EA wants everyone to be social in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. They want to focus on friends and challenges. They’ve got an option in the game called Autolog Recommends. This will allow players to automatically announce their dominance through constantly updated online blurbs. So, when you’re online and your friend smashes your record on a particular stage the autolog will pop up a picture of them and their achievements. Consider it motivation for players to do better.
The autolog will also allow for smack talk, so your friend can inform you on how terribly bad you stink at the game and basic social networking.
Other than that nice addition to the game, you also have a different career mode. The career mode is broken into two separate pieces:
– Cops
– Racers
That’s right, you can be cops or raceres this time around. You can have full careers in each and you can go two very different paths, with two very different rewards/outcomes; replay value anyone? As a cop you will be able to implement things like EMP and aerial support to stop the racers in their tracks.
The EMP burst an electromagnetic pulse, which will disrupt the racer’s car. The aerial support has a pursuit helicopter that will fly ahead of the racer and drop a spike strip to hurt their chances of an escape.
As a racer you’re able to perform a comm jamming method on the police radios so that the cop can’t be told where you’re going. Racers are also able to shift into overdrive (sort of a super nitrous) to speed away, uncontrollably — so make sure you’re on a somewhat straight track, from the cops.
Both careers include an upgrade ranking system that is based on bounty earned from the pursuit.
One final note, the racing styles on cops/racers is broken up into the following:
COPS – Patrol / Interceptor / Pursuit Race
RACERS – Cruise / Race / Pursuit Race / Interceptor
You can play online in these modes and both offline/online achievements equal out to bounty.
Pretty neat stuff and hopefully more to follow.
