With police pursuits reintegrated into the game,
Hot Pursuits gameplay now consists of two categories. The first encompasses standard racing, as it has been in its predecessors,
The Need for Speed and
Need for Speed II, in which the player is allowed to race against one (including split-screen races) or seven other racers in normal circuit racers, knockouts, or tournaments (which allow the player to unlock bonus vehicles and a bonus track). The second category is dubbed "Hot Pursuit", where
police pursuits are included in races; the mode allows the player to select a standard sports car to race against a single opponent in a police-scattered track. The PC version also contains a role reversal variation in which players select a police version of a sports car to pursue and stop all six racers before they complete the race. Completing the Hot Pursuit challenges in both roles in the PC version on every track of the game unlocks additional police sports cars. Two modes were introduced in the game. The two-player
split-screen mode allows two players to race using the same computer. The "Knockout" mode consists of seven races with eight racers on randomly chosen tracks, in which conditions such as selected difficulty, weather, and so on that the player has chosen before starting the race-series will apply. Each race consists of two laps where the driver who finishes last will be eliminated from the race lineup. All other drivers advance to the next round and carry on with the battle until there is only one player left, who technically wins the knockout competition. The standard "Tournament" mode consists of eight opponents in a four-lap race on randomly selected tracks and choices made by the player as in the knockout mode take effect when the tournament is started. The game supports network play through a
serial port,
modem, or
IPX, and online gaming through
TCP/IP protocol. It also allowed
spawn installations of itself to be installed on other machines. Racing tracks range from desert canyons to countryside villages, as well as snow-capped mountain ranges. Most tracks contain one or more secret shortcuts. Car tuning was also introduced, which allowed any car's handling to be customized by adjusting low or high-end properties for
engine tuning and
gear ratios, front or back
brake balance, slow or fast braking speed, soft or stiff suspension, low or high aerodynamics as well as rain or racing tires. Any of these options could be modified via sliders to offer a digit-sensitive, percentage-based effect to the selected car's overall performance. Higher-end engine and gear tuning, for example, will compromise acceleration for better top speed. Rear-based brake balance and slow braking speeds make for wider, drifting turns, and aerodynamics provide even higher speeds at the loss of handling.
Pursuit system Hot Pursuits pursuit system has been significantly improved in terms of
AI and police tactics over
The Need for Speed. The game now requires that the racer only stops near a pursuing police car to be
ticketed or arrested by the police, as opposed to being overtaken by a police car, forcing the racer to pull over for the same punishments. Accordingly, police cars are now programmed with the ability to block a racer's car in an attempt to halt them. In addition, whereas the original
Need for Speed would only have a single police car chasing a racer in each pursuit,
Hot Pursuit allows more police cars to pursue a racer, opening up the opportunity for them to collectively ambush the racer's car. Tactical aspects of the police pursuits have also been improved. The police have the ability to deploy
roadblocks which has computer-controlled police cars form a wall across the road, and
spike strips which puncture the tires of a racer's car, bringing it to a halt. Both tactics present weaknesses, specifically gaps in the blockade that can be used by a racer to avoid collisions with police cars, or tire punctures from a spike strip which is only deployed on one side of the road. The player may also listen to police radio chatter on the pursuits' statuses, revealing to them the current locations of racers, police cars, as well as roadblocks and spike strips. The radio chatter also reveals reactions to specific events, such as a racer's collision with a parked police car, as well as referencing the racer's passing speed and the occurrence of the race itself ("It looks like the cars are racing!"). Furthermore, if a computer-controlled racer's driving conduct proves to be more dangerous (also chosen by the player) than that of the racer's, the police may relent their pursuit of the player and chase the AI instead. ==Reception==