Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit

Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is the third entry in the popular NFS franchise and is the first to include high-speed police chases. With an extensive car roster and high-octane racing, NFS III raised the bar on arcade racing games.

PlayStation

Racing Modes

Single Race: Race on any track in any car. This was your overall basic race around the track.

Practice: Self explanatory. This mode was offered in order for players to get a feel for the specifics of the track including each turn before trying in an actual race.

Knock-out: A series of 7 races in which everyone except the car that ends up in last place continues to the next race. Last car left is the winner. In multiplayer, knocked out players come back in later races as a slow delivery truck (Multiplayer only available in PC version, not PS1 version)

Tournament: A series of races in which racers accumulate points. At the end of the tournament the car with the most points win.

Hot Pursuit: A mode in which cops are present while the player is race against an opponent. The PC version also lets the the player take controls over a cop car. This was the brand new feature for the series and ultimately the main draw of Need for Speed III.

Hot Pursuit

If the player chooses to race in Hot pursuit mode he/she will not just try to outrace an opponent, but also trying to escape pursuing cops. When the cops manages to slow down the player to under a certain speed, he/she will get a ticket. The player will lose the race if he/she receives more tickets than the number of laps in the race. The cops will not only try to stop the racers by overtaking them, but also use roadblocks and spike strips.

Players can also be issued "warnings" if they pull over right away the first time the police are chasing them. This will only work once. Every other time, they will be fined until they are ultimately arrested.

The player does get to listen in on police radio chatter, which reveals current locations of racers, police cars, as well as roadblocks and spike strips. It also reveal reactions to specific events, such as a racer's collision with a parked police car, as well as referencing the racer's passing speed.

If the player chooses to be the cop. He/she must ticket all six racers before they complete their race (only available in the PC Version, not the PS1 version).