“Need For Speed: Most Wanted” Gives Rise To Your Inner-Outlaw

“Need for Speed: Most Wanted” – A Criterion Game Reviewed by Geek Smash

In the pre-race sequences of “Need for Speed: Most Wanted“, you almost get the feeling that Fairhaven City is a dreamlike, surreal place where anything can happen – and at any moment, so be on your guard! It’s a little disappointing then, that although the game delivers loads of white-knuckle street racing and heart stopping chases; it doesn’t quite deliver as well as a number of earlier games in the series.

In “Need for Speed: Most Wanted”, the familiar goal is to defeat a bunch of street racers, but the plot lacks narrative. Your 10 street racing opponents are only identified by their cars – they have no faces, names or personalities, so you kind lack the personal motivation to defeat them. Beating a bunch of nameless, faceless characters isn’t nearly as satisfying as the 2005 version of the game, and this is a big letdown.

Other than that, the actual driving is still exciting and exhilarating for the most part. An impressive stable of real world muscle cars ensures that the driving is fun and realistic. The cars have a real sense of weight and speed to them, and are extremely responsive. Some practice and the use of the brakes will have you drifting round corners at breakneck speed in no time. Each car has 5 racing events connected to it and as you win races you begin to unlock the nitrous burn mod for the car.  You can build up your nitrous supply by doing some hell-raising stuff like drifting, or taking down cops or rivals, and also driving against oncoming traffic. You also get speed points for each victory. You need a set number of points before you’re allowed to challenge the most wanted racers. As you win events you also get access to other new mods such as impact resistant chassis, better gears to increase acceleration, and even tires that can re-inflate when popped by those spike strips in the road. In “Need For Speed: Most Wanted” you don’t get to buy cars or even earn them by winning races.  You kinda just find them all over the city of Fairhaven, kinda lying around. You can spot them easily because their headlights are illuminated and their manufacturer’s logo hovers overhead in the air. You get them by just pulling up to them and they’re added to your growing collection. So you can build yourself quite a sizeable collection of cars just by cruising aimlessly around Fairhaven City and this totally lacks the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction you get  in most racing games when you have to earn the right to gradually get access to better and faster vehicles.

You also earn points for police pursuits. However, you only get to keep your points if you escape. If you’re busted, you get nothing.  The cops are tenacious and giving them the slip is not so easy, so this makes for a lot of tense and exciting driving.