When it was confirmed that none other than Criterion Studios would be developing one of the upcoming titles in the Need for Speed franchise, many didn’t know what to expect. Clearly, the studio has the skills and ability to develop racing titles and the studio has a long track record of delivering such titles, such as the last Burnout Paradise which was an incredible title.

When we first heard about Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (which was the name of the title that Criterion is developing) we immediately wondered if it was nothing more than a maxed-out version of the Cops and Robbers add-on that we saw the studio release for Burnout Paradise during the game’s life cycle. The answer is that it is much more than that.

The game is very unique and features a variety of play modes for both single and multi-player for buyers to investigate. The project itself is perhaps more than the past releases and will finally get back to what the players have wanted the franchise to return to doing. There is nothing wrong with NFS going back to what it is good at and what is popular with the players.

The game, of course, looks stunning from what have seen of it so far and we would expect nothing less from Criterion, as they have always had a reputation for producing great looking titles that always push the hardware. From what we are told the cars are easy to adapt to and drive, which should make the game more accessible.

With all of the work that Electronic Arts is putting into the revival of the Need for Speed franchise, we have to admit that we had our doubts that it would be successful, but it would appear that Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit will be a worthy next chapter in the Need for Speed franchise after the surprising success that thesad company had with Need for Speed: Shift, which was released last year. It could be that EA does have this franchise back on track; but until Hot Pursuit is released, we will not know for sure.