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Need for Speed: Most Wanted review

Game: Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Racing
Developer: Electronic Arts

Featured reader review by pickhut

April 17, 2007

Most Wanted has a lot going for it when you play it for the first time. Of course, you'll be doing a lot of street racing in this game, but the developers actually tried interesting ways to spice them up. In the Speed Trap races, making it to the finish first ain't gonna cut it. With speed traps scattered throughout these courses, you have to build up as much speed as possible as you go through them, because when you make it to the end, they'll all be tallied up and compared to your opponents. You know what happens next.

It may sound easy, but keep this in mind: you're racing against other cars that will get in your way at times, not to mention the traffic and off-road objects everywhere. So, it takes some quick reflexes and skills to pull it off. Then there's Lap Knockout, which, while not exactly original, does keep you on edge most of the time. Maybe I'm just imagining things, but your opponents seem much more aggressive on these courses. It can be a bit aggravating at times, because these tracks usually consist of extremely tight turns where you normally crash into walls. It's tough, but it does give you a challenge.

There are plenty of other types, like Tollbooth (time limit race) and Drag Racing (not exactly the greatest due to its control setup), which will keep you playing the game for quite awhile. However, over time, you'll eventually stop getting new kinds of races, and you basically have to work with what you have. It may not seem bad at first, but after a few more races, the fun kinda fades away, and you pretty much only play through each one for the money. Don't get me wrong, your opponents will provide a challenge to you every now and then, but overall, it's just an exercise in repetition at that point.

Thank goodness for the cop chases.

These high-speed chases are, without a doubt, the highlight of MW. They start out simple enough: a car (yours) being reported to the cops for reckless driving. A couple of seconds pass by with nothing happening, and you just continue to speed through the city in free roam mode. Then, suddenly, the screen flashes blue, time stops, and the camera zooms in on a car in the distance. A police car. From that point on, you're in a fight to get this car off your ass. And just as you think you're about to lose it, another cop car appears. Then another. And another. Minutes later, you'll have up to six vehicles tailing you on the highway.

With speeds usually up to 160/180 mph, officers panicking like crazy on the radio, and dramatic music pounding away, you try your damnedest to lose them as you avoid traffic, tear down large structures, and crash through roadblocks in slow motion (never gets old). The chases actually appear in some of the races as well, which really makes for one hell of a sight with all the chaos happening at once. The entire thing is one big adrenaline rush, and it's really the main reason I still play Most Wanted. Without this aspect, I would have probably stopped playing halfway through.

Rating: 8/10

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