It’s no secret that the Need For Speed franchise has lost its way.  Over the past few years we have gone from the streets, to the mountains, to the tracks – but with only a modicum of success.  In all honesty we had started to wonder if this was the end of a fun, but flawed, racing franchise.

Step forward Criterion – our saviours.

To equal, or indeed surpass, Burnout Paradise will require one heck of an amazing racing game – but from what we have been shown so far, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is looking more than up to the challenge.

The game kicks off  by giving you the choice between being a Cop or Racer. This will impact how you play the game, as Cops are chasing and Racers are evading.

Criterion has introduced a type of power up system for the game.  An example for the Racers is radar jammers, whilst the Cops get to call in a helicopter to sniff out targets from above.  This is an interesting twist and could lead to some serious cat and mouse battles.

With more than half the games features still under wraps, this is already looking absolutely stellar.  Check out the trailer below for a Mustang VS Koenigsegg VS Veyron VS Zonda VS Lambo smackdown!  Oh, there’s also a helicopter!