Need for Speed Most Wanted

"Almost Most Wanted"

Gameplay: 8/10- Most Wanted is an engrossing racing experience that once you've started, you won't want to stop. In Career Mode, you get to choose between Tuners, Exotics, and Muscle Cars, and you can have a bunch of cars from one class or fill your garage with cars from all three. While this is an arcade style game and not a racing simulator, each class performs pretty realistically, with Exotics being the fastest, Tuners having the best handling, and Muscle Cars cranking out the most power. The goal in the game is to rise to the top of the Blacklist and become the Most Wanted, and to do so, you'll need to upgrade your rides to outrun both the cops and the competition. There are a variety of customization options, from performance(such as nitrous, engine, brakes, transmission, and more) to visuals(such as custom gauges, paint schemes, logos, and more). The control scheme is intuitive, and in no time you'll have the hang of it. There are six race types(including Circuit, Drag, Lap Knockout, Speedtrap, Sprint, and Tollbooth), plus adrenaline-filled cop chases complete with roadblocks, spike strips, and a helicopter. Whether you're evading a pursuit or taking down rivals, you'll have a great time.

Graphics: 10/10- Excellent graphics. What more can I say?

Sound: 7/10- The cars all sound great, from the revving of engines to the squealing of brakes, and the pursuit sounds are also awesome, from the wailing of sirens to the distinctive popping noise that will make you let loose some choice words when you run over a spike strip. Having said that, the soundtrack becomes infuriatingly repetitive, as you listen to the same songs again, and again, and again. It's not that they're that bad, but you hear them hundreds of times. Enough already!!!

Replay Value: 9/10- From my point of view, there isn't much to be gained from playing the Career Mode over again too many times, but 2 player split-screen will have you coming back again and again.

Flaws- While excellent for one playthrough, after each consecutive playthrough the replay value for the Career Mode diminishes. This game becomes repetitive after awhile, you can't up the difficulty(which, by the way, other than the pursuits, is too easy), and the music, as mentioned above, becomes annoying.

In Summary- Need for Speed Most Wanted is a great racing game. Despite its flaws, it's definitely worth buying for a few playthroughs in the Career Mode and 2 player split-screen. Go ahead and satisfy your Need for Speed.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/26/07

Game Release: Need for Speed Most Wanted (Greatest Hits) (US, 2006)