Jimmy Fallon Plays Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Expectedly Awkward

Jimmy Fallon playing Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit on television is a great example of why some video games shouldn’t be demonstrated on television. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty cool that Fallon treats video games with a fair amount of respect — he’s declared this week “video game week” on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and already had a crack at Kinect for Xbox 360 and Call of Duty: Black Ops — but the above video had me squirming in my chair and hoping the demo wouldn’t go completely off the rails.

Here’s the issue: Hot Pursuit, launching in November for all consoles and PC, is a pretty good game, at least judging by my brief encounter with it last week at E3. You play either a criminal or a cop, with the simple objective of either escaping from or disabling the other vehicle, respectively. The game’s subtitle is accurate, as my opponent on the opposite kiosk pursued me in a white-knuckle chase through the country side. At one point, he had me at 99 percent damage; one more jolt or missed turn would’ve knocked me out, but I managed to stay ahead with carefully-timed nitrous boosts. I lost him at a T-intersection, far enough ahead that he could only guess which way I turned.

Jimmy Fallon’s demo didn’t convey any of that excitement. Instead, he pleaded with producer Jesse Abney to slow down, he ran into walls constantly, spun out a couple times and ended the demo by turning around and driving in the opposite direction. I don’t fault Fallon, but it’s clear that Hot Pursuit thrives on a high level of competition, and Late Night just isn’t conducive to that. [via The Tanooki]