"Racing and pursuits...aha, cops"

Need for speed: Most Wanted is a game that's got my attention. Again, another EA racing series that has been performing well. Now they've got police added into this one, which adds extra challenge and fun.

The story is good for a racing game, with you having to beat the top racers to unlock additional cars, and customization for improving your car. It is a suitable theme for this type of game, usually hard-to-find for a good storyline.

Gameplay: 8/10
The controls are beautiful, simple to control, and even the worst handling car has reasonable handling. And there is the one thing people are looking for: cops. The cops at first are quite simple to evade, but as you unlock new levels of cops, eventually the cops get tougher and quicker, and even helicopters will pursue you. There can even be cops in the midst of a race, which adds difficulty. Enemy cars tend to be quicker and make less mistakes when they are higher on the list, and this is good as some games are either too easy or frustratingly difficult. There are also many modes of gameplay, not just the usual race or circuit race. One that I enjoyed involved you having to go past ‘checkpoints' like speed cameras and you had to go as fast as you can past them, beating the opponent. Although it is tough having to both beat the opponent in position and speed, it provides challenge, and isn't really that difficult.

Graphics: 8/10
The Graphics are well done, though they appear blurry sometimes. Perhaps EA wanted it that way, as does when vehicles move really quick. However, even with that blurriness, you don't really feel the great surge of speed like from some other racing games. They visuals editing on the vehicles is quite well done, I personally liked the mirror-like effect of some spray paints on the cars which reflected the sunlight. They could have put more details in other cars, I would really like to see games with normal streetcars have nearly as much detail as your own.

Sound: 7/10
The sound effects are good, with realistic sounds when you knock down objects, but some of the sounds are weird, like when you bang into the walls… the bang sounds are quite strange. The music fits into the environment and action, but the songs aren't catchy and I tend not to notice about them more than any other game. The best music track in my opinion is when the cops are chasing you. It adds to the excitement and how you're going to get away from their pursuit.

Overall: 8/10
It's a good game which has a reasonable game length and many varieties. You can race against each other with 2 Players, and in career mode(1P mode) you can freely explore the large map, attracting cops with your ‘dangerous acts of driving.' Yeah, and there are also tons of ways to destroy cops, ranging from exploding gas stations to collapsing frames.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/30/06