Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is a bit of stunner in the looks department. Designed with the Voodoo II chipset in mind, the visuals of NFS3 are hot indeed! At times photo realistic, the most noticeable feature of the game is the use of coloured lighting. Not at all tacked on or token, the use of coloured lighting is subtle and careful. Weather effects are spectacular, and NFS3 boasts perhaps the most impressive night driving scenario to date. The series has always been a bit taxing on the system, and NFS3 is no exception. Running the software-rendered mode on anything less than a Pentium II with 64 MB RAM is a bit pointless. This game was reviewed on a P166 with 32MB RAM, and a Diamond Monster 3D card, with less than pleasing results. With all graphic detail set to off or minimum, the game still chugged along with an abysmal (but bearable) frame rate.
Featuring the usual slew of super-cars, game modes and hidden goodies, NFS3 has familiarity on its side. Shipping with 14 super cars, EA have just announced that at least a further 8 cars will be downloadable from the net over the coming months(Rumour has it that the Aussie favourites, the Holden Special Vehicles will make an appearance in the line up!). Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit's greatest advancement however, is the mode that gives the game its name. With Hot Pursuit mode, EA have upped the ante that was introduced in the first NFS. The idea is to race another car on one of the standard tracks, trying to avoid being caught by the people in blue. The fun part is this, rather than a lone squad car trying to keep up with you, the police of Hot Pursuit are substantially more aggressive. They'll overtake, try to cut you off and block your path. It's a heck of a lot of fun, and with the ability to hear the dispatcher rally all police cars in the area and seeing sometimes up to 4 cars on your tail, Hot Pursuit is that much more frantic and a fantastic addition to the game.
Still, NFS has its let-downs. The driving model is still a little too fake to be completely enjoyable. Part of the thrill of speeding down public roads at 220 kph is the knowledge that one bad decision can send your car careening into a tree or cause a pile up that would make the English jealous. In NFS3, clipping a car travelling in the opposite direction at 220 kph results in a little jolt and almost no loss in speed. You can also bounce your way around corners with the speedo remaining steady, which is never a good thing.
Although Need for Speed 3 has the excellent Hot pursuit mode, stunning courses and nice visuals, it's all a bit familiar now. The driving engine hasn't really made any leaps and bounds. While the sense of speed is spot on, the sense of driving a super-car on public roads is lacking. Halfway between being serious fun, and being a little too arcadey.