Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 - Hot Ham

To this day, exactly seventeen years ago, we ran with and from police in one of Need for Speed's most successful sequels.

To date, seventeen years ago, its engines were powered by Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube consoles. Continuing the successful concept of running away from the police and capturing fugitive drivers as a police officer was the first NFS title of the sixth console generation, and the BlackBox studio debut project that made many the best NFS series games (Undergrund, Most Wanted) by many.

Aside from speeding, the key to success in this game was taking advantage of the various shortcuts on the tracks. In the role of a police officer, helicopter could be summoned and tires could be trapped. It was driven in four fictitious locations with tropical, Mediterranean, alpine and desert environments. There were about twenty exotic, licensed vehicles on offer including a Ferrari 360 Spider, a Lamborghini Diablo, a McLaren F1 and a Jaguar XKR.

The PlayStation 2 version was the best, while everyone else got lower ratings due to weaker gameplay and the omission of some segments. For example, the PC version did not have split-screen multiplayer capability.

Hot Pursuit 2 was not the last NFS of its kind and received a reboot in 2010 directed by the creators of Burnout, with a similar concept to NFS Rivals.