It's Like An Online Version Of Chase HQ

The police have been a significant presence in some of the best games in EA's Need For Speed series. Though you've occasionally been able to wear the badge yourself, the cops usually come into the picture as a result of your wreckless high-speed driving, after which they try to put your car out of commission, impound your vehicle, and throw you in the slam. The latest game in the long-running driving franchise returns to these core concepts and adds a robust-looking mix of data that personalizes the game by constantly comparing your performances against those of your friends.

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is being developed by Criterion, the makers of the Burnout franchise. While what EA is showing so far doesn't look quite as crash-heavy as the Burnout games, that trademark sense of speed is right there, in front of your face, running at 60 frames per second. That sense of speed makes these car chases seem downright dangerous, and the heavier feel of the cars themselves give you plenty of opportunities to lose control and dent up your car. Since taking and giving damage via collisions is a main part of the mode EA is showing, that "on the edge of control" feeling makes everything feel a bit more manic as you drive. 
== TEASER ==
  
The mode itself runs with up to eight players, who fill up teams of racers and cops. The racers are trying to get the heck out of trouble by getting away from the law, while the cops need to ram the race vehicles to knock them out of commission. This all goes down in an open world with over 100 miles of road to race on. Thankfully, it's more than just "cop rams racer until game is over." Each side has a set of four abilities that unlock and become available as the chase goes on. So after a few minutes of struggle, cops gain the ability to call in roadblocks. Other abilities, like an EMP blast that short-circuits the target car if hit, or a helicopter that gives you a wider patrol area, which keeps racers from getting away as easily. Meanwhile, the getaway drivers can employ radar jammers or decoys to force the cops to rely on pure visuals to see where they need to be going. Racers can also enable overdrive, which is a sort of hyper nitrous boost.

There are other modes and full single-player components for both cops and racers. All of these activities, online and off, will earn bounty, which serves as the experience points equivalent in Hot Pursuit. This is how you'll unlock additional cars and abilities.

While the demonstration being given here at E3 2010 focuses more on the Autolog--a news feed of your friends' activities that gives you pointers on how to proceed if you want to take back the top spot on some leaderboards--the multiplayer mode being shown feels like the cop chases from Need For Speed: Most Wanted transferred into an online multiplayer game. Now all they're missing is Razor Callahan...