Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998)
The classic PlayStation game, now playable directly in your browser via PS1 emulation. No downloads required!
💡 Tip: Click inside the game to capture keyboard. Connect a gamepad for authentic PS1 controls!
What Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is
Need for Speed III took the series' one distinguishing feature - police - and promoted it from a novelty to the point of the game. Earlier entries had patrol cars that showed up occasionally. Hot Pursuit built entire modes around them, gave them radio chatter, roadblocks and spike strips, and then let you switch sides and drive the patrol car yourself.
That decision is why this entry is the one people remember. Racing against opponents is a test of lines and braking points; racing against a police force is a test of nerve, because the pressure comes from behind you and it does not follow the racing line.
How it plays in your browser
The handling is arcade rather than simulation - the cars are exotics, they grip more than they should, and the game is more interested in speed than in tyre temperature. That is the correct choice for what it is trying to be.
Tracks are long point-to-point routes with shortcuts hidden off the main road, and finding those shortcuts is a real part of competing. The pursuit modes turn the same tracks into something else entirely, since you are now managing a police presence as well as your rivals.
Tips worth knowing
- Brake before the corner, not in it. The handling is forgiving but it will not save a mid-corner panic.
- Learn the shortcuts. On the longer routes they are worth more than a perfect lap.
- In pursuit races, roadblocks are telegraphed by radio chatter. Listening is genuinely useful.
- Playing as the police is a different game - you are herding rather than racing, and ramming is the tool.
- The fastest car is not always the right one. Handling matters more on the tighter routes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I play as the police in Hot Pursuit?
Yes. Taking the patrol car is one of the main modes, and it plays completely differently from racing.
Is this Need for Speed III or the 2010 Hot Pursuit?
This is Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, the 1998 release, not the later game that reused the name.
Is there a two-player mode?
Yes, split-screen on one machine. There is no online play.
Does my progress save?
Yes, through emulator save states in your browser, on the same device and browser.
More games like this
our Hot Pursuit write-up, NFS: High Stakes, Road Rash. You can also browse the full games library or read the guides on the blog.