Summary
When playingracing or driving games, fewthrills can match the intensity of high-speedpolice chases, where players must combine their driving skills with strategy to outsmart their pursuers. While many arcade games delivered on this aspect of driving in the past, the modern industry often overlooks this thrilling feature for some reason, with only theNeed for Speedseries remaining a reliable source of such unique experiences in recent years.
Today, players looking for a blood-pumping outlaw experience behind the wheel aren’t entirely out of options, yet some of the best driving games with intense police chases now belong to the legacy category — sometimes even unavailable for purchase due to licensing. Below, we’ll take a look at some of the best car games known for their exciting cop chases, allowing players tofully experience the cat-and-mouse thrillwith flashing lights on their tail.
Only one entry per gaming series is included. Also, only pure driving games are listed, meaning open-world games, where driving is just one of the aspects (like theGTAorMafiaseries), are excluded.
Need for Speedgamesare nearly synonymous with intense cop chases, which have been a major part of the experience for over two decades. Titles likeHot Pursuit,Most Wanted,Carbon,Undercover,Rivals, andPaybackall feature dynamic police systems, often allowing players to trigger chases in the open-world at will.Need for Speed Heatintroduced significant overhauls to the police system, which, with some improvements and alterations, makes its comeback inNeed for Speed Unbound.
The latest entry to date,Unboundnot only emphasizes cop chases at nightduring the campaign mode, but also includes the feature inLakeshore Online, which has received several major updates since the game’s release, expanding the list of available challenges and game modes. At high wanted levels, the cops inUnboundcan be truly relentless, resulting in some of the most intense chases the series has offered to date. Some players may even complain that there are just too many cops on the city streets, which at times can cause frustration — but hey, that’s just the daily life of a street racing outlaw.
Unlike theNeed for Speedseries,The Crew Motorfestdoesn’t have a proper police system in its open world, instead presenting its racing world as a kind of festival akin to theForza Horizonfranchise, with racers portrayed as untouchable celebrities who are simply there to enjoy. However, just like in previous entries,Motorfestincludes dedicated stages, game modes, and playlists that allow players to drive as cops during dynamic chase events.
In theMotorfest Chase Squadplaylist, players can join the Chase Squad and train to pursue, chase, and take down illegal street racers,using various vehicles— including a police helicopter. Playing as a cop is a lot of fun inThe Crew Motorfest, as the rules are entirely different compared to other racing events. First, players need to tail their runners to build tension. After that, alongside the rest of the squad, they must pursue, ram, wreck, or arrest their opponents — the faster, the better. While the number of police events doesn’t quite match the scope of cop chases inNFS HeatorUnbound, players can still drive police vehicles during freeride, roleplay as a cop, and participate in Rivals mode, where they identify and dynamically chase racers across the vast open world.
The latest entry in the iconic mobile series,Asphalt Legends Unite(previously known asAsphalt 9: Legends), has notably expanded its list of platforms, marking the series' arrival on Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. Arguably themost arcade-style driving gamefeaturing edge-of-your-seat cop events and challenges available today,Asphalt Legendsoffers plenty for those who enjoy a less realistic approach to racing with little to no limitations behind the wheel.
Driving a high-speed hypercar can feel almost like a superhero experience inAsphalt Legends Unite, with Flash-like nitrous, sky-high jumps over police helicopters, and dozens of cop cars smashed at once. While there is no open world available for police chases inAsphalt Legends, the game more than makes up for it with its linear, focused, and intense events in the vein of olderNeed for Speedtitles, where the only way forward is full throttle.
Like any decent open-world street racing game,Midnight Club: Los Angelesaims to satisfy players' need for high-octane, dynamic cop chases, at timesfeeling like a properGTAexperience. With its expansive map, rich car roster, and unpredictable AI behavior, going up against the cops is both exciting and rewarding — if players can put their driving skills to good use and outsmart the LAPD.
Unlike theNFSgames, there’s no heat system for police inMidnight Club: Los Angeles, meaning that chases feel grounded at all times, without any over-the-top moments involving overwhelming police forces. Thanks to this, cop chases rarely become a chore or too exhausting for the players. Additionally, one of the best things aboutMidnight Club: Los Angelesis that, unlike many other driving games of its era, it’s still available to players on Xbox consoles.
Driver: San Franciscowas released amid thedecline of the arcade driving genreand still managed to stand out compared to everything that came before, offering fresh gameplay possibilities still unavailable anywhere else. Players were able to freely change their vehicle to any other in sight, unlocking truly unique and exciting opportunities and a special approach to mission and racing event design in the open world.
Cop chases were a major part of the experience inDriver: San Francisco, elevated by the game’s unique gameplay feature of switching vehicles on the go. Players could both play as escaping felons chased by the police and as cops themselves, leveraging creative solutions on the fly to either drop their followers with a bang or stop drivers trying to escape in the most unconventional ways. It’s a shame thatDriver: San Francisconever received a continuation and that its revolutionary idea was lost when the game was delisted.
WhileTest Drive Unlimited Solar Crownlacks a dynamic police feature, older entries in theiconic open-world serieshave plenty to offer in that regard. InTest Drive Unlimited 2, players can freely explore the vast maps of Ibiza and O’ahu, with a properly functioning, realistic police system that can fine players for their behavior on the road or chase them across the map if they don’t comply.
When it comes to speed chases,Test Drive Unlimited 2largely stays in theMidnight Club: Los Angelesrealm, so the game doesn’t overwhelm players with overly oppressive cops or an artificial heat system. Instead, cop chases feel small-scale, grounded, but still intense — especially if the player’s goal is to play with the police for a bit rather than shake off the pursuit instantly. It’s truly a shame that the newer game,Solar Crown, hasn’t been able to at least match its predecessors to deliver believable police chases in bustling Hong Kong.
