Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit

Release Date - March 25, 1998 (NA)

Developer - EA Canada

Publisher - Electronic Arts

Platform - PlayStation, PC

The Need for Speed franchise began in a relatively unsuspecting way, with a release on the ill-fated 3DO platform in 1994. The game notably featured real-life supercars like the Acura NSX, Dodge Viper and Lamborghini Diablo, and for pitting these cars in illegal street races. The Need for Speed was soon ported to PC, Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn, and would receive critical praise and become a commercial success.

The sequel, Need for Speed II would release in 1997 on PlayStation and PC, and was notably a more arcade-styled racer compared to the relatively realism grounded first game. There was some dissent from reviewers at the time, as the sequel seemed to be straddling an uncomfortable line between realism and arcade racing. The series would need a game to cement the franchise for the future, and Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit was that game.

Need for Speed III is a beautiful looking game, with some gorgeous scenery to race around in.
(Screen taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMMvjJpj68Y)

Hot Pursuit carried the hallmarks of the Need for Speed series of licensed supercars and street based tracks to race on, but continued to stray from the ‘simulation’ aspirations that the original game might have had. Most importantly, the game’s defining feature was the new Hot Pursuit mode; in this mode you didn’t just race against your opponents, but police vehicles would actively be chasing the player, that is unless you preferred to play as a cop! For the first time in the series, the player could choose to play as the police and chase and shut down the illegal racers!

Cops were a major part of the game, whether you were playing as them or being pursued by them. It added a whole new dimension of gameplay.
(Screen taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMMvjJpj68Y)

Hot Pursuit featured wider tracks, smarter opponents and better scenery than both of its predecessors to create the most beautiful and action packed Need for Speed title yet. Cars would scream around corners in a power-slide around the long sweeping bends, finding shortcuts to speed through and avoid traffic. When you were in the ‘Pursuit’ mode, police could even lay down spike strips or call in road-blocks to halt the illegal racers in their tracks.

While the physics may not have been very realistic, the game retained the real-world cars, featuring the likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Mercedes as manufacturers. While driving these cars, you could even turn the headlights on and off or use the horn, of course if you were driving a police vehicle, you could turn on the sirens to initiate a chase! The cars could have their colours customised, came in manual or automatic transmission and even allowed for tuning to optimise the car for individual tracks and situations. In the PC version you could even get a verbal run-down of the cars by the game’s narrator, and even view pictures of the car’s interior. Additional cars were even made available for download (for free!) by EA after launch.

Cars were painstakingly detailed, with some gorgeous models and textures recreating the dream vehicles in the game.
(Screen taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMMvjJpj68Y)

The tracks that you could race on were equally stunning, and again, each track could be described and showcased by the game’s narrator. The narrator for Hot Pursuit does an excellent job giving some flavour to the game and never fails to add some excitement to the proceedings. There are ten tracks all up that take place in varied locations, all of them street racing based. The content is stretched further with the addition of mirror and reverse modes for each track, giving you a very long list of potential races. The tracks feature variable weather effects too, with some gorgeous touches like the cars kicking up water in the rain, or leaves and dirt flying up as you drive through different terrain types. The lighting must be noted here in particular, with cars high-beams giving off a nice effect in the rain, and police sirens having an impressive lighting effect on the surrounding scenery.

Races can get hectic, with cars jostling for position in the otherwise serene environments.
(Screen taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMMvjJpj68Y)

The game went on to become a critical and commercial hit for EA evidenced not only by the multitude of Need for Speed sequels, but even a direct Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit II being released in 2002. So popular was the concept of police chases, that a reboot simply titled Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was released in 2010. The mix of beautiful presentation, blistering gameplay and a unique hook made this a game that would be fondly remembered by racing fans for decades to come.

Although far from a simulation, this really felt like a love letter to car fans. Need for Speed III was a boyhood dream come true for many would-be-racers.