Following a mostly forgettable string of plot-heavy releases, the 17th(!) installment of the NFS series rather sensibly restores the basic element that defined the original: pursuit. Specifically, those catch-me-if-you-can contests measuring the skill and tenacity of two drivers in big-engine cars. (We have a troubling notion as to how many kids opt to play as proud enforcers of the law, and those who choose to play as the long-haired, criminal element that currently plague our nation’s virtual roadways.) The game’s chases take place on the 100-plus miles of road in Seacrest County, a topographically diverse locale that encompasses a coastal community and parts of a desert and high-mountain forest. To bring these high-octane chases to an end, cops can use spike strips and set up roadblocks; speed-junkies must rely on radar jammers and precious turbo-boosts to evade the Man. And since the game features virtual versions of real-life vehicles, you no longer have to imagine what it’s like to respond to a “four-eleven” — or shake off a pair of black-and-whites — while behind the wheel of a McLaren F1.
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