Need for Speed: Most Wanted - A Criterion Game

 PC
User Score
4.5

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 1020 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 254 out of 1020
  2. Mixed: 249 out of 1020
  3. Negative: 517 out of 1020
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  1. DenizYAZICI
    Aug 17, 2023
    5
    1)oynanış/mekanikler 7
    2)yapay zeka 2
    3)grafikler 7
    4)müzikler 8
    5)atmosfer 1
    6)hikaye 3
    toplam puan 4,6
  2. erfunfazli
    Aug 8, 2023
    7
    It was a good experience and it was fun. I think this is not great but it's an acceptable open world racing game.
  3. blimpsgo180
    Mar 27, 2023
    5
    Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) features the most deplorable thing in this industry: micro-transactions. I have long warned people that micro-transactions can run up a bill that is anything but “micro,” and if you’re buying a game, buy it outright and full, not “freemium” or in other words “free now and pay later.” A NeoGAF message board user informed me that Need for Speed: Most WantedNeed for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) features the most deplorable thing in this industry: micro-transactions. I have long warned people that micro-transactions can run up a bill that is anything but “micro,” and if you’re buying a game, buy it outright and full, not “freemium” or in other words “free now and pay later.” A NeoGAF message board user informed me that Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) was free years ago on Electronic Arts’ digital storefront, Origin, and I claimed my copy. Playing it now, years later, I have learned that Electronic Arts wants me to pay thirty dollars for all the content of this game, or spend five dollars here and there on the content I really want.

    I did play the game Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) start to finish, with the exception of downloadable content. It’s actually a pretty good driving game. It was developed by U.K. developer Criterion Games, who made their mark in the game biz with the Burnout series, where you crash cars for the thrill of it. Many would say Burnout Paradise was their peak game in terms of quality – Burnout Paradise Remastered is part of EA’s subscription program. Though I spent only a couple of hours with Burnout Paradise, I understood the idea. It’s a massive map filled with challenges for fictional cars. Some challenges ask that you crash your car as severely as possible. Some challenges ask that you win a race.

    What sets Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) apart is we now have licensed cars. You can get a Maserati, a Ford, a Dodge, a Chevy, a Porsche, a Lamborghini, and more. And true to Criterion’s signature style, you can crash cars and watch the replay. For those interested in history, this is significant. As far back as I’m aware, the game Gran Turismo had many makes of real licensed cars, but there was a catch. No car company wanted to see damage to their vehicles. You could drive straight into a wall, and the car would simply stop. It was a very powerful move from a very powerful auto industry. Most Wanted (2012) upended this tradition.

    Yes, you do get the replay, but no car crash is an objective in the game, with the exception of the “Most Wanted” cars. To earn a Most Wanted car, you have to beat that car in a race, and after the race, run the car off the road by bumping into it. After that, you’re free to drive it. There are ten Most Wanted cars, including your own. That said, there are cars everywhere in the game, with the logo of the car’s maker floating above the car. It’s usually parked in a visible area off of the main road.

    When you own a car, you can enter it into races, of which there are eight. I really have to give Criterion credit: the races are hard. Races are ranked Easy, Medium, and Hard, and even the easy races are still hard. This is polar opposite to a series like Forza Motorsport, where every race is stupidly easy. If you place first or second in a race, you get one to two upgrades for the car. You have to suspend disbelief. The police might set spike strips to slow you down, and a common upgrade is tires that automatically re-inflate after going flat.

    The police are a big part of this game. Often, one of your challenges is to evade the police. If you ever drive so fast and maneuver so deftly that you aren’t in the police’s line of sight, you enter a cool-down period, until they just give up looking for you. I’m not one to run from police, and always felt a little uncomfortable in these moments. It’s worth saying Criterion put a lot of work into cinematic scenes before the start of a race, like playing with the color of a city and its skyline, or watching your opponents levitate before racing. It can be silly, but it’s touches like this that give the game a little personality.

    Again, if you beat the other nine cars on the Most Wanted list, you win the game. The credits roll, and it’s a lot of credits. The soundtrack, which has ample space in the credit roll, was largely forgettable. Of course, the game never really ends. You can keep finding new cars, racing them, and upgrading them until there are no more upgrades. The real problem, is the game gets formulaic. That is the exact process: get a car, upgrade it in every possible way, and get a new car. There’s a multiplayer aspect where you can challenge your friends, but my friends don’t have this game. Also, there’s that thirty dollars’ worth of downloadable content (DLC), but after seventeen hours of a simple formula, I know all I need to know about this one.    … Expand
  4. xcale
    Mar 6, 2023
    6
    Somewhat playable or let's say worth to spend some time but definitely nowhere near as a lock you in front of the screen like before.
  5. DonldTrump_45Th
    Jan 26, 2023
    5
    Hello, this is a default review because i'm forced to use 75 characters. I'll edit this review in the future talking about the game, don't worry ;)

    My final rate is: 5
  6. Tibetskiy
    Dec 3, 2022
    6
    It would be a false advertising to name this game after original NFS most wanted. There is no story, no customisation. The police chases are fun, but no where near the level of chaos of 2005 blackbox game. Graphics are beautiful. Great variety of cars. Crash cam is cancer, that make faster cars undrivable. Overall game isn't that bad, it plays more like a burnout, than need for speed. IfIt would be a false advertising to name this game after original NFS most wanted. There is no story, no customisation. The police chases are fun, but no where near the level of chaos of 2005 blackbox game. Graphics are beautiful. Great variety of cars. Crash cam is cancer, that make faster cars undrivable. Overall game isn't that bad, it plays more like a burnout, than need for speed. If you aren't expecting direct sequel to 2005 most wanted, than you'll get yourself quite decent racing game. Not without flaws of course, but still a fun experience .… Expand
  7. Alpha10
    Oct 20, 2022
    7
    Good racing game with superb graphics but lack of story makes it boring but can be played if you are car lover.
  8. Nnrej
    Jul 11, 2022
    6
    many bugs and slow framerates made this game not as enjoyable as it could have been
  9. karcael
    Jun 11, 2021
    5
    Oyun pek iyi değildi. Düzgün çalışmadığı çok zaman oldu. Hikayesi herhalde o kadar kötüydü ki hatırlamıyorum bile. Bu oyunda hikaye var mıydı?! Grafikleri fena değil, oynanışı kötünün iyisi.
  10. shoma-
    Apr 2, 2021
    5
    Игра является заложником названия, но даже так игра плоха. Однообразный геймплей, отсутствие тюнинга (в HP его тоже не было), но лол, МАШИНУ ДАЖЕ НЕЛЬЗЯ ПОКРАСИТЬ, точнее можно - только проехав заправку и то на рандом, музыка наверное неплоха, графика на любителя, единственное, что сильно понравилось - возможность садиться в машину, просто найдя её.Игра является заложником названия, но даже так игра плоха. Однообразный геймплей, отсутствие тюнинга (в HP его тоже не было), но лол, МАШИНУ ДАЖЕ НЕЛЬЗЯ ПОКРАСИТЬ, точнее можно - только проехав заправку и то на рандом, музыка наверное неплоха, графика на любителя, единственное, что сильно понравилось - возможность садиться в машину, просто найдя её.
  11. navibu
    Mar 31, 2021
    6
    EA loves taking other game and named it "need for speed" since shift, it's like burnout with real cars and upgrades.
    Decent game, bad name
  12. dimike
    Jan 10, 2021
    6
    Graphics - ok
    Handling - bad
    Music - ok
    story - awful
    gameplay - bad
    motivation - 0
  13. CoreGamer1408
    Oct 12, 2020
    5
    I used to love the NFS games back in the day. Free giveaway drop on Origin ages I ago. Finally gave it ago 2020. Looks fine, runs fines, cars move at a fast pace. Arcade racers what more can I say? It's been done the umpteenth time and probably better elsewhere. So weird racing around a city devoid of any people. This is not the game to bring me back into the fold of arcade racing, oh well.
  14. Apple-14
    Apr 28, 2020
    7
    its good, best one in the series...

    its a need for speed game, WHAT DO I SAY, you drive and crash, and race and have fun...
  15. Shimmeywill
    Mar 9, 2020
    5
    Good visuals don't make up for an overall mediocre experience. City looks nice though.
  16. Nameless2131
    Feb 6, 2020
    5
    6/10 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  17. Pardoow
    Sep 8, 2019
    6
    Not really a fan of car/racing games, but mostly enjoyable, unluckily, also very repetitive and uninteresting
  18. gold
    Jul 20, 2019
    6
    Игра в духе предыдущей части только с минусами. упоротое управление, бесящая система аварии: чуть соприкоснулся с ограждением - всё, смотри на долгую заставку, а вкупе с управлением-это огромный минус. Графика, музыка остаётся на уровне предыдущей части, только чуть-чуть улучшенная, по этому плюс. По сравнению с оригиналом... Это элементарно хуже. Здесь нет гаража - минус, здесь нужноИгра в духе предыдущей части только с минусами. упоротое управление, бесящая система аварии: чуть соприкоснулся с ограждением - всё, смотри на долгую заставку, а вкупе с управлением-это огромный минус. Графика, музыка остаётся на уровне предыдущей части, только чуть-чуть улучшенная, по этому плюс. По сравнению с оригиналом... Это элементарно хуже. Здесь нет гаража - минус, здесь нужно находить машины - на ваш вкус, здесь нет сюжета - минус. Если вы решили пройти все части Need for Speed, то моя рекомендация (тем более другие) вам не нужны, а если вы не поставили этой цели, то я не рекомендую вам играть в это.
    Итог: 6.211/10    … Expand
  19. Skyler360
    May 23, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I love the burnout style gameplay, the graphics are very good, the music is decent, the selection of cars is fine. But what **** is that there is no history, no garage and no personalization of cars. That's like a pizza without cheese; It's a pity that this game was so disappointing because it could have been as good or better than the 2010 Hot Pursuit; a shame.… Expand
  20. Wer1jones
    Mar 9, 2019
    5
    It’s a good game but the fact that there is no more manual transmission and the cops are absolutely broken and the traffic is dumb if I was the makers I would do something about it like wtf where they thinking with the traffic
  21. JwLee
    Nov 4, 2018
    5
    To see this review, you have to buy DLC. LOL
    Overall the game is good. Especially, racing is the best part. However, because of limited parts and lack of missions, there's nothing to do. What we can do is just racing cities. To enjoy another parts, races, then we should pay for DLC.
  22. DGDrocks7
    Dec 28, 2017
    6
    Gosh, I really want to know why some reviewers gave this game a 9. Or an 8. Or even a 7. I got this for free from Origin’s On The House program and I’m glad I did. I wouldn’t pay more than $5 for this. As you know by now, it’s nothing like the original Most Wanted. It’s made by Criterion, the devs of Burnout, so many say that this is a sequel to “Burnout Paradise”. That, too, is nonsense.Gosh, I really want to know why some reviewers gave this game a 9. Or an 8. Or even a 7. I got this for free from Origin’s On The House program and I’m glad I did. I wouldn’t pay more than $5 for this. As you know by now, it’s nothing like the original Most Wanted. It’s made by Criterion, the devs of Burnout, so many say that this is a sequel to “Burnout Paradise”. That, too, is nonsense. It’s not Most Wanted and it certainly isn’t Paradise.

    So what is it? Well, you just drive and race and repeat. There’s no incentive to race because all the cars are unlocked from the start. Just find it on the map, get in, and it’s yours. No seriously. Not even 1 hour will pass and already you’re driving top-tier vehicles like a Lamborghini or a Koenigsegg. So there’s no reason to drive the lower-tier cars, and there’s no sense of accomplishment. That said, each vehicle has unique events, at least that’s what I thought at first. By the time you max out your 4th vehicle, you’ll be racing the same events. Cop chases are not interesting either. Which is weird as they were intense in Hot Pursuit 2010. There's also no real penalty for getting caught either. So what happened here? And Fairhaven City is so small I saw everything in a couple hours. Paradise City is also small, but it was also fun. Fairhaven? Not so much.

    What gave this game high scores? Online. But guess what? It’s DEAD. So why bother? If you’re making a game whose selling point is online, it has to be damn good that people will be playing it for years to come. But nobody’s online.

    As said already, it was free on Origin and if you got it and it’s sitting in your library, give this game a couple hours, it’s still kinda fun. But the promotion has ended, so don’t bother. If you want to play it so badly, find it for like no more than $5.    … Expand
  23. Ckazochnik
    Nov 15, 2015
    7
    Like this game. After really annoying Carbon and some **** «official» racing games (NFS without cops, wtf) it feels like a good arcade for 2-3 evenings.
  24. cedarus
    Jan 27, 2015
    5
    The game looks great but at the cost of a poorly implemented game with tons of DLC that ruin the experience. The Origin overlay cannot be found within the game even when it is enabled within the application.
  25. doncsoo
    Jan 8, 2015
    7
    This game is very frustrating at the start because we crash,crash and crash. But we could get used to it then we realize it that we're playing a great arcade game that is unique in the need for speed series.

    7/10
  26. azeitona
    Dec 10, 2014
    6
    Actually, it's not that bad when you think about it. The multiplayer is really fun, and so is the campaign. Yes, it is short and kind of bland, and I can understand no customization in the remake Hot Pursuit (there was none in the original game either), but this being Most Wanted, it left something to be desired at this topic. The user interface also is really horrible and gets in yourActually, it's not that bad when you think about it. The multiplayer is really fun, and so is the campaign. Yes, it is short and kind of bland, and I can understand no customization in the remake Hot Pursuit (there was none in the original game either), but this being Most Wanted, it left something to be desired at this topic. The user interface also is really horrible and gets in your face all the time. But, to counter part it, the environment is beautiful and the locations are really fun to race. Not a game for everyone. I regret buying it by its retail price, but I wouldn't mind if I got it in a sale.… Expand
  27. yo_mama_so_fat
    Oct 23, 2014
    6
    To be honest, I was disappointed by this game. Don't get me wrong, the visuals are stunning, the cars sound amazing and the soundtrack is decent. However this game has no storyline, no real sense of purpose. Doesn't even compare to it's 2005 counterpart.
  28. Manjul
    Nov 26, 2013
    6
    NFS RIVALS
    first of all ,graphics are not heavy as compare to performance
    previous nfs most wanted runs great at maximum settings
    but this one run at medium thats why rating gets low
    but as far as gameplay is concern
    it has very nice gameplay(better than cars are also good
    i give 6/10 due to gameplay otherwise graphics,animations are quite bad
  29. dOrIaN101nthnsm
    Aug 26, 2013
    6
    After all is said and done (and my second 7970 arrived) i can tell you what this game truly feels like:
    it's a pure eye candy to wow you'r friends with, THIS is the crysis 3 of racing games meaning,
    more fun to watch then to play. it's not a 'broken' game but it's due to some heavy, heavy polish in terms of handling, the 'lag' between what you want it to do to what the car is currently    After all is said and done (and my second 7970 arrived) i can tell you what this game truly feels like:
    it's a pure eye candy to wow you'r friends with, THIS is the crysis 3 of racing games meaning,
    more fun to watch then to play.
    it's not a 'broken' game but it's due to some heavy, heavy polish in terms of handling, the 'lag' between
    what you want it to do to what the car is currently doing is frankly, horrible.
    it's like it's meant to be a drift to win game but the drift mechanics are not working.
    Try grid 2 if you want that^ btw.
    never gave multiplayer the time of days considering the childish gameplay modes available
    i would suggest trying to find something more fun to do in an open world racer then just playing tag
    or racing.
    you will find more realism in mario kart, Just get grid 2.    … Expand
  30. AmbigousBarrel
    Jul 26, 2013
    5
    I think they did put effort into the graphics and it does run well on my system on maximum setting's, my problem is even though it does run well, I don't want to play it for longer than about ten minute's...It's a game with car's sure, but...it seems ambiguous frankly. The handling is...normal...the city is...well a city just like you would expect it to be...in other words I was lookingI think they did put effort into the graphics and it does run well on my system on maximum setting's, my problem is even though it does run well, I don't want to play it for longer than about ten minute's...It's a game with car's sure, but...it seems ambiguous frankly. The handling is...normal...the city is...well a city just like you would expect it to be...in other words I was looking for that thing you get with a game that you cannot explain but it keeps you coming back, but for me this game doesn't have that. I played it for a hour, noticed the lack of story, lack of the sort of custom stuff you can do to your car (Like back in Need for Speed Underground 2 before the series started going down hill) it's just so disheartening to see them make such a pretty game, that feels such a chore to play...And...Criterion I know your proud of Burnout franchise and you have every right to be, I'm a fan of that series myself too, but I never imagined you to only be capable of just one trick. I mean you had a chance to make a new original game, and then you just turned it into Burnout clone...Award winning or not...I don't like it.

    I tried it with Eyefinity too, which was a mistake frankly. Not that it hurt the frame rate, that was fine. It was that the menu's and such went behind the bezel's and everything was squashed onto the middle screen. And the lack of controller sensitivity and dead zone adjustment was rather irritating, to say the least.

    Over all, good effort in the graphics department still needs work elsewhere though and needs to have its own identity, Need for Speed's identity, not Burnout's identity.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best PC Game of 2012
28
#28 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
22
#22 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Nov 30, 2012
    60
    Just pick one of the beautiful cars, hop in and drive. But do not want anything else. NFS: Most Wanted is average fun for all car lovers. [Dec 2012]
  2. CD-Action
    Nov 29, 2012
    70
    Most Wanted works best when you treat it like mobile games – switch it on for 15 minutes, do a random race with a random car and then turn it off. It's a good arcade racing title closely resembling Burnout: Paradise but it's not exceptional. [CD-Action 13/2012, p.52]
  3. Worth Playing
    Nov 25, 2012
    92
    Most Wanted's biggest strength is that it feels like a cohesive whole, rather than some amalgamation of a reboot tacked on to another game's engine. The gameplay emphasizes as little downtime as possible, which is a good thing as it's an absolute blast whether or not cops are involved. It's not a reboot as much as it is a reimagining of the original game, taking the bits that worked and wrapping them in a completely new package. Surprisingly enough, it does so in a way that works, and the new Most Wanted ranks up there with the original.
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