Burton's Bytes

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 Publisher: Electronic Arts. Format: PC/PS2.

IT'S remarkable how two games - both sequels to high successful originals - from entirely different publishers can turn out so similar.

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 and Burnout 2: Point of Impact are jostling for space on the crowded shelves of our video games shops promising the same brand of high-octane arcade racing thrills. Both are triple-A titles with an excellent pedigree but which one is a worthy winner?

The Need For Speed series has been around for nearly ten years now.

Starting life as a semi-serious driving simulation on the defunct 3DO console, with sponsorship from the US mag Car & Driver, Need For Speed ditched any pretensions to reality several versions ago. Nowadays it's just an out-and-out racer.

I must admit to having a soft spot for the NFS series. Maybe it's because the 3DO game blew me away when it came out in 1994 or because NFS2 was the first 3Dfx game I ever placed on my PC.

Hot Pursuit 2 is available on all the major platforms. Interestingly the game differs depending on which version you opt to buy. The PS2 title was created by a different studio to the others; the work had to be shared around if it were to hit the shops in time for Christmas.

PC buyers get the same version as X Box and Game Cube owners - but is it the best?

Like its immediate predecessors Hot Pursuit 2 isn't a Gran Turismo wannabe. It's not about endless tinkering with suspension settings. Rather you drop into the cockpit of an exotic supercar and weld your accelerator pedal to the metal.

EA's bulging coffers have been well spent on some coveted car licensing deals. Want to drive a Lotus, a Lamborghini, a Ferrari or a Porsche? You'll be needing this game then.

It's a terrific roster and the one area where Hot Pursuit 2 wins hands down over Burnout 2 which can only offer cunningly renamed facsimiles of the real thing.

As you'd guess from the title, NFS is all about chases. Your task is to outrun the law in hot pursuit of your 200mph road-going racer.

No problem, you may think. No policeman is going to stand a chance when I'm behind the wheel of a Ferrari.

Ah, but remember this is a fantasy racing title so the police drivers on your tail have swapped their bloated Buicks for some pretty hot metal of their own.

Not only that but the cops have an arsenal of weapons at their disposal. If you can outrun your pursuers, expect them to throw up barricades or lay a Stinger across the road. The Stinger, for those not familiar with it, is a particularly nasty contraption that looks very much like a spiked carpet designed to blow out your tyres.

If the police manage to haul you over, it's time to start again. The PC version is harder in this respect than its PS2 cousin which allowed you three chances before insisting on a restart.

The PC game also has fewer cars (around 30) and a totally different way of allocating and spending points. Nor do the cars take damage and, almost inexcusably, the car models themselves seem less detailed than the PS2 version - strange given the PC platform's horsepower advantage over the Sony console.

Still the lighting effects are terrific (watch how the standing water reflects its surroundings) and the sound is spot on.

It does have some pretty spectacular visual effects though - especially the Matrix-style crashes - and runs really well on a mid-range PC although its full beauty can only be appreciated on a beefy 1GHz plus system.

Burnout 2: Point of Impact is like NFS's manic cousin. It's faster, more intense and absolutely beautiful to look at.

One criticism of the original Burnout was the relative paucity of tracks. The extra development time for the sequel has allowed Acclaim to fully address that problem - all six locations are packed with levels, short cuts and secrets to discover.

Anyone who remembers the classic coin-op arcade machine Chase HQ will know what to expect of Burnout 2, particularly in pursuit mode.

Other options include a novel crash zone where you have to create the biggest conflagration possible in order to achieve the highest points score. Road safety experts would be appalled but, provided you don't take it seriously, this option is an enjoyable post-pub mini-game that's perfect for a group of mates to play.

As with the first Burnout your car takes damage in real-time. When you launch into a really spectacular smash the game takes over and replays your misdemeanour in jaw dropping detail that's the equal of NFS.

This is a game that encourages you to take risks. The driver with the greatest nerve and skill will charge their boost bar faster than the racer who hangs back waiting for the perfect overtaking opportunity. Result? Risk-takers win more races.

Of course it doesn't have the real life cars that NFS can boast and for some gamers that will be enough to sway their purchase decision. Taken as a whole, though, Burnout 2 has the legs on the PC edition of NFS and, although the margin is much closer on the PS2, it's probably the definitive PlayStation racer too.

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