Need For Speed: Most Wanted Review

“The speed is still in need; just a little less wanted than other games”

Racing through the mean streets of a fictional city is far from an original thing to do in a game, but it’s not going to stop game developers from trying. With this entry into the Need for Speed things have gotten better for the series, but not really for the sport of racing on the mean streets of fictional city “X”.

This is one of the best looking racers you will ever lay your eyes upon. The game uses all authentic cars and they look beautiful. The city is also laid out in a beautiful manner. Dirt, grime and mud collect on the vehicles as they race through the city. Damage is shown as much as it can be but not done in a detailed manner. I’m sure it’s that way because of licensing issues; car companies don’t want their cars to be shown damaged. It’s just funny though that in these sprawling cities there are no pedestrians walking down the streets; how convenient. Things are crisp and clear otherwise and things are brought to life in a good way.

It’s real simple: you are a nameless, faceless; driver and you race all over town finding new cars, running from the cops and generally racing. Similar to Paradise City you tear around the city and basically try to beat everyone else at being a good driver. You earn speed points for each race that act as records and leader boards.

Look let’s just come out and say this: this game is close to being Burnout: Paradise City, but with real cars. It’s an open world city where you drive around; having back to back races or choosing to find things around the city, like Billboards and fences to smash into. It’s so focused on races that when you find new cars you don’t even get out of your old car you just magically switch between the two. As for the races, well you race! You pull up to intersections or marked areas spinning your wheels (by pressing the two trigger buttons) and there you go. The race types vary and while not as fun as Paradise City they are still engaging. The only types that differ (if you have indeed played Paradise City) is a version where the cops chase you and you have to lose them. Other than that it’s all standard fare and not to different from any other NFS game really.