Need For Speed: Most Wanted  Preview for Xbox 360

- Tim Mellish, " Cloud890 ", Senior Editor

Friday, June 10, 2005

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Title: Need For Speed: Most Wanted .............................................. System: Xbox 360 .............................................. Genre: Racing .............................................. Publisher: Electronic Arts .............................................. Developer: Electronic Arts .............................................. Release: November 22, 2005 .............................................. Online: Yes .............................................. ESRB: Everyone (E) .............................................. Need For Speed: Most Wanted is EA’S first title from the Need For Speed franchise to be released on the Xbox 360. It looks to combine the gameplay elements of Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 and Need For Speed Underground with a “best of both worlds” mindset. In NFSMW the police are returning. Remember all those crazy races with the cops constantly on the racers’ tail? They’re back. The outlandish cop cars? They’re back too. Early conception art of one vehicle looks similar to something out of the new Batman movie. It’s going to be a very threatening when this guy flashes on the red blue lights and starts barreling towards the players. In order to help players outrun the cops EA is implementing a few new gameplay elements to do just that. No details have been released on what exactly these gameplay features are. Anyone who played Need For Speed Underground series knows customization is a fundamental part of a racing game experience. Most Wanted is following in it’s brethren’s footsteps. Most Wanted will feature a full customization option rooted deeply in the game. Players will earn cash that will be used to upgrade their “rides,” in characteristic NFSU style. More powerful engines to tighter brakes; its all here. But it’s not just what’s under the hood that counts. Most Wanted will include a healthy visual customization option as well; making certain each player can express him or herself in their own way. What has excited fans the most is the reality that Most Wanted is going to be released on the Xbox 360. This means the development team at EA has next-gen processing power and graphics available to create the most realistic and entertaining Need For Speed title yet. Most Wanted is also being released for the PS2 and Gamecube in conjunction with the Xbox 360 launch. It will be interesting to see if Most Wanted for the Xbox 360 is different from the other titles in the areas other than graphics. Speaking of graphics Most Wanted looks amazing on the 360. The cars have been rendered to an almost photo-like quality. Their wheels shine, and their bodies glow. Then there is the matter of the racing environments. The draw distance is considerable and since, like Underground, the world is free roaming it seems all the more impressive. The very popular Drag Racing is back, being playable at E3. Shifting will be an important part of the driving experience. Located on the left side of the screen is a speedometer with an arrow that moves up and down depending on whether the car is accelerating or braking. As the arrow gets higher shifting into the next gear is required. There is a trick to this though. Shift too early and some speed is lost; shift too late and the engine literally explodes under the hood, bellowing out an immense amount of black smoke. It’s unknown if Most Wanted will have an automatic shifting setting or not. It's doubtful since the whole idea behind Drag Racing is too shift correctly. Either way it adds a nice fresh element to the racing. Car damage seems to be absent in Most Wanted. When a car is smashed into another vehicle it only amounts to a loss of speed. There is no realistic damage or performance hindrance. There are though some tactical crashes that may play a bigger role in the game. In one instance by rear-ending a truck carrying logs it results in them spilling across the street. Perhaps this is one of the new gameplay features when running from the cops. Need For Speed Most Wanted looks to be shaping up nicely. With next-gen graphics, unlimited customization, a free roaming world, and return of the cops this game looks to take the Xbox 360 by storm. Only get it for Xbox 360 and look for it around the launch of the system.

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