Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is another addition to Electronic Arts' long-running racing franchise. Blatant disregard for the law is the order of the day, as players blast through numerous exotic locales in one of more than 20 high-performance sports cars from some of the world's most renown car manufacturers -- Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Lotus, and BMW, among others. The main single-player mode, Hot Pursuit, offers 33 challenges, each of which presents the player with a unique scenario and basic restrictions pertaining to it: such as vehicle type, number of laps, nature of the race, and so forth.

Here, not only do players have to fend off the advances of fellow competitors, but they'll need to keep the police at bay. In order to keep the peace, the police will do whatever it takes to stop you, from bumping you at high speed to setting road blocks at various choke points and even laying down spike strips to puncture your tires. An onscreen meter indicates just how close you are to ditching the cops on your tail, and once it empties, the cops will give up the chase. This respite is temporary however, before long they'll swarm upon you once again.

The Championship mode allows players to compete within the confines of the law. Similarly styled to the aforementioned Hot Pursuit mode, it offers 33 pre-defined events, but with one significant difference: no cops. Successfully completing these events will earn you points that can in turn be spent on new vehicles and tracks for use in the Single Challenge mode. Rounding out the selection of modes are Quick Race and Single Challenge, the latter houses a selection of customizable modes such as Be a Cop, Two-Player, Lap Knockout, and Free Run. Lap Knockout sees the last-placed driver removed from the race at the end of each lap. ~ Gavin Frankle, All Game Guide