Need For Speed: Most Wanted: The Last Great Racing Game This Gen?

Need For Speed Most Wanted

Need For Speed Most Wanted

There are many gamers who remember the original Need For Speed: Most Wanted on the PlayStation 2 back in 2005. Recently, however, Criterion have announced a reboot of that game, fully enhanced for this generation and looking like it could be in the running for one of the last great racing games on the current generation of consoles.

Need For Speed: Most Wanted promises you the chance to drive in the world’s hottest, fastest and rarest cars, and it looks like Criterion have thrown everything at this game to make it the best the series has to offer. Sadly, the Need For Speed franchise has had more bad games than good released in its lifetime. So, with this latest attempt, can Criterion take on other similar games and become king of the open world racing games one last time?

Open world racing games are usually pretty awful, and not many have succeeded in taking the throne from games such as Gran Turismo, Forza Motor Sport or even the much more accomplished Grid (in the arcade-racing stakes). Need For Speed: Most Wanted offers a huge open world with plenty of scope for riding around and taking on your rivals, avoiding being caught by police, or if you are the police, taking down the bad guys. Hopefully Criterion have made this game fun–a factor that so many Need For Speed games have lacked over the years.

In order to bring in that fun factor, Criterion gives you the chance to drive almost any vehicle  as soon as you find it. One of its taglines is “Find it. Drive it”. Each car has its own series of events to show off its power and its unique qualities. You can take all the time you need to master each vehicle without worrying about moving onto the next one.

Of course, the game wouldn’t be Most Wanted if it didn’t include cops. Drive around the vast Fairhaven City and watch out for the police. If you’re spotted speeding they will chase you until they either knock you off the road or somehow bring you to a stop. This has always been the funnest aspect of Need For Speed games, and if it is done right, it could be the deal-breaker that makes Need For Speed: Most Wanted a brilliant game instead of just another also-ran title in the franchise.

There is a huge multiplayer component to Need For Speed: Most Wanted, and it promises to draw the player deep into the game. There are vehicle modifications and the chance to work your way up through the ranks of other racers. Experience driving like never before, and do things  such as taking out other players just before they hit the finish line. Again, if this is done right, it could mean good things for racing fans.

Potentially, Need For Speed: Most Wanted could be one of the last great racing games of this generation. However, with Grid 2 coming out in 2013, Most Wanted needs to be something very special. They are both arcade racing games, however for many reasons, open world racing never seems to be as much fun as funnel-fed racing games. Either way, Most Wanted is shaping up to be a great game and no doubt many racing game fans are looking forward to it immensely.

Mark Adams

Mark Adams

Content Guru at Gaming Illustrated
Mark Adams been gaming since 1977 and owned almost every console since the original Pong machine. Gaming has always been part of his life and he enjoys a variety of games and his mind is always open to new experiences in the gaming world. Over the years he has written gaming articles for blogs and local newspapers, and he always tries and add something a little bit different from your usual review. He works in IT for a small local company in Wales, and when he's not working, he's gaming!
Mark Adams

@markyboyo

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  • Richie Appleton

    Forza Horizon looks a lot better in many ways

  • Arthur Hunt

    After 30 min i deleted it and crush dvds with game, i never played worse game… physics is absolutly horrible, handeling of cars even more… NFS stopped for me after Undergound 2 that was solid good game, all after that is just straight down shit…