Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit

Review

by Jonathan Sutyak

Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is a typical racing game with the addition of a police chase mode and Internet play. To take full advantage of every aspect of the game you will need a rather powerful computer. Installation options include four different choices. Three of them contain different levels of graphics and options. The other is the installation of only the Internet play.

Controls can be set up in many ways as well. You can even race with the arrow keys, though I don't recommend that. Outside of standard controls you can also beep your horn, turn on/off your headlights/high beams, use sirens, and drop spike strips. Different camera angles, weather conditions, and instant replay after each race can be selected too.

Overall gameplay is smooth and really good. Cars handle well but can have adjustments made to them if you want. Crashing into things won't damage your car but it is possible to roll the car over. Unfortunately, not all of the cars are available from the start. Some of them have to be unlocked by winning races on certain difficulty settings.

Hot Pursuit mode requires racers to be the first across the finish as in other modes, but at the same time the police will be attempting to stop every car in the race. It is challenging as the cop and as the person running from the law. One bad move while racing and the cops will be all over you. If you run into another vehicle your speed will decrease rapidly and give the police an easy target. The main advantage while playing as the officer is that civilian traffic gets out of your way.

Tracks consist of regular roads filled with civilian vehicles and buildings. The tracks look great and have plenty of twists and turns but they are not varied enough. There are eight tracks but each one is very similar to another so it actually feels like there are only four. If your computer has 3D capabilities the lighting will look exceptional and the atmosphere will appear much more realistic. One complaint about the tracks is that they are enclosed. Almost every road is surrounded by rocks, trees, or buildings. No open areas for you to run far off the road exist.

Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is a great game because of the ability to play as the police and take part in multiplayer games. Take away those two modes and you have a basic racing game with great graphics.