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Need For Speed: Most Wanted (Xbox/Xbox 360)

Need For Speed: Most Wanted

Information
Reviewer: James Collins
Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: Xbox
Genre: Racing
UK Release: 25th Nov 2005
Article Date: 28th Nov 2005
Difficulty: Medium
Price: £39.99
Score Breakdown
Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:


Overall Score: 87%
Discuss this review in the Forums
Pros
  • Deeper than you may think
  • Great graphics
  • Addictive
    Cons
  • Very Scripted
    Screenshots

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    Need for Speed: Most Wanted is the latest in the ever successful ‘Need for Speed’ franchise – that much is obvious. What demands closer inspection though is whether or not we really needed another instalment in the already overcrowded genre? With the mighty Project Gotham Racing 3 released simultaneously with the Xbox 360, could EA’s latest take away any limelight from the massive Microsoft game?



    If you have been a fan of the yearly Need for Speed series you have certainly been spoiled for choice in the past. Need for Speed: Most Wanted, comes hot off the trail of last years massive seller, Need for Speed Underground 2 – arguably the years best selling racing title. Even though Most Wanted borrows slightly from the success of the former title, it still manages to add some interesting new ideas to the table.

    For starters, whilst it might seem quite clichéd at the start, the career mode is probably one of the most addictive racing storylines we have come across in some time. You fill the shoes of a hapless (and sexless) street racer who has just lost the pink slip to a prized car in a race. Revenge is on your mind though, as it becomes all too apparent that the event was rigged from the beginning. It seems a member of the elusive ‘black list’ wanted your car pretty bad – and not only that, he later goes on to use your vehicle to climb the blacklist league rank to first place. So obviously you vow to not only get back your car, but to strip the cheating scoundrel of his first place position and claim the prize for yourself.

    To do this you have to take on each member of the fifteen strong blacklist team before you eventually get a crack at the number one position. To do this you must challenge the lowest member first and work your way upwards. In reality it doesn’t quite work out like that though. In order to prove ‘your worth’ to race against a member of the blacklist you’ll have to complete a certain number of challenges that range from winning a number of races to completing specific tasks (or milestones). Once you have proved your worth and earned the rep, you’ll finally be allowed to challenge that particular blacklist member and so on.

    Not only do you have to worry about the blacklist members, but you’ll also have to avoid getting arrested by the local traffic cops as well. The majority of the milestone events actually encourage you to get close and personal with the police so eventually you’ll bump into them if you want to progress. Even though the police try to ram you off the road in a semi realistic fashion, and will set up roadblocks, what really impressed us was the actual police chatter. You’ll be minding your own business as you try to navigate to the next race, when suddenly you’ll pick up the police talking about a sighting of a speeding vehicle or a hit and run situation. Eventually you realise it’s you they are talking about and actually describing areas you were last sighted in. When the traffic cops eventually spot you they’ll be shouting for backup, telling the control room what street you are heading down and mouthing off one by one every traffic violation you are committing – audibly nothing has even come close to the atmosphere that Most Wanted delivers in a hectic police chase.

    Gamebreaker and Pursuitbreakers are two powerful tricks that you’ll have access to right from the beginning and both are new to the series. The Gamebreaker allows you to slowdown the game-time, which makes certain corners easier to navigate (in a similar vein to what was on offer in Midnight Club 3). While the Gamebreaker feature has the power to get you out of some tight spots on occasions, it never felt as smooth as what was seen with Rockstar’s effort. The Pursuitbreakers though were a different kettle of fish altogether and were actually quite fun to pull off. Scattered around the map are certain buildings or objects that once crashed into crumble to the ground and normally take out any vehicle following you. Crashing into petrol pumps for example will cause an explosion that normally stops any pursuing police vehicles in their tracks.

    What we really enjoyed though was the presentation of it all. Whatever you think of EA and their monopoly on the gaming world, you really can’t deny that they take a certain level of pride in their prized franchises. Need For Speed: Most Wanted is brimming with nice little touches that never fail to grab your attention. Informative tutorials kick in when you come across a new feature, lengthy FMV sequences introduce the latest ‘blacklist’ member that you have to defeat and so on. Even the virtual FMV sequences that give the illusion the characters are actually talking to ‘you’ and it feels just right – and for once, are actually funny and well thought out. Graphically Most Wanted looks spectacular on not only the Xbox 360 but the standard Xbox as well. There are some interesting weather effects on offer, with rain actually obstructing your view in a more realistic manner. The actual car models are equally impressive and rival their real life counterpart for style.

    Need For Speed: Most Wanted picks up quite nicely from the excellent Need for Speed: Underground 2 and never really lets go from that point on. There are some suitably impressive graphics on offer and the career mode is probably one of the most impressive seen in the series to date. It might just be yet another yearly EA update, but if they continue to come out as good as this then nobody has any right to complain.






    DETAILED GAME INFORMATION

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    [Click to visit the official site]


    Version Reviewed: Xbox/Xbox 360
    Other Versions: PC, PS2, GC, PSP
    Muliplayer: Yes
    Price: £39.99

    Most Wanted Trailer (11MB) - DOWNLOAD HERE





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