ten years have passed and nothing has changed. There is a road, there is something around – and often it is not the best execution. Maxim Kulakov, looking at Hot Pursuit, noticed that for the umpteenth time them I can’t cross the world and machines. The car looks tacky and smells of cheap plastic, while the driving spaces have the scent of low-polygonity and low-quality textures. And nothing can be done about it. Let’s object to Maxim. Not at them, and now Criterion. But in general, this is true, so I preferred to contemplate the beauty of the fleet on the menu; I don’t really want to admire the car in the race. Firstly, anti-aliasing, if it exists, does not cope with the task so well. Secondly, with a “belly on asphalt” camera, the road passes faster, visually there is more dynamics. The third-person perspective is sad—as soon as you slow down, you’ll see colorful landscapes look. (And in wet weather, miserable plasticine drops fly from under the wheels.) View from the hood – neither fish nor fowl. Feels like you’re driving a barge. And she will definitely arrive. Into the tree. Or a wall.

This is about the question https://casapariurilorcasino.co.uk/withdrawal/ of why some write, they say, the appearance is depressing. This might be the impression, yes. Therefore, I shamelessly advocate for the “bumper” view. The roads themselves are great. Especially in the rain – the reflections are mesmerizing, although you barely have time to look at them. Well, for owners of not very powerful computers – mana. The fewer objects in the frame, the faster. I don’t think, however, that anyone will have any special problems – Hot Pursuit not gluttonous.

I don’t want it, but I make money

Distracted? Now about the essentials. For the first time since time immemorial, we have said goodbye to the economic system. There are only points left, you need to collect them in order to gradually open cars. As you progress, the cops will attack harder, and new tracks will open their arms. All. No plot, no stupid stories about street racers (although Most Wanted is forever in my heart, I grumble about Underground 2). You can’t find girls either, though. But the player always gets something. As soon as you go through a couple of tracks (more often than not one is enough), “new car”, “new class” or “you have received a level and a whole cart of goodies to boot” lights up on the screen!». And this is the right decision, I think. There is no horror of monotony, repetition and low motivation – after the race they immediately give you something. And if the victory didn’t bring anything, then it doesn’t matter, companies regularly roll out priceless “horses” for a test drive. In one arcade swoop Criterion killed almost the main problem of everyone Need For Speed recent years – now you don’t have to drive just one car. You can try any.

The game will take a long time to unravel the achievements of the automotive industry – there are 20 levels for reckless drivers and policemen. Yes, I allowed myself to remain silent about this for half an article. The confrontation between the first and second is the main entertainment here. And for law enforcement officers there is a whole garage of painted cars.

Machine guns for me!

current Hot Pursuit can be called fair without a twinge of conscience. It used to be the same – cunning policemen rush, cutting through the air with expensive supercars, setting up blockades, laying out spikes, helicopters rustling overhead. The lawbreakers could only hit the gas and smile sadly. Now, when people know about “nitro” even in the Russian outback, not only from films, Criterion decided to give criminals a chance – they have their own arsenal. In fact, the game can be divided in half – competitions with and without guns. Moreover, this division is easy. The cat made the regime cry. Either you rush with the wind and lightly, without weapons, or you run away dangerously or catch up, ready to drop high-tech equipment into the enemy’s ass. And now the “barrels” are loaded, the classic mess begins, only in a new way and under a promoted brand.

At this point, the developers apparently had a question: how to do Need For Speed with guns so that it remains what it is, and does not turn into a boring clone of Carmageddon TDR 2000 and Twisted Metal with a slight admixture of all those faceless fun that have come out on consoles since Rock’n’Roll Racing? The answer was easy to find – add more races, fewer frills. Thus, vehicles have only four types of attack-defense functions. Career extremely slowly introduces them into the game, mixing them with endless “ride-just-so”. It turns out to be lively – special moves are spread thinly over long hours of gameplay. And devices are also improving, so the illusion of diversity blooms wildly.

The set is simple: the reckless drivers have spikes, an electromagnetic gun, a police system suppressor and instant acceleration in their arsenal. The cops call for a helicopter, set up barriers, they spit EMP in the same way and their spikes are exactly the same. The police bird got rid of the explosive barrels, she also lays out the spiky strips. That’s it: drivers slash each other’s tires; EMP temporarily slows down those in front; suppressors – turn off the weapons of all cops; turbo – the most fun – instantly accelerates to the maximum.

Weapons are actively used – nowadays cops don’t have to block, hit the wheel, turn around and stop the criminal. It’s enough to ram it straight into the trunk, head on or side – that’s not the point. Everyone has a health bar. So familiar and understandable: dealt five blows – that’s it, the opponent was detained and his car was wrecked. Although before that he can make two hundred attempts to turn a car into a work of modern art using a concrete wall. Health is taken away only for hits.

Gleb, I remember, was all tormented at first. He kept trying to persuade the enemy to go classic – he tried to block him, cut him off. Things went better after my remark: “Don’t be shy about hitting them in the ass.”. Former Need For Speed known since childhood, experience is misleading. Another studio – everything inside is different. From mechanics to driving feel.

Behind the wheel

First encounter with different sensations – on the highway. Over the years, the habit developed no longer works. The car rushes and reacts sluggishly to the steering wheel. This is how it should be, in principle. At high speeds, the hydraulics are turned off, and the steering wheel becomes rigid, so that the driver does not fly away to his forefathers after a sneeze and a twitching hand. War with turns grabs everyone’s attention at first. So much so that you don’t even notice the almost complete lack of dynamics. If you watched the broadcast, you remember how surprised Kirill was – his car hit the second hundred on the speedometer, but visually it seemed to be standing still. By that time, I was no longer surprised – it’s impossible to play in third person (so much so that I emphasize this). Instead of a speeding car, a mortally wounded turtle. It feels like the developers decided to make sure that their work is considered down to the last pixel. And if you really like seeing your own car in the middle of the screen, then rest assured, you will notice everything else too. In particular, traces of low technology: textures of not very high resolution, angular objects, gnarled trees… the legacy of the outdated console filling.

But as soon as you switch to the “belly on the asphalt” view, everything becomes fun and cool. Because at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour with this camera position there is no time to stare at the surroundings. It flickers, turning from the work of level designers into one huge black-gray-blue (depending on the time of day) blur effect. And that’s great, friends, because the dynamics come to life. The road surface grabs your attention. And making captivating asphalt is easy, especially for the residents of Russia (this is sad). A perfectly smooth road, merrily shining in the sun, mesmerizing in the rain – ecstasy in its purest form. And once you add instantaneous acceleration from nitro to the picture, the action turns into a reaction theater. Moreover, the actor in the person of the driver, even a beginner, copes incomparably. Literally five tracks – and that’s it, you’re already an ace, a real pilot. Or is it just years of training?.

Still easy and simple to play. Policy Electronic Arts separation of duties works. Arcade Hot Pursuit performs assigned functions. You can ride a couple of times, turn it off for a week and come back for another ten to twenty minutes. There is an abyss in the clock here – every race brings something new. At least a car. Network mode is as stable as granite. You can cut circles until you’re blue in the face and shoot each other with spikes mixed with EMP. Fun in the style of noble ancestors, when I was still wiping greasy seats in computer clubs with Chinese jeans, beating another cop on the Aquatica map. And to the accompaniment of sirens I always wanted to see the Titanic. A return to the classics is great. Just don’t forget to switch to the “bumper” view, otherwise all the charm will be lost.

P.S. About Autolog – separately, since I doubt that it will work well in our country. So, this is another social network, but inside the game. There is a wall here, you can post photos and even set up a webcam to capture the driver on your avatar. All our achievements are associated with friends, their preferences are processed so that we do not torment ourselves with choosing a race or mode. The idea of ​​the system is great, it’s about time. But she just started, now she’s of little use.

Pros: dynamic, if from the first person; a fresh look at the series; arcady, as it was intended; you can sit for 20-30 minutes, get a new car and go about your business; Autolog.
Cons: clumsy and outdated graphics; plastic cars; few modes; for comfortable online play you need to actively progress through your career or drive for many hours.