Reviewed by Brandy Shaul
Even though I’ve never really considered myself a car buff, I have always found myself attracted to the underground street racing games such as those from the Need for Speed franchise. After all, who wouldn’t love abandoning all rules and restrictions and flying through local neighborhoods at 150+ mph, not to mention being able to tune up and trick out your dream car from when you were a kid. While there are multiple options when it comes to street racing games, I have always loved the Need for Speed brand the best, so when I had the opportunity to play one of their newer installments, Need for Speed Most Wanted, you can be sure that I jumped right on it.
Where games in other genres, like RPG’s or Platformers for instance, rely more on the story to draw players through the game, racing games have always relied on the actual gameplay, that is the races, for most of their excitement. Most Wanted is definitely no exception. Like others in the franchise, the story is loosely based around you as the main character trying to make a name for yourself in the underground racing circuit and/or trying to get revenge on someone who has done you horribly wrong, depending on how you want to look at things.
After being turned into the cops by Razor, the game’s main villain, you are left without a car, and only have enough cash to buy one of the main starter vehicles, like a Volkswagen Golf GTI. With your racing and revenge filled hopes and dreams on the line, and with a little help from Mia and Rog, two of Rockport’s most knowledgeable citizens, you reenter the world of street racing throughout the three boroughs of Rockport and immediately begin the hunt to track down Razor.
While you were locked up, Razor used your car to make his way up the Blacklist, a list of 15 drivers who own the streets of Rockport. Sitting at number one, it will take a long time to reach Razor, but you’ll need the time, and the money you’ll earn along the way to beef up your car(s) enough to stand a chance.
Before taking on members of the Blacklist, there are first milestones that you must reach and earn proving that you deserve a chance to take them on. These milestones are split into three sections.
First are the actual races, which can be anything from simple circuits to drags to lap knockouts. Adding to the basic mix of races are the Tollbooth and Speed Trap challenges, which require you to drive through designated tollbooths while the time is ticking down, and make you pass through checkpoints with the fastest speed out of all competitors, respectively. Of course the races get harder as you progress, and the number of races you have to win also increases as you move your way towards number one on the Blacklist.
The second and third set of milestones are pretty similar, and revolve around the player’s bounty, or “wanted level” with the local (and eventually national) police. The bounty milestones come in multiple varieties, but all have to do with evading pursuit, which can be done by driving through or around roadblocks, damaging police vehicles, or simply hiding in garages and under overpasses scattered through the city. Some specific examples of goals are “Evade a pursuit in under 3 minutes” and “Tag [ram into] at least 28 police vehicles and then evade the pursuit.”
Complete these challenges and you are rewarded with set bounty figures, which are added to the amount of bounty you might earn from hitting traffic or mowing down lamp posts and are kept in a growing till that must reach a certain number before you take on the next Blacklist driver, for instance: “Have a Bounty of 1,500,000.” Earning bounty means taking part in pursuits, with the difficulty of these pursuits really shooting up towards the end of the game.
As you commit more crimes, like speeding or hit and runs, your “Heat Level” increases. At level one, you are followed by usually one police officer at a time, which you can easily outrun or otherwise eliminate by running into water towers and balcony supports, among other things that will come crashing down on them. Heat level two involves the undercover police vehicles that are stronger than the basic police, but still not too threatening. Heat level three involves cars that are stronger still and also incorporate SUV’s that ram you head on and can easily end your day if you’re not careful, as well as multiple roadblocks. Level four involves helicopters and tire spike strips being added to the mix. All of these are pretty tame when compared to Heat Level 5, when Sergeant Cross, the man who arrested you at the beginning of the game, enters the chase with his team of street racing pros.
A good chunk of your gameplay time will be spent running from the police, so the fact that your nitrous bar now continually refills is a true blessing, especially when you are forced into ramming a police vehicle to avoid the tire strips nearby. Another hugely positive factor about the game is the yet again detailed and overflowing stack of car customization options.
Like in previous games, you unlock cars and car parts as you beat more difficult opponents, but this time you will actually need the large selection available in order to lower the heat level on your car. If you do happen to be busted, you will of course have to pay the fines you have acquired, but to avoid this, you can change the look of your car (paint, body kits, etc.) to lessen the amount of attention you have over your head.
Car junkies know what to expect when it comes to the garage portion of the game, but even if your knowledge about the equipment under the hood is lacking (like mine is) you will still find enough help available to achieve your ride’s true potential. And if you really want to customize the way your ride handles, even in specific race types, you can go to the performance tuning menu and tinker away to your heart’s content.
But if entering a lengthy career mode isn’t really your thing, you can instead take part in upwards of 50 challenge series races/pursuits or quick races on any of the tracks you might have seen in the game’s career. This pick-up-and-play aspect is great for those that have only a little time to spare but need their racing fix.
NFS: Most Wanted has some of the most addictive racing gameplay in any game around, but that’s not all it offers. Stunning graphics and a mix between real life and CGI cutscenes await the player as they enter Rockport’s mix of urban and suburban neighborhoods. An intricate weather system changes the way the cars handle depending on whether or not the roads get wet, and with races only occurring from sunrise to sunset, you also have to factor in the changing sunlight when it comes to visibility.
Racing at such high speeds sometimes results in a blurry picture or a lack of control in other games, but it’s been handled very well this time around. Even at 200 mph or more, it’s not difficult to see the oncoming traffic or hairpin turns in the distance. Heck, even the dust that is blown up by the helicopters that are chasing you looks impressive.
Also impressive is the sound department. As usual, the mix of rap & hard rock stylings fits the game perfectly, and with songs from Disturbed and Static-X among others, there are definitely some tracks here that set the mood for racing. Apart from the game’s musical soundtrack, one of the best additions is the scanner that is available in every car that allows you to hear the police communication during pursuits. This normally involves simple relay between headquarters and the officers in the field, but can also come in very handy when they announce the location of roadblocks and spike strips that you can then avoid.
Overall, NFS: Most Wanted takes the system that has worked so well in the past and kicks it up a few notches. With the addition of daytime racing along with tons of police involvement, Most Wanted offers more to its players than simple “get from A to B” racing. Intuitive, addictive gameplay and ample opportunities for customization combine to form one of the best racing games to date, which offers a great time for everyone, whether you’re a car junkie or not.