Graphics: EA has improved on the already superb visuals of its predecessor. The graphics engine fully leverages the latest advances in 3D acceleration and maintains a high framerate with no jerkiness throughout. With the right hardware, you can play at a very high resolution and 32-bit color depth with triple buffering, lens flares, fog, skid marks, sparks, dust, smoke, reflective environmental mapping (which the NFS team still does better than anyone else) and many other special effects. The scenery is beautiful, and it does not matter at all to me that EA does not try to reproduce real-world locations the way Accolade's Test Drive series does. The cars are very accurately designed and look just like the real thing, and the 3D cockpits are extremely well done for the different car models. But I honestly liked the shinier finish in Hot Pursuit a bit better than the toned down sheen of vehicles in this version. Compared to other racers, the cars still look as if they are floating on the road while moving along, even though this has been slightly improved over the previous installment. Not that this is crucial, but I also liked the great introductory video in its predecessor better than the tamer one here. Remember the great dark lightning opening?

Interface: I found the interface for my racing input devices (Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Steering Wheel and Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad) to be way too sensitive, and the ability to expand and contract the dead zone was not the kind of control needed to fix this problem. When I checked with EA about why the control here feels so different from its predecessor, they explained that High Stakes uses floating point precision and four-tire physics, while Hot Pursuit used fixed point precision and two-tire physics. Regardless of the explanation, if any game companies are reading this, let me say here and now that, for gamepads and steering wheels, what we players would really like is direct in-game sensitivity controls. (I do not comment here on joystick and keyboard input because neither is intrinsically well-designed for control in racing titles.) The menu system continues the same stylish look introduced last year, but with the extra options, it can get a bit confusing. For example, if I race in single-player arcade mode and want to change the color of my car or use the nice "car compare" feature that allows me to examine my vehicle in the context of the others, I have to go through career mode to the showroom screen to do so. Moreover, does it make sense to anyone that, in this same single-player arcade mode, I have to go through career mode to the garage in order to select between manual and automatic transmission? The one aspect of the interface that is just right is the heads-up display, which can be completely customized and is intelligently laid out.

Gameplay: The speed at which you travel on the tracks is quite respectable, but nowhere near what you might experience in the fastest racers, such as ASC's Jeff Gordon XS Racing. I do like very much that each car model handles so differently. The new tracks seem a bit sterile despite their physical attractiveness -- they are not as varied in scenery or as exhilarating as those in Hot Pursuit -- and I miss the interactive surprises introduced by Ubi Soft's Speed Busters. To test my enjoyment of the play, I ran the same race track (Country Woods) using the exact same car with as close as possible to the exact same options in both Hot Pursuit and High Stakes; the results of this test were surprising, even to me. I enjoyed the driving much more in the earlier version because the physics gave me a feeling of much tighter control and significantly more grip on the road. Hot Pursuit mode is the most fun in this new offering, but even with three variations, it does not feel a whole lot different from that in the previous version. The two new variations simply emphasize speed in avoiding arrest and time pressure in completing laps to enhance the excitement.

Sound FX: The sound effects in this offering are quite effective. The different vehicles have unique engine sounds and the tracks contain a great range of location-specific ambient effects, including animal and machine sounds and horns from opposing drivers. But I am frankly fed up with EA's insistence of providing special 3D hardware sound support only for Creative Labs' Environmental Audio system when a far larger number of gamers have sound cards supporting the Aureal Vortex standard. So while anyone with a 3D sound card can get 3D audio effects here, the most advanced features will only be used if you have a Sound Blaster Live! card.

Musical Score: As with other aspects of this release, the soundtrack is in the exact same spirit as its predecessor. While I have always been partial to techno-rock, I must say I was hoping for some innovation here. And to tell the truth, I liked the music selections a whole lot more in Hot Pursuit. Still, the audio quality of the tunes is excellent and I do think the option of playing your own music CD is an admirable one, since many may choose that route to make up the difference.

Intelligence & Difficulty: Winning in High Stakes is much harder than in its predecessors, particularly against competitors whose cars are in the same class or higher as yours. This increased difficulty is primarily due to the input oversensitivity, the all-or-nothing nature of the high stakes racing and the new physics model, which adds both realism and complexity to the driving experience. However, I cannot leave out a fourth contributor to the increased driving challenge: the rather bizarre artificial intelligence applied to the computer-controlled cars. They veer from side to side erratically, often blocking you or smashing you from the side, and then speed around corners with none of the expected physical limitations that apply to real-life vehicles. It seems to me that if the development team is going to make your driving more subject to limits dictated by the laws of physics, the same should apply to the opposition.

Overall: This latest installment in the NFS series is not at all shabby, with great graphics and sound effects, but, to be candid, I must say I was disappointed. If you do not own Hot Pursuit, then it would be worthwhile to purchase this sequel; however, if you already own it, then I do not see any compelling reason to splurge on this one. I can already tell this review is going to generate some controversy, as several people I have talked to love this title, and for gamers just expecting incremental improvements, I am sure they will not be let down. But for those of us hoping for a big leap forward, this latest installment will not give you the adrenaline boost you crave.