Reviewed
12.21.2005
Publisher
Electronic
Arts
Developer
EA
Canada
Format
1x
DVD
Origin
Import
/ Domestic
Available
Nov.
15, 2005 (USA)
Dec.2,
2005 (Europe)
Dec.
10, 2005 (Japan)
Exclusive
No
Difficulty
Normal
Dimensions
3D
View
1st/3rd
Person
Genre
Street
Racing / Arcade
Player(s)
1-2
Split Screen
2-4
Online
Options
HDTV
480p/720p/1080i
Xbox
Live
Requires
HD/MC
save
Features
DD
5.1
Leaderboards
ESRB
T
- Teen
Importable
n/a |
| Introduction |
|
> Being an Xbox 360 Launch
title from Electronic Arts, my expectations for Need
For Speed: Most Wanted were on the low end of the spectrum.
As you know, I'm a fan of the NFS franchise, and have enjoyed
games like NFS:
Hot Pursuit 2 and NFS: Underground 1&2 on
the Microsoft Xbox.
For Most Wanted, EA hired the talent and beauty
of Josie Maran, who plays the part of Mia Townsend.
You're the street racer looking for respect, notoriety and revenge.
There's a Black List of 15 racers and a boat load of cops that stand in
your way to getting the ultimate ride, recognition, and maybe even Mia... |
| Graphics |
|
> I thought the graphics were quite good, albeit somewhat choppy on the
Xbox
version, and I'd give the 360 version about the same overall
sentiment. Although the backdrops are inspiring, artistic and colorful,
the frame-rate suffers from choppiness and apparent skipping -- trust me,
it can get rather ugly. Most Wanted's cars look great,
feature beautiful reflections, and make burnouts with the best. There's
no annoying night/darkness, where you can't see what's going on -- cool.
I also like the fact that dynamic rain storms occur throughout the game
-- nice touch. Essentially, the visuals are above average, while
the game engine isn't tailored to the power of the Wundermachine. |
| Control |
|
> EA pretty much nailed Most Wanted in the
gameplay and control departments. All the cars handle differently,
and can be visually and mechanically customized/upgraded. That isn't
free, so you need to beat multiple events to earn money and unlock customizations/upgrades.
You can enter Free Roam mode, or jump directly to any available race or
directly to a safe house. Also, the NOS recharge feature is totally
sweet!!
> That doesn't mean it's perfect, though. The things I don't like
are: collision detection problems that cause you to get stuck on walls
and come to an instant and complete stop; sometimes AI cars seem to be
glued to your front end; there's an invisible aura around racers and cops
that slows you down; cops can sometimes cheat a little too much; cops should
blow their tires when they roll over their own spike strips; sometimes
it seems like you're in endless ice-skating mode. Other than that,
I love this game! |
| Sound |
|
> With the advent of the 360's ability to control a game's
music, now all you need in games is good sound effects and voice acting.
Most Wanted is a go on both those features, so the sound
rating is excellent. As a note, the native soundtrack is actually
subdued (less [k]rap), compared to the Underground series
(and most EA games for that matter). |
| Fun |
|
> Most Wanted challenges you with tons of races to complete
in the following categories: Circuit, Sprint, Lap Knockout, Tollbooth,
Speedtrap and Drag Race. Each of the 15 levels in Career Mode has
Milestones to complete as well. This involves the evasion of the
Police after accumulating various criminal activities, like causing the
state $50,000 in damage. If that's not enough then try the Quick
Race, Split Screen head-to-head, Xbox Live, or Challenge
Races!! There's only 32 cars plus a few hidden ones, which is on
the low side, IMO. With all its faults, NFS: Most Wanted
manages to be insanely fun and addictive. It's been a long time since
I started playing a racer and "had to beat it ASAP". |
| Bottom
Line |
|
> Take NFS: Hot Pursuit 2 and mix it with NFS: Underground
and you get NFS: Most Wanted. This game has its annoyances,
but it still screams to be played through 'til the end. Hopefully,
EA
will actually use the power of the Wundermachine for the
likely forthcoming sequel. |
| Ratings |
| Overall:
8.9 | Graphics: 8.0 | Control: 8.5 | Sound: 9.0 | Fun: 10 |
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