Decade-old Need For Speed Hot Pursuit Returning As A Remastered Version

• The remastered version will feature cross-platform play, 4K support with up to 60fps max frame rate in addition to all the contents available with the 2010 version.

• It will see Criterion Games, who developed the original 2010 game, return to the series.

• It will launch across PC, PS4, XBox, and Nintendo Switch in November.

Need for Speed, once a franchise synonymous with racing video games, has been on a downward spiral for almost a decade now, its throne usurped by the likes of Forza Horizon and DiRT Rally. These days, in what looks like a ploy to claw back some market share by capitalizing on some of its biggest release names from decades ago, EA Games regularly releases new titles with the same name, making it frustrating for gamers to differentiate what came out when. Now, a remastered version of the iconic 2010 NFS: Hot Pursuit is set to launch this November on all current-gen platforms.

With the NFS games etched in the memory of every kid who grew up in the 2000's, the last of the glory days would be seen with the 2010 reboot of the NFS: Hot Pursuit series. While most of us would give the number one spot to the Most Wanted or Underground title, the 2010 Hot Pursuit came in at a close second.

Aside from the stunning graphics it packed for its time, the 2010 reboot -- yes, it itself was a reboot of a 1998 game -- also included some amazing action-packed police-chase drama. With high-tech escape/apprehending gadgets and high-speed interceptors, the game was just a pure masterpiece, in terms of both the racing and the cars.

Since it is a remaster, the new version will feature everything available in the 2010 game, from supercars and police interceptors to all the DLC cars and races. In addition to that, it will get 4K support and a max frame rate of 60fps. Autolog, the same social competition that handled online modes, will also be available, and players can now compete across all platforms with cross-play. The frame rate cap is put in place to even the odds for console users when it comes to cross-platform play.

The first Hot Pursuit was launched in 1998 as NFS 3, and it featured my favourite supercar: the Lamborghini Diablo SV. This was followed by Hot Pursuit 2 in 2002, which put the McLaren F1 in the spotlight alongside the Lambo Murcielago and the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR. Eventually, EA decided to reboot the series in 2010, with Criterion Games (of Burnout fame) at the helm.

NFS: Hot Pursuit Remastered will be launched on November 6 on PC, PS4 and XBox One, with the Switch receiving the game on November 13. Given how close we are to the launch of next-gen consoles, expect the remaster to make its way to the PS5 and Xbox Series X as well eventually. Criterion Games will return for the remaster, considering the NFS series has been falling short of expectations ever since Ghost Games took charge in 2011.