Need for Speed Most Wanted Review - Xbox 360

4

Gameplay: 5
Graphics: 4
Audio: 4
Multiplayer: 5
Innovation: 3

Everyone has heard of the Need for Speed series, and for good reason. The first few games provided us with a great look at the possibilities of the future of racing games. The Hot Pursuit games sold faster than the pursuits, and when the series turned underground many more fans eagerly jumped onboard the Need for Speed bandwagon. It was only a matter of time for the franchise to hit its peak, and it quite possibly did with the Underground games. Need for Speed: Most Wanted provides you with a game that is fairly similar to NFSU2. You can free-roam around the huge city, get chased by cops, and even race online, but does it hold its own against the other racing games of this generation?

Gameplay

The gameplay in Need for Speed: Most Wanted feels very similar to the previous Underground games. The only difference is the new generation of console, which means more processing power and better graphics. Unfortunately though, Most Wanted was released across a massive array of consoles. For this reason, the Xbox 360 version is lacking. It’s still stuck in the previous generation of gaming, and with very little innovative features and only 32 cars, Most Wanted quickly becomes least wanted. That being said, the gameplay can still be riveting at times. The developers over at EA still know how to make cop chases interesting, but as you fight your way through career mode, race after race, chase after chase, the game becomes extraordinarily monotonous.

There are six different race types in Most Wanted, and none of them stand out as being an exceptional favourite. Your standard Circuit and Sprint modes are included, as well as Drag mode which some gamers love. Then there is Lap Knockout mode which is fairly self explanatory, Speedtrap mode where you have to get the fastest speed as you pass through each checkpoint to win, and Tollbooth mode which is basically checkpoint style racing. In order to beat the game, you’ll have to master all these different styles of racing, but none involve much more than good handling of the car. The unfortunate part of Most Wanted is that halfway through the career mode what was once fun all of a sudden turns boring. In order to progress through the career you have to defeat named racers (Bosses, sort of) and in order to earn the right to challenge them you have to complete a number of races and also cop chase milestones. These races and milestones become longer and harder and eventually drive most people crazy. It’s a great game if you just want to cruise around and do race after race, but with unpredictable AI and often hard to approach corners, Most Wanted just hasn’t got what it takes to compete with modern day racers.