Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Added November 19th, 2005 by Kisan Parikh
Introduction:
Over the last few years, The Need for Speed racing franchise has been growing due to its high-octane, street racing styled gameplay. The past two games fared well, but EA felt like something new was needed. Need for Speed: Most Wanted, hopes to improve upon previous Need for Speed games by adding new features and gameplay elements while still staying true to the things that led to the franchise’s success. This time around, the game will feature police chases. This exciting inclusion offers a fresh experience for longtime NFS fans.
Gameplay:
Most Wanted’s story centered gameplay is apparent right from the start of Career Mode. Your character has been wronged by a racer named Razor, and your only desire is revenge. With the help of your sidekick, Mia, you hope to rise through the ranks of the Blacklist to eventually get a shot at winning your ride back. The story, for the most part, is nothing special, but it does serve its purpose of providing you a reason to race. The story is presented to you via movies that are actually a mixture of real-life actors and animated backdrops.
Over the last few years, The Need for Speed racing franchise has been growing due to its high-octane, street racing styled gameplay. The past two games fared well, but EA felt like something new was needed. Need for Speed: Most Wanted, hopes to improve upon previous Need for Speed games by adding new features and gameplay elements while still staying true to the things that led to the franchise’s success. This time around, the game will feature police chases. This exciting inclusion offers a fresh experience for longtime NFS fans.
Gameplay:
Most Wanted’s story centered gameplay is apparent right from the start of Career Mode. Your character has been wronged by a racer named Razor, and your only desire is revenge. With the help of your sidekick, Mia, you hope to rise through the ranks of the Blacklist to eventually get a shot at winning your ride back. The story, for the most part, is nothing special, but it does serve its purpose of providing you a reason to race. The story is presented to you via movies that are actually a mixture of real-life actors and animated backdrops.
After viewing the initial hook of the story, you are then allowed to choose your ride. Obviously, you initial choices aren’t the crčme of the crop since you are starting from the bottom. Once you have your ride, you are shown your first Blacklist competitor. In order to challenge this racer, you will need to prove yourself worthy of his time. This is done by completing the required amount of objectives set by the Blacklist racer. You will, of course, be required to win your share of standard races. These are the straight-up races that you have come to love from the series. Circuits, sprints, and other variations make up the standard racing aspect. One notable variation includes racing past various cameras that capture your speed at the given moment. The player with the highest total at the end wins, but points begin to be deducted after the first racer finishes. That’s all stuff we’ve generally seen before though.
The fresh experience lies in the Cop Pursuit and Bounty Aspects. Once a cop sees you street racing or even driving fast in Free Roam mode, he will begin to chase you on the spot. You do your best to evade him, but he will call for backup and the amount of cops on your tail will increase. To race a Blacklist racer, you will need to prove yourself by completing certain objectives such as: evading the police in a certain amount of time; ramming a certain number of cops; getting involved in a chase for a certain amount of time; and more of the like. This will force you into many high-speed, high-adrenaline pursuits that require you to use not only your vehicle but also the road to escape trouble. If captured, you are required to pay fines to free yourself from jail and to release your car from the impound lot.
The other requirement you must fulfill to challenge a Blacklist racer involves the bounty placed on your car. As you break laws (ramming police, pedestrians, or city property to name a few), your Heat Meter increases along with the bounty placed on your capture. However, as your bounty and Heat Meter rise, chances of evading diminish. The police become more aggressive, and they will use more advanced equipment and techniques to stop you.
The police AI starts out as dumb as can be, but you will see an increase as you proceed. Your pursuers will become smarter and more aggressive. The cops use various techniques to take you down. One such technique is the box method. This involves the police cars boxing you in and forcing you to a stop. A meter will show if you are busted or not, and it is based upon how long you are stopped by the police. After a certain amount of time, you watch yourself being arrested. Likewise, a meter shows if you have escaped the grasp of justice. This meter also reflects if the police can see you or not. You are able to use hiding spots, depicted on the map, to secure your safety.
The whole police-chase element of the game is extremely fun, and it is easily the most exciting part of the game. That is saying something, because the racing in this Need for Speed game is as solid as it has been in the past.
The entire game is presented to you in a great manner. You are able to jump into pursuits and races through a menu. If you prefer, you can also access these events by just driving around in Free Roam. You can either use your map and GPS to navigate to a specific event or you can participate in whatever comes along. It’s all up to you. This is great, because instead of always ‘hopping into’ pursuits, you can just cause a cop to chase you by yourself. In addition to traveling to events, you can use Free Roam to get to your Safe House and Car Shop.
All of the visual and performance modifications you have come to love from the series remain in Most Wanted. You can change the look of the over 30 different vehicles, and you can also make them faster and more responsive. This time around, you will have a reason to modify your car’s appearance besides just making it look cool. Now, by changing the appearance of your car, you can avoid the notice of police. This is great but, I must admit, even though I want to evade the cops, the main purpose behind modifying my car is to make it as good looking as possible.
The gameplay experience of Most Wanted gives you your racing fix, but it also allows you to participate in high-speed, action-packed police chases. EA has found a way to blend this perfectly within the style of Need for Speed, and what results is fun and exciting gameplay.
Graphics:
As mentioned above, Most Wanted uses a mix of real-life footage and animated backdrops instead of the standard animated cut-scene. These clips truly look great, and you don’t get the feeling of “this doesn’t belong”. This was achieved by adding graphical effects to all of the real footage, so it doesn’t look like they just slapped a movie in.
The fresh experience lies in the Cop Pursuit and Bounty Aspects. Once a cop sees you street racing or even driving fast in Free Roam mode, he will begin to chase you on the spot. You do your best to evade him, but he will call for backup and the amount of cops on your tail will increase. To race a Blacklist racer, you will need to prove yourself by completing certain objectives such as: evading the police in a certain amount of time; ramming a certain number of cops; getting involved in a chase for a certain amount of time; and more of the like. This will force you into many high-speed, high-adrenaline pursuits that require you to use not only your vehicle but also the road to escape trouble. If captured, you are required to pay fines to free yourself from jail and to release your car from the impound lot.
The other requirement you must fulfill to challenge a Blacklist racer involves the bounty placed on your car. As you break laws (ramming police, pedestrians, or city property to name a few), your Heat Meter increases along with the bounty placed on your capture. However, as your bounty and Heat Meter rise, chances of evading diminish. The police become more aggressive, and they will use more advanced equipment and techniques to stop you.
The police AI starts out as dumb as can be, but you will see an increase as you proceed. Your pursuers will become smarter and more aggressive. The cops use various techniques to take you down. One such technique is the box method. This involves the police cars boxing you in and forcing you to a stop. A meter will show if you are busted or not, and it is based upon how long you are stopped by the police. After a certain amount of time, you watch yourself being arrested. Likewise, a meter shows if you have escaped the grasp of justice. This meter also reflects if the police can see you or not. You are able to use hiding spots, depicted on the map, to secure your safety.
The whole police-chase element of the game is extremely fun, and it is easily the most exciting part of the game. That is saying something, because the racing in this Need for Speed game is as solid as it has been in the past.
The entire game is presented to you in a great manner. You are able to jump into pursuits and races through a menu. If you prefer, you can also access these events by just driving around in Free Roam. You can either use your map and GPS to navigate to a specific event or you can participate in whatever comes along. It’s all up to you. This is great, because instead of always ‘hopping into’ pursuits, you can just cause a cop to chase you by yourself. In addition to traveling to events, you can use Free Roam to get to your Safe House and Car Shop.
All of the visual and performance modifications you have come to love from the series remain in Most Wanted. You can change the look of the over 30 different vehicles, and you can also make them faster and more responsive. This time around, you will have a reason to modify your car’s appearance besides just making it look cool. Now, by changing the appearance of your car, you can avoid the notice of police. This is great but, I must admit, even though I want to evade the cops, the main purpose behind modifying my car is to make it as good looking as possible.
The gameplay experience of Most Wanted gives you your racing fix, but it also allows you to participate in high-speed, action-packed police chases. EA has found a way to blend this perfectly within the style of Need for Speed, and what results is fun and exciting gameplay.
Graphics:
As mentioned above, Most Wanted uses a mix of real-life footage and animated backdrops instead of the standard animated cut-scene. These clips truly look great, and you don’t get the feeling of “this doesn’t belong”. This was achieved by adding graphical effects to all of the real footage, so it doesn’t look like they just slapped a movie in.
In terms of in-game visuals, Most Wanted looks terrific with its great looking cars. The cars are very sleek, and they feature real-time reflections. The game utilizes some nice blur effects to display high speeds which adds to the overall experience. The city backdrop of Most Wanted is shown with well-varied buildings and areas, and it even includes animated objects such swaying trees. The one lacking item is substantial car damage. Aside from showing window breakage and dings, the game is missing something. You really don’t see the effect of slamming into a wall at high speeds. On the grand scheme of things, however, the game looks great and it plays smoothly.
Audio:
The audio of Most Wanted is yet another strong aspect. Sure you’ll hear all the great roaring of engines and screeching around turns, but the game comes through with a solid soundtrack with a nice mix of rock and hip-hop as well. The best thing, in terms of audio, is actually the voice acting. While the voice work of the actual characters is pretty standard, the radio chatter of the police is top notch. While being chased, you can hear the coppers calling out commands and giving updates on their location. Everything sounds authentic and it really adds to the whole experience.
Controls:
Most Wanted stays basic when it comes to the control scheme. You won’t see anything that you haven’t seen before. The game does utilize the D-Pad to access messages, maps, and challenge screens. The learning curve of the game is very short, and any problems you have with the new Pursuit Mode will be resolved by some quick video tutorials.
Replay:
The game features a fairly long Career Mode that will keep you occupied for quite some time. You will have to face 15 Blacklist racers, and each makes you prove yourself with races and bounty objectives. Additionally, the game features the Challenge Series mode. This mode of play allows you to prove your skills by completing various objectives. You are able to participate in both racing and pursuit challenges. Additionally, Most Wanted features a pretty straightforward Xbox Live mode. Just standard racing here; you won’t be getting to play cops vs. racers online. This would have been rediculously fun if they could have found a way to implement it properly.
Audio:
The audio of Most Wanted is yet another strong aspect. Sure you’ll hear all the great roaring of engines and screeching around turns, but the game comes through with a solid soundtrack with a nice mix of rock and hip-hop as well. The best thing, in terms of audio, is actually the voice acting. While the voice work of the actual characters is pretty standard, the radio chatter of the police is top notch. While being chased, you can hear the coppers calling out commands and giving updates on their location. Everything sounds authentic and it really adds to the whole experience.
Controls:
Most Wanted stays basic when it comes to the control scheme. You won’t see anything that you haven’t seen before. The game does utilize the D-Pad to access messages, maps, and challenge screens. The learning curve of the game is very short, and any problems you have with the new Pursuit Mode will be resolved by some quick video tutorials.
Replay:
The game features a fairly long Career Mode that will keep you occupied for quite some time. You will have to face 15 Blacklist racers, and each makes you prove yourself with races and bounty objectives. Additionally, the game features the Challenge Series mode. This mode of play allows you to prove your skills by completing various objectives. You are able to participate in both racing and pursuit challenges. Additionally, Most Wanted features a pretty straightforward Xbox Live mode. Just standard racing here; you won’t be getting to play cops vs. racers online. This would have been rediculously fun if they could have found a way to implement it properly.
Summary:
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a definite step forward for the series. You will fall in love with the police-chases immediately, and you are still offered the great racing aspects that you already know and love. Everything comes together nicely for the Xbox version of the game, and I recommend that racing fans add this to their collection.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a definite step forward for the series. You will fall in love with the police-chases immediately, and you are still offered the great racing aspects that you already know and love. Everything comes together nicely for the Xbox version of the game, and I recommend that racing fans add this to their collection.
