Need for Speed Most Wanted

"Well it's about time, EA!"

I remember the day I picked up Need for Speed Underground. I brought it home, and started playing it, and much to my dismay, I found there was no cop chase. This, of course, is blasphemy on EA's part. So I have neglected every Underground EA has made, because without cops, it plays just like any other racing game and has nothing special in the gameplay at all.

But no more, for EA has redeemed themselves in my eyes.

Unimportant Stuff First:

Graphics: 7/10
The graphics are very weird. Very strange style. I can't say the graphics are wonderful, but they certainly are not bad. They are slightly blurred purposely to a certain style... it looks like an old movie or something. Hard to describe, but they certainly work well. The framerate could be better I guess, but it doesn't ever effect the gameplay.

Sound: 7/10
I'm being generous here. The sound effects themselves are very nice. The music is, well, it's better than most EA games as of late. More rock less rap. I like the direction they're headed. It all depends on your musical tastes really.

Important Stuff Next:

Controls: 10/10
Control of cars is very smooth and very fun. Don't be looking for a simulator now, this is an arcade game in every way. I like my Gran Turismo, but personally I just prefer my handling this way.

Variety of Gameplay: 9/10
Like other EA racing games, this has several gameplay modes like Lap Knockout, Sprint, etc., and this one adds 2 I have not seen before. They may have been in one of the Undergrounds. Both have "checkpoints" which are basically radar detectors, and in one you just speed through it by yourself like classic checkpoint racing. In the other, you race other cars, and the speed of each car as it passes the checkpoint is recorded and totalled up at the end. So it is quite possible to finish last and win. It's rather interesting actually. And then of course, cops commonly show up to break up monotony.

You can get into the middle of a cop chase outside of a race. It lasts until you are arrested or you get away into a hiding place. You wreck cops, dodge blockades and spike strips, destroy stuff on the sides of the road, build up "cost to the state", "bounty", "unpaid fines", "infractions", and all kinds of stuff for your rap sheet. The cops are smart, and sometimes form a ring around you if they get you to slow down enough. They call in enforcements of very large numbers. You have a radar detector and a radio to listen to them. IT IS BLISS.

Perfect except it's missing 2 things, both of which appeared in Hot Pursuit 2 and have no excuse for being left out:
1. Be the Cop. This would not work for career mode because of the story, but it should have been in the quick race options.
2. Replays. You end up doing some awesome looking stuff, and it would be so cool to be able to view and save replays. HP2 didn't have save replay feature, and I often craved being able to save them. But at least I could view replays. Most Wanted can't even do that.

Track Design: 10/10
Although it is one of the most important aspects of a racing game, EA almost always fails here. EA's tracks tend to be long narrow roads, the same width the entire way, going through turns and having a few shortcuts through the woods or down a dirt road. But This game is different. This game has an entire freaking town to race through. I understand Underground 2 had this feature as well. I don't know how well it worked in U2, but it's completely awesome in Most Wanted.

Different parts and sections of road are made into tracks, with boundaries blockaded off by arrows, so during a race you don't have to worry about getting way off track. The race courses are full of hairpins, interesting corners, different track widths the whole way, jumps, shortcuts, etc. In short, the track design could not be much better.

AI: 8/10
Racing AI is almost never good. Too often do game developers take the evil path of the rubber band method. If it is in this game, it is very cleverly disguised, which is just as good as it not being there. The AI responds to your actions and in turn do stuff to screw you up. Sometimes one racer will pick on you and try to keep you back in fourth while the other two fly on ahead. Other times you'll see the AI's battling each other. It's very interesting and fun.

My one problem, which may be a good thing in a way, is that the AI improves their skills as you upgrade your car. You can race the same race twice, buying a better car in between, and come back and the AI will suddenly not be freakin slow anymore. Not really a problem, just EA's way of keeping it balanced. Just don't count too much on racing the same race for hours to get a garage full of maxed out cars and being able to smoke the living crap out of anything. If you're an rpg fan, think Final Fantasy 8, except it's not that annoying.

Customization: 8/10
Pretty much the same as Underground's customization. It's fun, it adds to the gameplay, and you can make your dreamcar. Or your nightmare car.

Lasting Appeal: 9/10
You won't quickly put this game down. The career mode isn't exactly the longest ever, but if you do all the races it really does take quite a few nights to get through. And you probably will want to play career mode over again to get all the blacklist member's pink slips, which basically is their already "tricked out" car.

Conclusion: 9/10
Very few flaws, and in spite of them, you really won't be thinking about them because it's just that fun to play. If you have ever liked a racing game, and especially if you liked Need for Speed before they made Underground, you should absolutely love this game.

I recommend purchase immediately.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/06