The Need for Speed franchise is colossal, with a lot of different entries, some with virtually no similarities other than racing. For the most part, though, Need for Speed games are racing games where cops try to interrupt and stop the race, and the Hot Pursuit games are a pure and simple form of that. There’s no background, story, or anything like that: it’s just about the racing.
And the racing is really good. Handling feels great while keeping the cars feeling weighty enough to be shunted around. Across the tracks, police cars lie in wait, usually focusing on the leaders of the race. Stay away from the cop long enough and they’ll give up. However, the next time you attract the attention of the cop, they’ll try harder, eventually bringing in helicopters to stop you. As the cops mainly focus on the leaders of the pack, it ends up being a more natural feeling catch-up mechanic.
Outside of racing and tournaments, there’s also a mission mode which give you specific themes or races (such as everyone using certain cars), time trials and other events, which provides a bit more to do so you can unlock more cars and race. You can also be the police, although taking out a car is extremely difficult – even if you jam them in place, they respawn. Still, the core racing is a lot of fun, with tracks that have lots of alternative routes and shortcuts.