Score
Gameplay:	7
Graphics:	8
Sound:	9
FunFactor:	9
PlasmaFactor:	10
Overall:	8.6

Need for Speed: Most Wanted Review
January 29, 2006 by Andrew Vawter

by Andrew Vawter - January 29, 2006

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is the continuation of two series of games; the Need for Speed: Underground series and the Need for Speed Hot Pursuit series. In Need for Speed: Most Wanted players take on the role of an illegal street racer with the object of getting to the top of the Blacklist.

Features, Features, Features!

Need for Speed: Most Wanted features multiple modes of play including a single player career where the player’s objective is to move to the top of the Blacklist and get back the ride that was taken from you at the start of the game. Other modes of play include a challenge series where you are tasked with various objectives to complete and successful completion unlocks new levels in the challenge series.

In the career mode of play, you will start the games with low-end cars that are just plain boring to drive. There are almost no tuner options to speak of at the start and very few decals to choose from. Fortunately this will change once you move into the blacklist and start into the main part of the game.

There are multiple modes of play in Need for Speed: Most Wanted including a standard circuit style race, sprint races, speed trap races where the objective is to be going as fast as possible through a police speed trap, and tollbooth which operates a lot like a time trial with the object is to get from your starting point to the end point as fast as possible while under an ever counting clock. All modes of play in Need for Speed: Most Wanted play well and most courses wont have you playing through them more then once or twice.

The story of Need for Speed: Most Wanted advances every time you complete the given objectives to defeat the next member of the Blacklist. Once you have met all the objectives you get the chance to race the next member of the Blacklist. After you defeat them, you are given the opportunity to choose two "markers" which allow you to choose from either a unique upgrade, special decals for your car, or one of three random bonuses ranging from a get out of jail free card, the car of the Blacklist member you just beat, or $10,000 dollars.

All of the cut scenes in Need for Speed: Most Wanted are told using real actors and actual cars while some of the shorter clips are done using the in game engine. The live action cut scenes in the game do their job in advancing the story but the actors and lines used tend to come off as a bit lame. Either way this is forgivable as there are very few cut scenes in the actual game.

Slick.

The graphics in Need for Speed: Most Wanted are top notch. Everything from the cars to the shadows that they cast looks good. There is a real sense of speed in some of the later cars and it really does not feel all that ridiculous when cars start to clear 150 mph as the game starts to add in a blurring affect and things start to come up real fast.

The graphics options can also be fine-tuned. Resolutions from 600x480 up to 1600x1200 are possible. Under the advanced options, it is possible to further fine-tune your play experience to take advantage of anti-aliasing and various other options. Something you might want to turn off in the options include over bright which tends to give the game a faded out look, rain effects which are fairly distracting while driving, and set your visual treatment to low as it tends to increase the level of blurring that the game will render the faster you go (and while realistic, it’s plain annoying in a video game).

EA Licensed music

EA has as usual paid to license some top rate audio tracks into there game so all music in this game is either mainstream alternative rock, electronic, or rap. In total there are 25 audio tracks in the game so you will eventually switch to your mp3s but the tracks that are in the game are all good for their genre.

Engine noises in the game, along with acceleration both sound like they should, and tires squeal loudly whenever you get your car sideways. When in shops there is a lot of atmospheric noise with the sounds of a world going by just outside your garage. The voice talent in the game ranges from merely okay to believable.

Good car selection

Available cars throughout the career mode of the game include everything from a Toyota Supra to a Porsche 911 Carrera S. So the range of cars is quite wide as to what you will be able to choose from. Car customization is also back in full force this time through each car has several thousand possible combinations for their looks. Everything from a stock car to a full-blown ricer is possible in Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

Customization

In Need for Speed: Most Wanted one of the greatest features in the game is the ability to make your car look like whatever you want to. You can take your car and leave it looking stock or you can go in and really get down and change everything. In Need for Speed: Most Wanted it is possible to change the paint color used on the car, apply decals to give your car a unique look, and of course, the ability to add aftermarket performance parts to your ride.

This game is huge on little features. You can change how your speedometer looks by changing the type of speedometer used to changing the colors of the numbers and gauges. You will notice a huge increase in performance the first time you put nitrous on your car and the AI will always be challenging you to race your best.

 

Solid all around

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is not a short game, in fact it is packed. Just to get to a Blacklist person you have usually got to beat anywhere from eight to 13 races. There is a good twenty hours of play in this game. In addition, if you do the challenge series you will probably spend another five hours doing that. Overall, I have really enjoyed playing this game it is quite a bit of fun. So if you like, arcade style racing games then this is definitely a good pickup.