Ryan Scott, Executive Editor: I understand you got a private demo of Criterion's upcoming Need for Speed game. I'm a huge Burnout Paradise fan, and I want to hear all about Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. How distinctly Criterion is it? I've heard "Burnout with cops."
Will Tuttle, Editor in Chief: Yep, that pretty much describes it to a T. Thanks for reading our preview, folks!
OK, OK, I'm kidding. It definitely feels a lot like Burnout with cops, but it also feels a lot like the original Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit with ridiculous speeds. I'm not sure if you ever played Hot Pursuit on the PlayStation 2, but it was one of my favorite non-Burnout racing games of all time. However, while that game basically comprised a bunch of standalone races in which you could either play as a racer or a cop, this Hot Pursuit takes a page from the Burnout Paradise playbook and allows you to drive around an open world. One of the developers from Criterion mentioned that Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit will feature over 100 miles of roads spread out across a variety of terrains and environments.
Ryan Scott: How do the cars handle? Is it kinda loosey-goosey like in Burnout Paradise, where you can just goof off and crash to your heart's content and not worry too much about the consequences? And is the city map as interactive as Paradise's was?
Will Tuttle: Yeah, you'll still find yourself grinding against guardrails after a mistimed drift, and it really won't mess up your car or its handling too much, although plowing headfirst into a bridge abutment at 150 mph will end you. Damage is the name of the game here, as the only way a cop can actually stop a racer is by damaging it enough to wreck it. Still, this is definitely a Burnout game, so you have to be insanely good to stay on the road, yet you won't be punished very much for the occasional foray off the beaten path.
As for the map, I didn't get to see too much of what happens between races, as they wanted to allow those of us present ample time to simply beat the hell out of each other over and over in expensive rides. You will be able to play in a Free Roam mode of some kind, as a member of either side of the law (Cruise if you're a racer, or Patrol if you're a cop), and I'd have to assume you'll be given plenty of different race types all over the map, just like in Paradise. Hot Pursuit basically gives you two completely different "careers" to choose from, allowing you to switch between them at any time if you get bored.
Ryan Scott: So what kinds of progression mechanics and perks do the cop/cruiser careers offer up? And, more importantly, which one's more fun?
Will Tuttle: If I may be so bold, I'm going to answer your second question first. I had just as much fun channeling my inner lawman (I'd have a sweet mustache) as I did pretending I was the immortal Burt Reynolds in the Oscar Winning "Smokey & The Bandit" [Editor's Note: He won the "Sweet Mustache" Oscar given out during the technical awards before this evening's broadcast]. We didn't have a chance to choose our cars in the controlled environment that is E3, and I'm sure Criterion wanted to make the actual vehicles nearly identical to keep it balanced. Two of the four 1-on-1 matches I played lasted upwards of five minutes, while the other two barely lasted a minute. I'd imagine that two evenly matched drivers could play for 15 or 20 minutes at a stretch if they don't make many mistakes. Of course, all it takes is one to end the battle.
