Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 excels in various racing tactics. Unlike most racing games, Need For Speed games offer improved street racing with add-ons like police officers chasing your vehicle or you taking out the "trash" (speeders) as a cop yourself. If you've been a fan of the NFS series for the PlayStation or PC in the past, you'll no doubt need to buy this game for the speed and thrills it has to offer.

Gameplay for racing games seems to lack for the most part (unless you're a racing fanatic). However, offering thirty-three career challenges for both "Hot Pursuit" and "Championship mode" apiece, the game offers some challenge. (The difference between the two modes is Hot Pursuit offers "street racing" with cops chasing you and traffic, while Championship mode is the same thing without the interferences of cops and cars.) For each of the thirty-three career mode challenges you have a chance to win a bronze, silver, or gold medal. Each of the top three places offers some "NFS Points" that buys tracks and cars. As you move your way down the challenges, you will encounter harder levels with faster AIs that will leave you behind in a smoldering smoke cloud. Though you can pick your car before each race (some levels are limited to one-car-only selection), the computer picks a like car and somehow manages to use the car better than you, which will often vex you. This can be a challenge at first, at least until you have mastered the track and all its shortcuts.

If that isn't challenging enough, you'll be glad to know you need to beat the challenges (placing gold gives you more) so you get the NFS Points or you will have very limited amount of cars and tracks (in fact, five cars and only one track) to choose from until you unlock them with your NFS Points. With twelve tracks offering different routes and a reverse mode, you'll be kept fresh without the hassle of getting bored. Additionally, each track is quite immense, taking around at least (for the most part) over two minutes per lap.

If the tracks don't keep it fresh for you, knowing there are more than forty-four cars to choose from should. Each car's statistics can be viewed by looking at the "Showcase" EA (Electronic Arts) has placed inside the game. Experimenting with the cars until you find one with good acceleration and speed and turning is important to win races.

There are quite a few different modes to choose from in Single Challenge (two players can play). By few, I mean not many. There are five altogether. You can play a single race (two players, too) with cops and traffic or none at all, be a cop and chase down speeders, Lap Knockout where the last to finish a lap or get arrested is eliminated, play a tournament, or a free run with no laps or time limit. There are a few options to change, but nothing real exciting.

Controls are okay but nothing more. If you're simply a gas-and-go type of person, controls are perfectly fine. Gas, brakes, shifting gears, and turning are very accessible, but the horn and backwards viewing is not. While the horn plays no role for racing, it does when you consider being a cop and that's your sirens. Being down on the "D-Pad" isn't very accessible of you want to continue steering-especially if you're on a track with little straight ways. The backwards viewing is tremendously difficult to reach if you want to hold gas in. (It's located on the C-Stick (down).) After changing the controls in the options, I immediately changed back to the original as it seemed to be the best. It may be insignificant, but can also be irritating during race time.

The sound of the game is well-done. Though it was disappointing that music was unchangeable and it is randomly played throughout the entire game (actually, nonstop except for pause and loading), it wasn't enough to keep the sound down. Some of the instrumentals can really set the mood of a race with just the right beat, while the singing ones can do just the same.

During the races you will hear voices of policemen and the dispatcher if you're in Hot Pursuit or have the "cops" on in Single Challenge. They correspond with each other during the pursuits and set up roadblocks or spike strips, call for back-ups, and even helicopters. EA should have added more cop voices and different sayings. The sayings and voices get old after hearing them all in a three- or four-lap race. (Not an over-exaggeration, either.)

Graphics are nice for a racing game, but are still slightly above mediocrity. The cars are detailed but look like they could have had a bit of an improvement. Although you will see the cars become damaged, it doesn't feel like real-life since it seems to take a hard beating before your car even has a dent. The graphics around the cars looks good. Trees with leaves blowing off them, to volcanic eruptions, to waterfalls, to mountains and the like, the game has quite a nice touch, but still lacks great graphics. Of course it doesn't look like the best racing game, but they sure are nice compared to older NFS games since it is displayed on such a powerful machine. However, when being arrested you see cops and the driver of the speeding vehicle, and the graphics look like Nintendo 64 graphics. The hands look like Goldeneye 007 hands and the bodies and faces look slightly better. However, this is quite trivial compared to the true focuses of the game-racing and speed.

Another problem with Hot Pursuit 2 is its frame rates. At first glance, it hadn't occurred to me that the game suffered in this category. After playing for a bit, I realized the game could get pretty bad at times, but not all the time. It's nothing that would completely irritate anyone, so that shouldn't be a problem.

If you're a fan of racing games or just the NFS series, this is a good game to check out. This game is indeed separate from all other racing games. Worth a buy to those who enjoy racing games (unlike myself). Worth a rent if you moderately like racing games. Neat game, but can be boring after while, though I get bored with most racing games. Before buying it, you really should rent it and get a feel to see if you want it. Don't make the mistake of buying something you may rue later.