Need for Speed Most Wanted

Having been a fan of Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed series since Hot Pursuit, I mourned the loss of the police chases and refused to welcome with open arms the Underground games that - while technically good games - lacked the chaos and intensity of Hot Pursuit. While the illegal street racing genre was represented well in the past few years the need for a return to the game’s basic was in order and its lucky for us that EA answered our prayers with Need for Speed Most Wanted for the Xbox. Welcome back to the chase because this time the action is even hotter than before.

Career Mode is the heart and soul of Most Wanted and it is here that you get to unlock new cars you can use in the game’s other modes. You step into the roll of a street racer that, while searching the streets for a race, encounters the beautiful Mia and her sleek ride. Mia likes your style and she even thinks you’ve got what it takes to go up against racers that have been Blacklisted by the authorities (hence the title Most Wanted) but the higher on the most wanted listed a racer climbs the more prestige that racer obtains among the underground race circuit. Confident in your racing abilities, Mia seemingly forces you into a race against an up-and-coming racer named Razor. Unfortunately Razor manages to sabotage your car and in the middle of a race your car stalls on you and you lose the race. Worse yet is that after the race you’re confronted by two Rockport police officers just itching to stop illegal racing in their town. You slowly climb back up the racing ladder with a little help from Mia and you start from the beginning as you accept races from various racers out there.

The most interesting part about all of this is that the story is told through actual FMV featuring real actors on screen in a neatly rendered background. You’ll be challenged by racers who will talk the talk but in order to race against Blacklisted racers (the only way to really advance in Career Mode) you’ll have to successfully complete a series of racing competitions and challenges. You will be competing in events like Racing Events (filled with various race types), Milestones (various game modes like those that have you clocking at high speeds) and Bounty (police evasion). You’ll even have the chance to freely explore the city of Rockport and hit the shops to buy new vehicles or customize your car like the Underground games.

There is also Challenge Series, a mode that features Toll Booth Time Trail (where you have to complete the challenge under three minutes to win), Pursuit Length (you must evade the police after one minute) and Bounty (evade the police earning a bounty of 1,000) just to name a few of the ones available at the start of the game. You’ll get to unlock several other challenges that have you going up against the police. Then there’s Quick Race that will have you taking any car you unlocked in Career Mode and use them in the various different races like Circuit, Drag, Lap Knock Out, Sprint, Toll Booth and Speedtrap (where you blow through each speedtrap you encounter. There’s even split-screen racing for up to two players or you can race online.

The best racing modes require you to evade the police and, much like Hot Pursuit, it’s quite difficult to shake off the police. They are trained to use the Pit Maneuver, call for backup when they need it and even call for spike strips. They’re relentless in trying to bust you but if you’re able to slip out of their line of sight. Best yet is going up against the Blacklisted racer. There are 15 in total, including your final showdown with Razor. You’ll start off by defeating Sonny and then moving on to Taz and work your way up. It’s challenging, yes, but it isn’t as exceedingly hard as some races in the last two Underground games.

Graphically speaking, Most Wanted is a decent-looking Xbox game that might not possess Xbox exclusive graphics but still looks good in action. The vehicles look great during races and while they won’t take series damage you can alter your car’s looks through modification. Another surprising twist is that this game does not use neatly rendered characters like the past games. Like I mentioned earlier, Most Wanted uses real actors inserted into the game’s wonderfully rendered backgrounds. Among the actors is gorgeous model/actress Josie Marin who plays Mia and gives the game much more to look at than the cars. The great part is that the FMV looks great.

If you have a good sound system this is the game you’ll want to turn it on and play it loud. Not only do muscle cars rumble beautifully but car engines and screeching wheels sound quite realistic. To top it all off the game’s thumping soundtrack is a nice highlight and accompanies the game’s various cutscenes. While FMV cutscenes using real actors will conjure up bad memories of games with real bad performances, the dialogue and voice acting are handled excellently.

In the end, Need for Speed Most Wanted delivers the right dose of illegal racing and hot pursuits that make this one the series’ finest racing games released thus far. With a story that’s actually involving and filled with challenging races there’s a lot to love about this game. If you’re unfamiliar with the series then this is also the best introduction so pick this one up right away.

Gameplay: 8.5
The game’s controls make for a seriously solid and accessible racing game that marvelously combines elements of Need for Speed Underground with Need for Speed Hot Pursuit’s intense chases. The various cars are as hot as Josie Marin herself and the single-player mode are wonderfully lengthy. The story isn’t bad, either.

Graphics: 8.2
It’s hard to distinguish the visuals from the PS2 version but when it comes to displaying speed, for instance, the Xbox game fares better than the PlayStation 2 version. There’s FMV inserted into the game but it looks great and smoothly transitions itself between the rendered environments and real actors.

Sound: 9.0
The engines on these race cars sound loud and menacing … just the way it should be in a racing game. There’s some decent music here that fits the game’s theme nicely but it’s the over-the-top voice acting that makes the story all the more believable.

Difficulty: Medium
The game’s difficulty setting lies between dumb and sharp-as-a-tack AI opponent. You’ll find the races get harder the deeper into the game’s story you go and most Blacklisted racers do offer some real challenging one-on-one races.

Concept: 9.0
There’s something for every racing fan including modifying your custom ride to thrilling chases with the police in hot pursuit. There’s a nice variety of race types and, of course, online multiplayer racing well worth your time.

Multiplayer: 8.5
The multiplayer racing action runs at a steady pace so be prepared for smooth yet fast race. For those who don’t chose to go online there’s split-screen multiplayer that allows you to play a Circuit, Drag, Sprint and Speedtrap race.

Overall: 8.7
Need for Speed Most Wanted is a much needed change of pace for the series and one seriously entertaining racing game for fans of the genre. It skips the commercial appeal of the Underground games and offers a game filled with intense races, great FMV cutscenes and number of cool cars. Xbox fans, this is one racing game you don’t want to miss.