Need for Speed Most Wanted

"One Word. Faaaaaantastic."

Okay, I am a huge Street Racing game fan. I own MC3, NFSU2, SRS (SRS is really dodgy), and GT4. (Isn't a street racing game, but you can mod the cars) I would like to applaud EA on this effort. This has got to be the best Street Racing game I've seen. The cars, the cops, the Blacklist Rivals, Josie Maran *drools*, erm... Where was I? Oh yeah, this wouldn't be a good review without me breaking it down for you. Ready, kiddies? Here we go...

GRAPHICS: 8/10
I've knocked off two points because, unfortunately, the environments seem to have taken a hit for the DVD disc to handle the complex Police AI. The cars look fantastic, every paint chip is modeled correctly, the speed lines coming at you when you put the pedal to metal, it's all there. The environments are still better than other games, (*cough*Musashi*cough*) but still aren't A-Grade.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10
The classic driving controls return for this NFS installment. X is accelerate, Square is brake, Triangle is Look Behind, Circle is... Speedbreaker?! Yep, Speedbreaker is an almost identical, unashamed rip-off of the ZONE move in Midnight Club 3. It slows down time, giving you incredible control over the movements of your ride. This comes in useful when avoiding Spike Strips, Rhino SUVs, and the Chopper when it gets annoyed. L1 in Nitrous, R1 is Handbrake, R2 is Change Gear Up, L2 is Change Gear Down, Select lets you reset your car. (DON'T DO THIS IN A PURSUIT) All up, the gameplay is easy to recognize, easy to get used to, easy to control, etc. I could just go on and on.

SOUND: 9/10
The Soundtrack is a stongy pile of dog crap, but the cars sound exactly like their real-life counterparts. It's amazing how real the cars sound. The whistling of the turbo models, the silky smooth growl of the Rotary Mazda's, The menacing roar of the Mustang GT, oh, it's fantastic.

A.I: 10/10
Seeing as EA spent months working with the Fuzz, I would expect that they would have brilliant AI. I wasn't mistaken. The cops really feel like they are human. Sure, they'll make mistakes, but apart from that, they will use real time police strategies to ensure that you're taken down. They will P.I.T you, use Roadblocks, lay down Spike Strips, and even use a Rolling Roadblock. I really can't do justice here. You have to witness it yourself.

LIFESPAN: 10/10
Almost too much to do. Getting enough Bounty to take on the next Blacklist Rival is one thing, but then the cops start adapting to your Strategies. You'll have to think up new ones to survive in either Rosewood, Camden Beach, or Rockport City. These are unlocked by beating a certain Blacklist member. It'll take you a fairly long time to get it all going smoothly.

RENT OR BUY:
Buy. You won't be able to get the true feeling of the game until you have it for over two weeks.

Thankyou for reading my review, I hope this affects how you feel about Need For Speed: Most Wanted.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/13/06