Need for Speed Heat vs Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit
Need for Speed Heat is an open-world racing game from EA Gothenburg (2019) while Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is a racing game from EA Vancouver (1998).
Quick answer: Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit has the higher Metacritic, 88 to 72.
Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit
What each one is
Need for Speed Heat is filed under Open-World and Racing. In contrast, Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit under Racing.
Hustle by day and risk it all at night in Need for Speed™ Heat Deluxe Edition, a white-knuckle street racer, where the lines of the law fade as the sun starts to set.
Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is a 1998 racing video game developed for PlayStation by EA Canada and Microsoft Windows by EA Seattle, and published by Electronic Arts. It is the third major installment in the Need for Speed franchise, incorporating police pursuits as a major part of gameplay. Hot Pursuit remains focused on racing using exotic sports cars, but features races that primarily take place in locations within North America, including varied settings and climates. Police AI is improved over the first game, utilizing several tactics to stop both the player and opponent. The PlayStation version was released on March 25, 1998, while the Windows version was released on September 23, the same year. The game received critical success, with praise for its graphics and customization options. It received a direct sequel in 2002 and a reboot in 2010.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
The player (male player voiced by Andrew Lawrence , female player voiced by Jamie Gray Hyder ) arrives in Palm City for the SpeedHunters Showdown, a citywide exhibition that draws in racers who compete in sanctioned races throughout the day, and illegal street races at night. Lt. Frank Mercer (Josh Coxx), leader of the police's High-Speed Task Force, announces his intent to arrest all street racers in the city. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Need for Speed Heat received generally positive reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . Critics welcomed the overhauled progression system (compared to the predecessor Payback where one of the methods to gain upgrades for a car was to purchase loot boxes ) and the option to choose between day and night for increased race variety, but criticized the short story and lack of innovation compared to previous titles. Luke Reily… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The PlayStation version of Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit received "favorable" reviews, just two points shy of "universal acclaim", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . Next Generation called it "an excellent racer for both novice and expert enthusiasts. Hopefully EA will continue to improve the engine so that NFSIV offers a great two-player experience as well. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Need for Speed Heat | Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.4/10 | — |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (84%, 153,208) | — |
| Critic aggregate | 72/100 | 88/100 |
| Price | $69.99 | Unknown |
| Install size | 50 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | Untested |
| Released | 2019 | 1998 |
| Developer | EA Gothenburg | EA Vancouver |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Need for Speed Heat vs Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Need for Speed HeatOpen-world racing gameNeed for Speed III: Hot PursuitRacing gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Need for Speed HeatRacing, Open World, DrivingNeed for Speed III: Hot PursuitNo descriptive tagsThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Need for Speed HeatMetacritic 72Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit ✓Metacritic 88Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Need for Speed Heat153,208 reviews · 2 add-ons · 50 GBNeed for Speed III: Hot Pursuit—Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Need for Speed Heat$69.99Need for Speed III: Hot PursuitUnknownRead live from Steam and subject to change.
Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (Metacritic 88)
Where they differ
RacingOpen WorldMultiplayerDrivingActionSingleplayer
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Need for Speed Heat is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Need for Speed Heat | Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | AMD: Radeon 7970/Radeon R9 280x | — |
| Minimum CPU | FX-6350 | — |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | — |
| Install size | 50 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Need for Speed Heat · Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Need for Speed Heat and 0 for Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Need for Speed Heat and Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit in scope?
Need for Speed Heat has drawn 153,208 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 50 GB. Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit lists little scope data.
Is Need for Speed Heat or Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Need for Speed Heat or Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Need for Speed Heat or Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit?
Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit has the higher Metacritic, 88 to 72. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.