Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

The Need for Speed series returns, this time reverting back to the 'chase' arcade experience instead of a racing simulation. Top speed racing is the name of the game, where you must outchase not just the…

80 30 September 2002

Racing Action

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is a racing developed by Black Box Games, released 30 September 2002 on Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC (Microsoft Windows). The main story takes about 14 hrs to finish.

Verified 15 Oct 2026 Sources: IGDB , Wikipedia

What Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is a racing game developed by Black Box Games and released in 2002. It was published by Electronic Arts. It is available on Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC (Microsoft Windows). It runs on EAGL.

The premise, in the publisher's words

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is a 2002 racing video game, the sixth installment in the Need for Speed series following Porsche Unleashed (2000) and the direct sequel to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998). It was developed by EA Black Box for the PlayStation 2, and a distinctly different version by EA Seattle for GameCube, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 features cars from various high-performance and exotic car manufacturers. Players can compete in races using these cars, or opt to play as a police officer and pursue speeders.

Description from Wikipedia · source

How it plays

It is played from a first person perspective. Its themes are action. It is a single-player game with no multiplayer component. Available modes: Multiplayer, Single player and Split screen.

Where it sits in the Need for Speed series

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is the ninth of 84 entries we hold in the Need for Speed series. It arrived 3 years after Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed. The next entry was Need for Speed: Top Speed in 2002. Its critic score of 80 is 6 points above the series average of 74. The highest-rated entry is Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit - Limited Edition at 92.

See all 84 Need for Speed games in release order →

How it was received

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 holds a critic score of 80 out of 100. That places it above 71% of the 1,168 rated racing games in our database, which average 68. Games released in 2002 averaged 68, so it scored 12 points above the year average. Player ratings track closely with critics at 78, across 281 votes.

How long it takes, and what that costs

The main story runs about 14 hrs.

What it launched against

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 launched on 30 September 2002, within three weeks of Battlefield 1942, TimeSplitters 2, Kingdom Hearts and Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. It reviewed better than 1 of the 4.

Released around the same time: Battlefield 1942, TimeSplitters 2, Kingdom Hearts, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.

Cheats and codes

We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.

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