Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is an arcade racing game, where you complete missions switching between a police officer and a racer. While the goal is the same - to reach the finish first, the game allows trying another side of races as you need to stop a lawbreaker in the police part of the game.
Unlike typical racing titles, Hot Pursuit follows the principle that "all is fair." That's why both sides have special tools to stop the opponent. You can throw spikes on the road or use turbo acceleration to break away from the pursuit. Police can block the road and summon a helicopter for help from above. 
Additionally, Hot Pursuit features a new Autolog social system. With it, you can compete with your friends and see the statistics on every race. The system compares your results with your friends' ones and notifies you every time your record is beaten.