Parents' Guide to Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered

While you can debate the wisdom of remaking a game in which you can be a cop or someone who knocks cops off the road, this is still a spot-on remake of a classic and still fun racing game. In Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered -- a remake of 2010's Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit -- players take to the fictional streets of the California- and Pacific Northwest-esque Seacrest County to engage in a series of illegal street races, during which they not only have to weave in and out of traffic, but they also have to avoid being stopped by the police. Unless, of course, players chose to be the cops, in which case they have to stop the illegal racers before they finish the race and get away.

As for what this remake adds, well, aside from giving the game a visual upgrade, it also boasts most of the cars they added to the game later. Unfortunately, a handful of vehicles are still missing in action. It also now lets online races take place between players on different consoles. What isn't different, though, is how much fun these races can be. Sure, weaving in and out of traffic is harrowing in real life, but it's exciting in this game. Doubly so since this not only has nicely twisted tracks, but it also has intuitive arcade-esque controls, as well as cars equipped with nitro tanks for when you need a jolt of speed. While knocking cops off the road is a thrill when you're a racer, it's even more fun when you're the cop and can not only ram criminals but use such toys as spike strips and an EMP to disable their vehicles. Although the game's lacking some modern amenities -- like optional assists that can change it from an arcade game to a realistic simulation -- and the soundtrack hasn't aged well, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered still manages to be as fast and furious as it was when there were only four of those movies.