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| | Title:
Need For Speed: Most Wanted
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System:
Xbox 360
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Genre:
Racing
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Publisher:
Electronic Arts
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Developer:
Electronic Arts
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Release:
November 22, 2005
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Online:
Yes
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ESRB:
Everyone (E)
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EA has finally returned to the roots of the Need For Speed franchise. Those who can remember back to the early days of PS2 will recall a little title known as Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2. It had fast, licensed cars ranging from the McLaren F1 to the Ferrari F335 that the cops would try their best to chase down. It was the perfect formula for a racing game. Fans were obviously disappointed to hear that this formula was set aside to usher in an era of import tuning for the NFS series. While both Underground and Underground 2 were good games, we have all yearned to get behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 again. Well gamers are going to be uttering “about damn time” under their breath as they pop Most Wanted into their Xbox 360. Not only does it bring back the fast cars of Hot Pursuit 2 but also a new breed of cops. Most Wanted takes the best aspects of Hot Pursuit 2 and combines them with the gameplay of Underground 2 to make the best Need For Speed game yet.
Graphics
Although Most Wanted is being released on almost every platform available, the 360 version is the one gamers should get. The biggest reason is also the most obvious; the graphics. Now graphics alone do not make a game a success, but in Most Wanted they do a fine job of making the whole experience more thrilling. The cars are rendered in such life-like detail that it is hard not to just stop and admire the work EA has put into this game. Most Wanted does not come close to Project Gotham 3’s level of graphical "wow", but trust me the game looks damn good and compliments the amazing cars and EA’s new design for the environment. Gone is the neon filled metropolis of Underground 2 stuck in the hours of night. Now gamers will race in a much more realistic city with a much more forgiving track layout. There are numerous areas where gamers can just peg it at wide-open-throttle and go for quite a while. Even better is that racing takes place primarily in the daytime and will change to afternoon and evening. EA really took advantage of the sun creating some great lighting effects while racing. The sensation of coming out of a tunnel and being blinded for a second or two by the sun is included in Most Wanted. It may not sound like much but it is the little details that really make the whole package work. In short, Most Wanted may not be the most "next-gen" game in terms of graphics but it does a fine job regardless.
Okay...now you made me mad
The introduction of Most Wanted is one of the best I have seen in a street racing game. It does something Underground 2 never could and promotes a personal attachment to play the game. While you are still nameless and faceless the game takes great strides to make you feel like you are in the world of street racing. The game starts out by introducing players to the Blacklist. The Blacklist is a list of 15 of the best racers in the street racing world that Most Wanted takes place in. Beat one and you take their spot. While taking on Blacklist number 15, your character runs into some bad luck (Razor messes with your ride in order to win) and ends up without a ride and vengeance on his mind. Players have to start from square one to make their way back up the Blacklist to take on Razor once again, who has now made it number one by using your ride. Complimenting this story is the use of impressive Full-Motion Video (FMV). What EA did is filmed real-life actors in green screen then altered the footage to make it appear as if the actors were in the game. You honestly have to see it in action to appreciate it. Some may love it some may hate it. I personally think this was an ingenious idea by EA. It also doesn’t hurt that the cold-as-ice Brooke Burke has been replaced by the much more warm Mia.
Less Drift, More Running
The heart of this game is racing and EA did some much needed tweaking to the rather boring formula of Underground 2. The first thing they fixed was the endless driving from one event to the next by removing it. It was a neat way to get the players accustomed to the tracks they would be racing on but it got old in a hurry. In Most Wanted, players can now simply bring up the list of races they can compete in by pressing down on the D-Pad. Select a race and the game instantly throws you into it. The beauty of this is that EA still lets players free-roam from race to race if they wish. It is the best of both worlds and a very welcome change by EA. New race types have also been included while some fan-favorites have unfortunately been removed. Drift racing is gone and has been replaced by events focused around the cops. Known as Milestone and Bounty, these events instantly get the cops attention and challenge the player to perform certain challenges while being chased by the cops. Some of these challenges include ramming a certain number of cop cars, avoiding a number of road blocks, keeping a pursuit going for a certain amount of time, getting away from the cops in a certain amount of time, and even seeing how much damage the player can cause. All are fun and truly separate the novices from the pros. The only aspect of the racing that slows down the progression of the game is earning enough bounty. At times I found myself endlessly driving around trying to tick cops off at the same time hoping I would earn enough bounty. It isn’t huge negative against the game but it should be mentioned. When not being chased by the cops the races in Most Wanted will keep things interesting. The track layouts are varied enough that players will find themselves in the heart of the city and the next minute blazing across the highways outside the metropolis. Factor in the numerous shortcuts (alleys and such) and the racing becomes fresh and fun the whole time. EA was also smart to make sure the player doesn't get lost by putting up the huge neon arrow barriers. Some may cry foul about this, but honestly do we want another Midnight Club 3 experience? I prefer to know where I am going as opposed to being lost.
I really don't think that color works for that car
To race all these new events players are going to need cars, and lots of them. Most Wanted features a wonderful lineup of both exotic and tuner cars that will make fans happy. Absent though is the Ferrari license as well as the Nissan 350Z and Skyline (both powerful tuner cars in their own rights). What gamers will have access to are Porsches, Corvettes, Ford GTs, Cobalts, Eclipses, and even the super and exoticLamborghini. The cars in general feel a lot tighter this time around. No more useless sliding like in past NFS titles. Also, each and every car can be upgraded both in the Performance and Visual categories. Ever dream about putting a wide body kit on a Lamborghini, painting it with pink metallic paint with a purple flame on the side? Here is your chance. The option to put on individual fronts, bumpers, and sides has been replaced with body kits. This steals away from some of the customization found in the game, but the body kits look so cool that some will hardly mind the change. Performance upgrades have also followed suit in that they can be purchases in kits or groups. Players who want to experiment can create their own cars outside the career mode (where all the unlocking occurs). EA was nice enough to have some of the more powerful cars unlocked from the beginning.
They're Back
The biggest change to the NFS franchise, and the reason many are going to want to buy this game, was the return of law enforcement. Their homecoming is a welcome one. Being chased by the fuzz through the enormous city is nothing short of a blast. There is such a sense of superiority to these cops, like you are just messing with them when in fact they could never touch you. Interestingly enough, though, the cops can get downright mean. How this happens is through heat. The more damage and destruction a player creates while being chased, the higher his heat meter goes, not too unlike what is seen in Grand Theft Auto. If the meter fills up enough, the heat jumps to a new level and new cops enter the chase. Let me just say at Heat 3 things get really tricky. The cops have Pontiac GTOs and will stop at nothing to get you off the road. The police chatter is great to listen to while driving and can actually help you evade the police. If they say you were last seen on a certain road, get off it fast!
Most Wanted online features the standard four-person racing in all of the typical events found within the career mode. It is fun but EA could have done a lot more in this department. One improvement though is that is seems to be a lot easier to get into matches.
Overall, Most Wanted is a great evolution of the Need For Speed franchise. It takes all that was wrong with Underground and almost fixes every problem. While some may feel that the removal of some of the options in the customization is a step backwards I think it is a great way to focus on what the game is about and that's racing. If you are a fan of racing and tuning pick this game up.
| The Core Score |
Overall
9.0 |
| Fun |
|
9.0 |
| Gameplay |
|
9.0 |
| Graphics |
|
9.5 |
| Audio |
|
8.5 |
| Replay |
|
8.0 |
|
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