DESCRIPTION

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 redefines the series for the PC with four play modes, five types of races, and online multiplayer action. In Single Challenge, players earn points based on performance to unlock new cars and tracks, while Hot Pursuit and Championship modes offer a series of races leading to "Ultimate Road Racer" and "World Champion" titles respectively. Hot Pursuit mode gives players 33 high-speed challenges ranging from fast getaways to chasing down speeders as a cop, while Championship mode consists of 33 events focusing more on skill than police evasion. Quick Race mode offers randomly generated single-player races with unlocked cars on available tracks.

Race types available in Single Challenge, Hot Pursuit and Championship modes include standard race-to-the-finish-line events, "Be the Cop" races (chase down and run into targeted speeders), Lap Knockout (elimination racing against up to seven computer-controlled drivers), Tournament (design your own multi-race event), and Free Run (no time limits or opponents). In Single Challenge races, options include a choice of police presence or not, number of opponents, type of opponent vehicles, three difficulty settings, traffic, time limits (three, five, or seven minutes), and the number of races in a tournament (two to eight).

Tracks in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 feature shortcuts, escape routes, tunnels, reversible directions, mirror images, and much more, while Hot Pursuit and Championship modes include "trees" that allow gamers to select a specific path through an interconnected series of challenges and rewards. Players can choose from and unlock more than 20 world-class licensed cars from manufacturers including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Jaguar, Mercedes, BMW, Viper, Corvettes, Mustang Cobras, Lotus, Vauxhall, and many more.

Automatic or manual shifting, slow-motion replays and other camera tricks, vehicle color selections, selectable HUD features, and customized audio with more than a dozen tracks from EA Games (including songs by Uncle Kracker and Rush), are but some of the options included. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 supports up to eight players via the Internet or a LAN. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide