I have a long list of games I enjoy that I (And others) would love to see sequels for. While follow-ups to certain games like Infamous: Second Son are hamstrung by their developers being tied to making big new games, like Ghost of Tsushima in this instance, there are some games that should absolutely exist if only to breathe some life into their stagnating franchises.
One reason these sequels may not be in development yet is because the teams who worked on the original entries have no idea how high demand for them is, so over the following weeks I am going to outline exactly what games need new releases, and why, in a bid to raise awareness for these games. For the first in this series, the greatest open world racer of all time, until Forza Horizon came along two years later and usurped its throne. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.
In my opinion Need for Speed peaked in 2010 with Hot Pursuit. Arguably the best entry in the franchise, the graphics and gameplay were second to none at the time, with the gameplay still holding up tremendously well to this day. Every NFS entry on the current generation has varied from mediocre to outright shocking and it is high time that Criterion Games drop what they’re doing and remake or helm a sequel for it.
It is worth noting that Criterion also developed the universally liked Burnout Paradise, so it’s not as if they just got lucky with their creative ideas behind Hot Pursuit.
The amount of reboots and re-designs the Need for Speed franchise has gone through is damning, and I have lost track of the many hours I played of this incredible title that I still dip into on occasion in 2019. One of the few games I enjoyed as much during online play as I did in single player, the fast-paced and insane vehicle combat is the main reason this game has stuck in my mind as well as it has since its release back in 2010. Scoring well with critics the world over, it is certainly one of the best received entries in the franchise and I am convinced a new entry in the same vein as it could provide the much-needed spark these games have been sorely lacking over the past years.
The map in Hot Pursuit was amazing. From sandy beaches, dense forests and snow capped mountains, there was something for everybody in this thrill-ride experience. There was an unfortunate lack of urban areas in the generously sized open world, but as the game thrived on the wide, sweeping roads, this was probably a deliberate omission on the developers part that is in no way a deal breaker. The drifting was also the best I’ve seen in any racing game to date, and has been poorly imitated in pretty much every NFS entry since.
To summarise, Need for Speed as a franchise is desperate for something new, or something proven, to bring it back to the mainstream and attract the multitude of gamers who have become disillusioned with the franchise over the years. Instead of churning out the same paint by numbers tedium as it has since it wandered nonchalantly into the eight generation of consoles and set about embarrassing itself and racing games as a whole, the NFS series still has seriously untapped potential within Hot Pursuit.
That’s my pitch for why Criterion Games should ditch Battlefield and Battlefront for a bit, and get back to Hot Pursuit. I hope you’ll join me in informing them of why Hot Pursuit 2 should exist on their Twitter @CriterionGames and why not follow @RespawningUK while you’re there. I’ll be back next week with another game that definitely deserves a sequel, so I’ll catch you then!
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