Speed thrills in racer game

The Associated Press

You say you feel the need for speed?

Let Electronic Arts help.

The latest in their fine arcade racing series, "Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2," is just what the doctor ordered -- if your doctor drives his Mercedes-Benz at 150 mph.

The game, developed by Black Box for the PlayStation 2, is the best in the series and, for my money, the best arcade racer ever created.

There's no fiddling with suspension settings, no tire swaps, no gas gauge plunging toward empty. All you have to do is drive -- fast -- and avoid the squadron's cops in powerful prowl cars who will stop at nothing to pull you over and end your reign of terror on the highways.

Everything about the game is honed to razor sharpness.

The courses are long, chock full of details and challenging, offering a nice variety of scenes and tons of shortcuts you have to use to avoid cops and edge ahead of your opponents.

The controls are extremely easy to use; you rarely need to touch the brakes, so steering and a delicate finger on the gas are generally all you need to succeed.

There's also plenty of variety to keep you entertained, with split-screen head-to-head racing available if you don't feel like speeding alone.

The key modes are the standard racing game, which involves you against several similarly powered cars in over-the-road competition, and Hot Pursuit, my personal favorite. It lets you try to evade arrest while racing at highly illegal speeds on public roads.

It even lets you play as the cops if you get bored trying to outrun them.

To add to the excitement, these cops don't play fair. They'll run you off the road, crash into you, set up roadblocks and spike strips and even bombard you from helicopters in their frantic efforts to get you off the road.

You really have to experience it to understand how much fun is packed into the game. The sensation of speed in some of the hotter cars is amazing, far more realistic than many titles based on real racing series.

As with most racers, winning pays. It lets you unlock fresh tracks and new cars, all the way up to top-of-the-line models from Ferrari, Porsche and others. And each of the main modes offers "trees" which let you see what each race offers to the winner and allows you to focus on the ones you want out of the dozens available.

Graphics get an A. NFS:HP2 is a gorgeous game, with excellent renderings of the cars and delightfully detailed scenery. Driving through the smoke from a roadside brush fire is amazing, and check out the reflection effects.

Control gets another A. Your car is easy to handle, and the controls themselves take about five minutes to become comfortable with. Not only that, but camera angles are consistently excellent.

Sound gets a B+. All that's missing is a more extensive musical soundtrack. Vehicle sounds, including the mighty engines propelling you down the road, are first-rate, and the crackling voices of the police as they hound you are well done.

"Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2" gets an enthusiastic A. If you love motor racing, you have to have this game.