The Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is the sequel to the original NFS Hot Pursuit that released back in 1998.  Much like it, the main attraction is the ability to drive various sports cars down winding roads while trying to evade the police.
Hot Pursuit 2, in and of itself, is a good if not exciting racing game.  There is a branching campaign of missions you can carry out, ranging from simple races to delivering cars to playing as the cops.  These objectives help to differentiate the tracks, which are otherwise rather similar.  There is a very good sense of speed in this game and watching your adversaries slam into oncoming traffic in your rear view is something that will never get old.  The physics are more like a arcade racer.  It's a bit looser than the original Hot Pursuit.  However, the vehicle impacts and general feel of the engine are very solid.  The music is also very good.
There are a few things that I didn't like.  NFS: HP2 was originally designed for the Playstation 2 and it was subsequently ported to the other game systems.  Every port has its ups and downs and, unfortunately, some aspects of this version make it feel like a rushed effort.  Aspects such as:
- No two-player split-screen mode.  Two people can't sit at the computer and play head-to-head.
- There is very little flexibility in track options.  There are no day/night or weather settings to speak of.  The tracks themselves, while pretty, are not very distinctive nor exciting on their own.  This hurts since there are only about 4 original tracks in the game and you race on different segments of them.  In actuality, it's hard to tell one apart from the another.
- The police have the odd tendency to be aggressive one moment, and then just give up the next.  It's a bit hard to figure them out.
- The replay is [not good].  It's almost entirely from the vantage point you raced as, and so you don't get to see the spetactular crashes in any more detail.
Keep in mind that, for the price, it's not a bad racer at all.  In fact, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a better arcade racer on the PC.  And truly, the game is a lot of fun.  I just wish EA spent a little more time with it.  New tracks and/or a track editor would be fantastic additions that are sadly absent.
The Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is the sequel to the original NFS Hot Pursuit that released back in 1998. Much like it, the main attraction is the ability to drive various sports cars down winding roads while trying to evade the police. Hot Pursuit 2, in and of itself, is a good if not exciting racing game. There is a branching campaign of missions you can carry out, ranging from simple races to delivering cars to playing as the cops. These objectives help to differentiate the tracks, which are otherwise rather similar. There is a very good sense of speed in this game and watching your adversaries slam into oncoming traffic in your rear view is something that will never get old. The physics are more like a arcade racer. It's a bit looser than the original Hot Pursuit. However, the vehicle impacts and general feel of the engine are very solid. The music is also very good. There are a few things that I didn't like. NFS: HP2 was originally designed for the Playstation 2 and it was subsequently ported to the other game systems. Every port has its ups and downs and, unfortunately, some aspects of this version make it feel like a rushed effort. Aspects such as:
- No two-player split-screen mode. Two people can't sit at the computer and play head-to-head. - There is very little flexibility in track options. There are no day/night or weather settings to speak of. The tracks themselves, while pretty, are not very distinctive nor exciting on their own. This hurts since there are only about 4 original tracks in the game and you race on different segments of them. In actuality, it's hard to tell one apart from the another. - The police have the odd tendency to be aggressive one moment, and then just give up the next. It's a bit hard to figure them out. - The replay is [not good]. It's almost entirely from the vantage point you raced as, and so you don't get to see the spetactular crashes in any more detail. Keep in mind that, for the price, it's not a bad racer at all. In fact, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a better arcade racer on the PC. And truly, the game is a lot of fun. I just wish EA spent a little more time with it. New tracks and/or a track editor would be fantastic additions that are sadly absent.