Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is a 2002 racing game developed by EA Black Box for the PlayStation 2 and EA Seattle for Xbox, Windows, and GameCube. Influenced by the 1998 game Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 brings updated graphics, exotic cars, and new tracks for a 21st-century audience. Competing in lengthy tournaments, evading the police, and utilizing strategic shortcuts are all par for the course in this installment of the Need for Speed series. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 continuously receives positive reviews from fans and critics. The game won the “Console Racing Game of the Year” award at the 2002 Interactive Achievement Awards.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 Premise
Two game modes are available to the player. The world racing championship mode allows players to compete against other racers through various courses and tracks. The second mode is hot pursuit ultimate racer with police added, and players strategically evade them. Unlike other Need for Speed games, evading the police is emphasized, and police aren’t simply there to impede the driver. They play a critical role and are more clever in pursuing the racer. Players can even play as cops and take down street racers. The game has a tier system for cars where the slower models are introduced to the player first before the faster, more exotic models. Models to choose from include Ferrari, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and more.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 Titles in Series
The Need for Speed franchise is one of the best-known racing-game series. The series dominated the video game market in the 1990s and early 2000s while still standing strong today. Here is a list of all the titles in the Need for Speed series.
- The Need for Speed (1994)
- Need for Speed II (1997)
- Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998)
- Need for Speed: High Stakes (1999)
- Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed (2000)
- Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002)
- Need for Speed: Underground (2003)
- Need for Speed: Underground 2 (2004)
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
- Need for Speed: Carbon (2006)
- Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007)
- Need for Speed: Undercover (2008)
- Need for Speed: Shift (2009)
- Need for Speed: Nitro (2009)
- Need for Speed: World (2010)
- Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)
- Need for Speed: Shift 2 – Unleashed (2011)
- Need for Speed: The Run (2011)
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)
- Need for Speed Rivals (2013)
- Need for Speed: No Limits (2015)
- Need for Speed (2015)
- Need for Speed Payback (2017)
- Need for Speed Heat (2019)
- Need for Speed Unbound (2022)
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 Cheat Codes
©Promotional screenshot of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered released by EA
The high-speed aspects of the game and the grind of unlocking new cars and courses can be challenging for some players. Many may want to use cheats and cheat codes to allow certain aspects of the game to make their gameplay more enjoyable and less challenging. On the other hand, veteran players may want to switch up their gameplay to make it more enjoyable. Here is a list of cheat codes for the different consoles the game is available on.
PlayStation 2 Cheat Codes
To enable cheat codes, navigate to the main menu and press the following sequence on the controller.
| Unlock Aston Martin V12 Vanquish | R2, Right, R2, Right, Triangle, Left, Triangle, Left |
| Unlock BMW Z8 | Square, Right, Square, Right, R2, Triangle, R2, Triangle |
| Unlock Carrera GT NFS | R2, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, R1, Square, Square, Triangle |
| Enable Championship Event 31 | L1, Square, R2, R2, R2, R1, L1, Square |
| Enable Chrome Cars | L2, R2, Left, Square, Left, Left, Left, R2 |
| Unlock Clk GTR NFS | Triangle, Left, Left, Left, L1, L2, L2, Left |
| Unlock F1 LM NFS | R1, Square, Square, Square, R2, left, left, Square |
| Unlock Ferrari 360 Modena | Left, Square, Square, Square, R1, L2, L2, Square |
| Unlock Ferrari F50 | L1, Triangle, L1, Triangle, Right, L2, Right, L2 |
| Unlock Ferrari F550 | L1, Square, L1, Square, Right, R1, Right, R1 |
| Unlock Ford TS50 | Right, Left, Right, Left, R2, Square, R2, Square |
| Unlock Ford TS50 | Right, Left, Right, Left, R2, Square, R2, Square |
| Enable Heavy Fog | Triangle, Square, Right, R2, Right, Right, Right, Square |
| Unlock HSV Coupe GTS | L1, L2, L1, L2, R1, Triangle, R1, Triangle |
| Unlock Lamborgini Diablo 6.0 VT | Right, R2, Right, R2, R1, L1, R1, L1 |
| Unlock McLaren F1 LM | Square, L1, Square, L1, Triangle, Right, Triangle, Right |
| Unlock Mclaren F1 LM NFS edition | R1,Square(3),R2,Left(2),Square |
| Unlock Mclaren F1 NFS edition | Left,Triangle(3),L2,Square(2),Triangle |
| Unlock Mercedes CL55 AMG | L1, Right, L1, Right, L2, Square, L2, Square. |
| Unlock Mercedes CLK GTR | R2, R1, R2, R1, Left, Triangle, Left, Triangle |
| Enable Motion Blur Effect | L2, L1, R1, Square, R1(3), L1 |
| Unlock Murcielago NFS | L1, R2, R2, R2, Left, Square, Square, R2 |
| Unlock Porsche Carrera GT | Left, Right, Left, Right, R1, R2, R1, R2 |
| Unlock Porshe Carrera GT | Left, Right, Left, Right, R1, R2, R1, R2 |
| Unlock Pursuit Mustang Cobra R | Left, Square, Left, Square, R2, R1, R2, R1 |
| Unlock R/C Car | Right, Triangle, L1, R1, L1, L1, L1, triangle |
| Enable Racer Bonus Event | Right, Square, Left, Left, Left, R2, Right, Square. |
| Unlock Corvette V06 | Left, R2, Left, R2, L1, R1, L1, R1 |
| Unlock Ferrari 360 Spider | R2 Square R2 Square Triangle L2 Triangle L2 |
| Unlock Porche | Square, L1, L2, L1, L2 |
| Unlock Lotus Elise | Triangle, R2, Triangle, R2, Left, Square, Left, Square |
| Unlock the McLaren F1 | Triangle, L1, Triangle, L1, R1, Left, R1, Left |
| Enable Video Mode | L1, R1, Right, Square, Right, Right, Right, R1. |
PC Cheat Codes
Before starting the game, enter the desired cheat codes in the command console.
| Disable confirmations | +nofrustration |
| Disable mipmapping | +nomipmap |
| Disable movies | +nomovie |
| Disable music | +nomusic |
| Disable on-screen display | +nofrontend |
| Disable particle effects | +noparticles |
| Disable reverberation | +noreverb |
| Disable sound effects | +nosnd |
| Enables the main menu | +minfront |
| Enables screenshots | +screenshots |
| Invisible to others | +ghost |
| Only police helicopters | +helicoptersOnly |
| Unlocks all events | +opentree |
Xbox Cheat Codes
To use the following cheat code, enter the sequence on the controller in the main menu.
| This code unlocks all tracks for the player. | X,B,BL,L,Y,up,down,right,up |
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 Cheat Codes FAQ
Are there cheat codes available for the GameCube version?
Unfortunately, there are no reliable cheat codes available for the GameCube version of the game. The most reliable cheat codes are available for the PlayStation 2, Windows PC, and Xbox versions.
Are there any glitches in the PlayStation 2 version?
Yes, there is one known glitch in the PlayStation 2 version. This glitch allows for a player to have no opponent in challenge mode. To begin, the player needs two controllers. Set the race to single-race mode and set the race options to one opponent. Afterward, switch the settings to two players. Go through the setup for the race by selecting the cars and the track. Let the race load but quit before it begins. Return to challenge mode and set the player options from two to one. Make sure to select the same car and track as before. After the race loads, there will be no opponent.
Do these cheat codes work for other Need for Speed games?
Because the other Need for Speed games are standalone with their own source codes, these cheats will not work for other games in the series. To find cheat codes for other games in the series, click on one of the links above in the subsection “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 Titles in Series.”