Take NFS: Hot Pursuit For A Test Drive With Limited-Time Demo

Let's face it: There are a ton of games coming out this season, and only so much time to play them. That's why EA's announcement that Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is such welcome news. Now, before you commit to spending $60 on it, you can get a little sample of what it's like and see if it's your kind of game.

Starting tomorrow, October 26, Xbox 360 players can download the demo from the XBLA Marketplace. PS3 users will have to wait an additional day. From then until November 9, when the timed demo ends, players will be able to to check out the game's Dark Horse Hot Pursuit event, where they'll race through Seacrest County as a police officer. After adding a friend to their NFS friends list, players can open another event in the demo. This one's called Roadsters Reborn, and it allows players to...race cars. The game's online Autolog feature entices players into beating their friends' times.

“Need for Speed Hot Pursuit is blowing the roof off social competition and bringing excitement back to the racing genre,” says Matt Webster, producer at Criterion Games. “We’re putting players and their friends at the heart of the gameplay experience by automatically tracking and comparing each person’s performances. This demo will give gamers a snapshot of Need for Speed Autolog and how we’re amping up the energy of intense pursuits, competitive racing and online connected play – nothing is more powerful than beating your friends.”

After playing through the demo, players earn in-game currency for the retail release, in the form of 500 bounty points for the game's Cop and Racer career paths.