Need for Speed: Most Wanted

 PlayStation 3
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 564 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 255 out of 564
  2. Mixed: 121 out of 564
  3. Negative: 188 out of 564
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  1. hoodoos2
    Oct 31, 2012
    10
    All of you people who are rating this game as a zero or extremely low, go back to Forza and Xbox. You obviously have an economic agenda and no credibility. NFS MW is the best racing experience since Burnout Paradise. The racing is fun, intense, and the world is second to none. A must buy for anyone remotely interested in an adrenaline filled speed fest.
  2. SimRyd
    Oct 31, 2012
    10
    Awesome awesome arcade-racer!!!! What is it with reviewers thinking this is supposed to be driving round a track for hour after hour, tweaking the car little by little then going back round a track until you fall asleep at the controls???? Go get GT or some other soul-draining sim-racer. Game is awesome and HUGE FUN!!!!!
  3. bears
    Dec 9, 2012
    10
    If you're looking for a replica of the PS2 title, save your money and your review. That being said, if you're looking for one amazing racing game on all fronts (gameplay, presentation, graphics) then this will blow your mind. I've logged hours upon hours and keep finding nuances that make my heart race while I maintain a huge smile on my face. Outrunning the cops has never felt this good.If you're looking for a replica of the PS2 title, save your money and your review. That being said, if you're looking for one amazing racing game on all fronts (gameplay, presentation, graphics) then this will blow your mind. I've logged hours upon hours and keep finding nuances that make my heart race while I maintain a huge smile on my face. Outrunning the cops has never felt this good. Well done!!… Expand
  4. kaiser_alucard
    Nov 2, 2012
    10
    Spectacular. This game was sensational EA got hit once again recreating a classic. The passing system for instant repair was very good and practical cars around the scene was also found to be an excellent idea. Ramps, persecutions, good gameplay, beautiful graphics and great; fun make this game be right purchase.
  5. omaxus
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    Best racing game Atm if u like racing games get it right now !
  6. DarkSoul89
    Nov 6, 2012
    10
    To anyone on the fence, to anyone who enjoys videogames or to anyone who is simply stressed out with life, Do urself a favour; GET THIS GAME. Why? Because its phenomenal. Forget the cry-babies, look at the score to the left
  7. BaxterX7
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    If you want the paramount in arcade racing look no further than NFS:MW. I won't go too far into the mechanics or story, I'll just tell you how I feel about Most Wanted. This isn't a Black Box game so don't expect anything similar to the 2005 title of the same name, Criterion has been on an whole notha level since the first Burnout. When it comes to making you feel like a stunt driver,If you want the paramount in arcade racing look no further than NFS:MW. I won't go too far into the mechanics or story, I'll just tell you how I feel about Most Wanted. This isn't a Black Box game so don't expect anything similar to the 2005 title of the same name, Criterion has been on an whole notha level since the first Burnout. When it comes to making you feel like a stunt driver, there is no equivalent Some may say the new feel is "heavy" or unrealistic and call that a bad thing. These people haven't played this type of game. Burnout is about drifting, extreme speed and vehicle destruction. Don't write a review if all you wanted was Fortza or GT, you bought the wrong game too bad. This is about action-racing, the non-boring kind of racing. You aren't circling a track for 45 minutes. You're weaving the streets of a busy city, trying your best to dodge traffic, make secrets and destroy other players. The multiplayer is of a different caliber than you have ever experience, sans Hot Pursuit players. The difference is in the spontaneity of it all. The fused mechanics of Hot Pursuit's feel and Paradise's openness make for a multiplayer experience that is almost seamless with the singleplayer. This is possibly one of the most revolutionary efforts ever made in that respect. A game that lets you have true freedom. This is where all games are headed I expect. A 10/10 if I ever gave one. Note: I feel sorry for anyone who is even the least bit swayed in their purchase by the negative reviews being written. Go back to racing sims you pack of idiots. Fortza and GT aren't even games by definition. They're simulators. I get that some want to drive a car exactly like being in a real race, but I myself want to see cars flipping and crashing, going off cliffs and hitting pedestrians, to be able to drift at 200 mhp and hit the turbo. But that's just me. **** ten.… Expand
  8. ManOnTheMounta
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    It's best open-world racing game. But you must know, that it is not Most Wanted. It's Burnout Paradise 2 with license cars. But it's pretty good!!!!
  9. snakeee
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    thank you criterion very good game everything in the right way i love this game it is one of the most amazing race games ever made really good work ..
  10. drakelover
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    need for speed most wanted - A Criterion Game my best car game till this moment graphics action and every thing you need you will find it in this game like hot pursuit
  11. dewinsman
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    This game dominates the racing world right now! EA and Criterion have created the ultimate race - gaming experience possible! Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2012 is like Burnout but with official cars. Very fun and interesting to play.
  12. mana
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    I was iffy about buying this I love burnout but I was definitely in the mood for some real NFS racing game. After about an hour of playing I gotta say this game kicks ass! best way to describe it would be the handling of NFS underground with the open world of burnout paradise. It's not burnout it is NFS
  13. extremeracer
    Nov 3, 2012
    10
    Best game ever who ever don't like it hates extreme racing The Need For Speed game series is the best so to all the haters you guys shouldn't Play the game if you don't like it
  14. Elboyo
    Nov 4, 2012
    10
    I have signed up to metacritic because i cannot believe the stupid scores i have seen on here by what must be complete and utter fools, it really annoys me that people try and review a game that they could not have played or spent about 2 minutes with and then made a judgement and a bad one at that.
    Most wanted is an absolute storming racer and if you actually bother to play it properly    I have signed up to metacritic because i cannot believe the stupid scores i have seen on here by what must be complete and utter fools, it really annoys me that people try and review a game that they could not have played or spent about 2 minutes with and then made a judgement and a bad one at that.
    Most wanted is an absolute storming racer and if you actually bother to play it properly and add the mods to your cars it opens up into astonishingly well crafted arcade racer, so what if it does not have manual gears, it is an arcade racing game, not formula 1 or gran turismo, what it provides is a fantastic looking, superb sounding and incredibly playable game and that is what an arcade racer should be all about, it is a mix of need for speed and burnout but criterion have streamlined the interface so everything is neat and fast to get to, once you have found something you can fast travel there instantly instead of driving around aimlessly, something even some so called professional review sites did not even pick up on this fast travel feature so how can they put out reviews that say ( oh you have to keep driving miles to events ) when this is simply not true. So to round up, my view of most wanted is, a superbly well crafted game that has an excellent single player mode with so much to do and see and the online mode has even more fun and challenges than just about any other racer out there, just go out and buy it and play it properly for a few hours and by then you will be hooked by this astonishing game. I do not work for any game company and i think criterion have made a quite simply genius game here and if you play games to have real fun then go get this, please do not listen to the idiots that gave this game all the stupid low scores. It is a 10 / 10 game for me because it has a level of polish that even Mr Sheen would have a job to beat.    … Expand
  15. SOUR_11b
    Nov 10, 2012
    10
    greatest racing game ever created in the history of the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  16. lordsuarez
    Apr 29, 2014
    10
    Absolute superb game. Beautiful graphics, immersive gameplay, awesome cars, huge open world and amazing multiplayer experience. Best racing game ever made on Earth.
  17. mclure
    Aug 23, 2014
    10
    Criterion did a good job, altough it differs from PC, it's about gameplay, the graphics of the PS3 is good and the cars are really great to drive, though crashing happens but it doesn't really stops you from completing the game, unless you're looking for a harder challenge of getting gold medals and unlock all parts. There is also different parts and you can combine them to make yourCriterion did a good job, altough it differs from PC, it's about gameplay, the graphics of the PS3 is good and the cars are really great to drive, though crashing happens but it doesn't really stops you from completing the game, unless you're looking for a harder challenge of getting gold medals and unlock all parts. There is also different parts and you can combine them to make your customized car and unlock their pro variants for a bigger boost. I specially like the Subaru WRX STI Hatchback which is the one I first did customize fully to my taste, and Lancer, more specifically everyday cars, they are also fun to race with and doesn't crash as much.… Expand
  18. Figster512
    May 20, 2016
    10
    This game is SEVERELY underrated. Between the Wii U, PS Vita, and PS3, the PS3 offers the best version of this game. The cars are extremely fun to drive, and they all sound great. Drifting is exhilarating, and the races against the most wanted drivers are very challenging but fair. The controls are perfect, and the soundtrack is pretty good, too. The open world is very large, with DLCThis game is SEVERELY underrated. Between the Wii U, PS Vita, and PS3, the PS3 offers the best version of this game. The cars are extremely fun to drive, and they all sound great. Drifting is exhilarating, and the races against the most wanted drivers are very challenging but fair. The controls are perfect, and the soundtrack is pretty good, too. The open world is very large, with DLC offering expansions to the map. There is a decent lineup of cars, not that many but the DLC packs are relatively affordable and add some nice cars. The online mode is spectacular, and supports 8 players (instead of 6 on Wii U and 4 on Vita.) Players compete in many different events, usually around 6 per session. Some of the events are races, team races, stunting, near misses, and time trials. The online experience is unlike any other racing game I've played, and it is so fun and addictive. This game is worth a try for such a cheap price. It is one of my favorite games on the PS3.… Expand
  19. 8Gerrard
    Jan 12, 2020
    10
    "Change,
    Everything you are
    And everything you were"
    "Best,
    You've got to be the best
    You've got to change the world
    And you use this chance to be heard
    Your time is now"
    This game should've been named Burnout:Most Wanted
  20. infjaxcritic
    Jul 7, 2022
    10
    By far the best game in the series. I am very impressed with the car unlock system, where if you find it, you drive it. No purchase necessary. The most wanted cars provide a tough challenge, with a greater reward. The soundtrack could be a little better, but that is remedied by an option to change the soundtrack to one saved on the console.
  21. kshastry
    Oct 31, 2012
    9
    unbelievable game, the game Need for Speed game ever released. It got a 9 instead of 10 due to lack of dual screen mode. The best NFS game ever released, love it
  22. M13
    Nov 2, 2012
    9
    I'm enjoying it a lot. It's pretty much Burnout Paradise City 2.0. So if you liked Burnout......and you want to see it with better.....everything.....then you'll like NFSMW. Best thing: The fact you can see your friend's times for every race and speed camera. So you can constantly compete with all your friends.

    Worst thing: Game is very short in terms of the main "mission".
  23. projectahmed
    Nov 24, 2012
    9
    This game is CRAZY. The open world is so big but lost, The cars are hottest, The pursuit is massive but dangerous and is more experiancble then The Run. This is the only need for speed game i love, since hot pursuit and shift 2 unleashed.
  24. Cartteros
    Nov 5, 2012
    9
    I'll be serious here. People don't know what they want. Actually, they do. THEY WANTED A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL MOST WANTED. They're so biased by that idea they don't even try to enjoy the present Most Wanted that, by the way, is an awesome game. People put all their efforts on hating a game that's actually good just for the sake of the game not being what the first was. I know, it lacksI'll be serious here. People don't know what they want. Actually, they do. THEY WANTED A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL MOST WANTED. They're so biased by that idea they don't even try to enjoy the present Most Wanted that, by the way, is an awesome game. People put all their efforts on hating a game that's actually good just for the sake of the game not being what the first was. I know, it lacks aesthetic customization of the car, there's no time break, or whatever that thing of slowing the time is called, BUT Most Wanted 2 has a sweet gameplay, astounding graphics and is **** fun. People **** about this game are just haters and don't deserve attention. I say, if you like arcade racers, Need For Speed included, this is a must play for you. It has much little in common with the previous Most Wanted, but is still a remarkable game, awesome to play with your friends or to spend hours wandering in its open world. The cars are gorgeous, the EasyDrive menu is easy to use and functional and the game takes a 9 from me. It doesn't take a 10 because it don't have body customization. But it doesn't spoil the fun.… Expand
  25. Tall_But_Short
    Nov 4, 2012
    9
    One of the best "Modern-day racers." Criterion delivers its next TRUE hit after Burnout Paradise. The driving mechanics feel great and the graphics are stunning. Though, the crashes do feel unfinished and bland.
  26. McCorkhill
    Nov 9, 2012
    9
    It is very, very hard to rate this game. I'll admit that. Let's start with the bad things. There is no storyline in this game, just the basic ladder of Most Wanted Cars to climb, defeat and claim. There is no visual customization whatsoever in single player, and Paint only in multiplayer. Also, and this is personal, I much prefer the regular style of collecting money and leveling up toIt is very, very hard to rate this game. I'll admit that. Let's start with the bad things. There is no storyline in this game, just the basic ladder of Most Wanted Cars to climb, defeat and claim. There is no visual customization whatsoever in single player, and Paint only in multiplayer. Also, and this is personal, I much prefer the regular style of collecting money and leveling up to unlock, buy and upgrade new cars.
    HOWEVER.
    The way you truly rate a game is based on how much fun you have playing it, and NFS:MW is an absolute blast. I bought it along with AC3, and this game has taken most of my time. It's a really solid title with a compelling race style. Now, I love Gran Turismo for its realism, but I'm also a fan of arcade racing. I mean, why are people knocking this game for not being realistic as far as physics? It's a CRITERION GAME. And it's no secret that this is more of a sequel to Burnout: Paradise than any Need for Speed title. It's a fun game, with a well-structured multiplayer. The only drawbacks in that department are a) idiots who don't show up to the meet-up and waste our time and b) too many challenges about parking on roofs and near-missing and not enough real racing. But as I said, I can't put this game down quite yet. A solid 9. Wish I could give it a 9.5, if Metacritic would let me.    … Expand
  27. PopeRatzo
    Oct 31, 2012
    9
    When I started the game, I really didn't like the way the cars handled and thought it would be a big disappointment. As I've continued, now with 4 hours into the game, I'm getting really comfortable with the handling and the physics and I realize how the car customization changes the ways the cars feel on the road and perform.

    I really didn't want another NFS: the Run or Hot Pursuit.    When I started the game, I really didn't like the way the cars handled and thought it would be a big disappointment. As I've continued, now with 4 hours into the game, I'm getting really comfortable with the handling and the physics and I realize how the car customization changes the ways the cars feel on the road and perform.

    I really didn't want another NFS: the Run or Hot Pursuit. I wanted another Burnout Paradise, and so far the game has absolutely delivered. I'm having a blast and the races and pursuits are breathtaking. If you're worried about the handling, level up your car or get a better vehicle. The physics will become more comfortable.

    This game is not a sim (than goodness!). It's a wild arcade racer with very life-like physics but enough of a break from reality to make it exhilarating fun.

    I'm really glad this game came along right now. I'm so tired of third person shooters and games that don't deliver the goods. This one delivers the goods. I would like to have seen some more detailed control adjustment, like sensitivity. The Autolog system is quite unique and effective. I enjoyed hundreds of hours of Burnout Paradise play. If Need for Speed: Most Wanted gets me half that much, it will have been well worth every penny. It is my opinion that I'll be enjoying this game a lot in the coming months.    … Expand
  28. AustraliaMan
    Nov 7, 2012
    9
    A lot of people have INCORRECTLY said that there is NO penalty for being arrested, this statement is very WRONG.
    I just had a car chase with the police that lasted over 40 minutes, during the chase, I gathered 53,872 speed points (experience) that I LOST when the police manged to put and end to my city wide rampage by taking out my tires and trapping me in a rail tunnel...
    Had I managed    A lot of people have INCORRECTLY said that there is NO penalty for being arrested, this statement is very WRONG.
    I just had a car chase with the police that lasted over 40 minutes, during the chase, I gathered 53,872 speed points (experience) that I LOST when the police manged to put and end to my city wide rampage by taking out my tires and trapping me in a rail tunnel...
    Had I managed to escape them I would have been given those points for the car I was driving and would have been able to upgrade it in many different ways.
    A 40 minute car chase may sound boring but I can tell you, it was some of the most amazing and thrilling action I have every witnessed in a video game with stunts and crashes that would have put Hollywood to shame.
    I strongly recommend this game, give it a chance, you wont be sorry.    … Expand
  29. ddixon1270
    Nov 1, 2012
    9
    Look, giving this game a bad review because it "isn't a real sequel to most wanted" is ridiculous. Do you see a "2" or "two" anywhere in the title? Didn't think so. Criterion re-imagined a game, just like they did with Hot Pursuit. It's a great game. To the people complaining about manual. A) It's not a driving sim, It's an arcade racer, and since It's Need for Speed that should come as noLook, giving this game a bad review because it "isn't a real sequel to most wanted" is ridiculous. Do you see a "2" or "two" anywhere in the title? Didn't think so. Criterion re-imagined a game, just like they did with Hot Pursuit. It's a great game. To the people complaining about manual. A) It's not a driving sim, It's an arcade racer, and since It's Need for Speed that should come as no surprise. B) demoting a game to a 0 based on that is childish. Every article about this game pre launch has stated that Its "Burnout Paradise 2.0" so why are any of you surprised or upset by this? Why did you even buy the game? For anyone who doesn't want a troll review, this is a great game. If you like Hot Pursuit two years ago or you liked Burnout Paradise you'll be right at home here. The gameplay is great, blowing through bilboards and pissing off the cops just to see if you can get away is awesome. Graphics are great, should also be no surprise. The fact you can play as any car from the start is something new and I personally like it.… Expand
  30. Metallicats
    Nov 6, 2012
    9
    A great game for anyone looking for an arcade racer. It's not for everyone though, Fans of the series from it's roots (Before Underground) and fans of Burnout will likely have a blast playing this. But if your NFS experience started with Underground then you might want to rent it first. This is an arcade racer to the core and a good one at that. The only real complaint that I have is theA great game for anyone looking for an arcade racer. It's not for everyone though, Fans of the series from it's roots (Before Underground) and fans of Burnout will likely have a blast playing this. But if your NFS experience started with Underground then you might want to rent it first. This is an arcade racer to the core and a good one at that. The only real complaint that I have is the name. Using the title Most Wanted is probably confusing a lot of people looking for a street racer like the original Most Wanted. This new Most Wanted is not a street racer, it is an Arcade racer. The single player lacks a bit and is mostly for racking up speed points, beating your friend's time and exploring, it is very short. The online is where this game shines. The online uses many elements from Burnout's easy drive and freeburn system. Some unique features were not included but the overall online experience is fun and entertaining. The only complaint about online is the lack of a ranked racing system. Overall the game shines and is a great example of a good arcade racer.… Expand
  31. NFSFAN
    Nov 8, 2012
    9
    Hi,
    like everyone else here i m just another fan of NFS and Burnout...i am playing NFS when they launched Need for Speed II and till now i have played every nfs game and NFS2 and NFSMW 1 are my favorites......yesterday i bought NFSMW 2 and i must say that it was a huge disappointment in the begining when i started at 3:00 Am with a thought that i will check the gameplay and will sleep but    Hi,
    like everyone else here i m just another fan of NFS and Burnout...i am playing NFS when they launched Need for Speed II and till now i have played every nfs game and NFS2 and NFSMW 1 are my favorites......yesterday i bought NFSMW 2 and i must say that it was a huge disappointment in the begining when i started at 3:00 Am with a thought that i will check the gameplay and will sleep but after playing it for 2.5 hours...i was like "OK, now this is the new type of arcade" and I really liked it. Graphics are amazing soundtrack is amazing blah blah blah...but Game Play is awesome and breathtaking.
    Almost everyone is against this game i dont know why?? lets discuss them
    Crash cam sometimes feels irritating but as HUGE FAN i dont feel bad abt it NOW...i mean you get use to it.
    Cop Chases are extremely hard and no special reward on evading but i am OK with it :)
    no Story Line means no Fiction Characters and i like it.
    Sometimes looking at the map takes you in a Crash so what...i mean anytime you can restart from your last check point.
    no customization of engines and tires etc etc but i would say thats perfect cause in this game you already have everything. I cannot say anything about the ONLINE Game play but i am pretty sure that it will be whole new experience.
    I mean common guys there cant be any other game like NFS MW 1 or Burnout...they were the best games of their time and they still are the BEST...i still play Most Wanted 1 on my laptop(actually i couldn't find it for Xbox). MW1 was a different game and this is a different game same goes for Burnout. so please dont mix NFSMW 2 with those games in fact no arcade racing game can be compared with those games and if you do then you are making a mistake or you are not a Fan of NFS or Burnout.
    Those who are new in NFS, they will find this game not good no blah blah blah BUT fan like me will like this game.
    Act like a NFS Fan not like a looser who thinks that i have lost my money on this game...i paid 60$ for this and i have no regret cause i really like nfs games (excluding some bs) and one more thing i play NFS most wanted on my iPhone also and there this game is totally different :)
    P.S. Galvinize by chemical brothers is an excellent song used in this MW2    … Expand
  32. nryan13-_
    Nov 29, 2012
    9
    I haven't played alot of need for speed games in my time, but when i decided to snatch this game up at walmart, it blew me away, the physics, graphics, dimensions, and different pros and cons about each car is soooooo realistic!!!!! The only thing that makes me not give this a 10 is the fact that you cant CUSTOMIZE your vehicle. Im a madden and COD type of guy, which is completelyI haven't played alot of need for speed games in my time, but when i decided to snatch this game up at walmart, it blew me away, the physics, graphics, dimensions, and different pros and cons about each car is soooooo realistic!!!!! The only thing that makes me not give this a 10 is the fact that you cant CUSTOMIZE your vehicle. Im a madden and COD type of guy, which is completely different from this game, So if your smart you will pick this game up.… Expand
  33. EnKira
    Dec 2, 2012
    9
    *This is my first review, please don't bash me if I'm saying something wrong* I've been with NFS since NFSU (GC). And I find the low scores like 0/10 or 1/10 just...stupid. The physics for this game is different and you'll need time to get used to it. But they've changed the physics frequently. I say: Always remember the rule; Slow In. Fast Out. The crash cam is very frustrating indeed.*This is my first review, please don't bash me if I'm saying something wrong* I've been with NFS since NFSU (GC). And I find the low scores like 0/10 or 1/10 just...stupid. The physics for this game is different and you'll need time to get used to it. But they've changed the physics frequently. I say: Always remember the rule; Slow In. Fast Out. The crash cam is very frustrating indeed. The graphics is top notch for NFS. The soundtrack is dynamic and very good, but why...where is the diversity. Well...you can always put in your custom playlist. My biggest flaw for this game in my opinion is the lack of a story. It feels like your are riding in a jungle and going everywhere instead of riding on a road. It's missing a structure. But it might be a good thing for the people who love to go nuts and race their own way without a script. ( I like both, though I prefer an open script ) On the other hand. The online structure is very good indeed, with constant online competition going on with/against your friends as you can track eachother with Autolog 2.0. The fact that you cannot pimp up your ride hasn't got into me as much it has gotten to the Underground/Most Wanted ('05) players of NFS. But the cars are already looking pimped up. Easydrive is a nice addition as well. No need for menus when you're picking an event while driving through Fairhaven, or adding some performance parts/mods when the 5-0 is chasing you. In short. It's a awesome game when you look through the minor flaws. Or for many NFS people out there: It's a Love It! or Hate It! game. I love it, though I needed some practice at first. I'll cut down 1 point of the total score.
    -0.5: Unforgiving and frustrating crashes. -0.3:Lack of structure in single player.
    -0.2:No pimpin' up your ride. ( But they're already looking pimp imo )
    9.0/10: Looks awesome, feels awesome (when you practice) and sounds awesome. It's awesome and really focused on the racing experience of NFS. Though you will notice the flaws...*sigh* I still prefer the '05 version because of the story, Mia and the tsunami of nostalgia.    … Expand
  34. smrtw123
    Jan 20, 2013
    9
    Oh, by the way, this game may give you all the cars instead of making you buy them with money you win from races, but the "scavenger hunt" to look for and find the cars is a whole new level of fun.
  35. truthgiver
    Jan 22, 2013
    9
    reguardless of it's shortcomings... this game is fun and by far the best arcade racer on the major consoles right now. it's just fun...and that is why you should play a game. because it is fun. the added features are amazing graphics and great sound. huge open worlds and destruction on cars.
    i give it a 9.0 from a burnout fan and a nfs fan... i like this joint project between the two    reguardless of it's shortcomings... this game is fun and by far the best arcade racer on the major consoles right now. it's just fun...and that is why you should play a game. because it is fun. the added features are amazing graphics and great sound. huge open worlds and destruction on cars.
    i give it a 9.0 from a burnout fan and a nfs fan... i like this joint project between the two company's. i think they did a great job.    … Expand
  36. dreansburnred
    Jan 23, 2013
    9
    I like how this need for speed game is focused on the open map. Unlike recent need for speed games. You don't have to play races unless you want too. You can get cars at any time, by going around and finding them. Which I love. There is lots of places to visit, the cops are good. I enjoy this game.
  37. mcglone
    Apr 2, 2013
    9
    Need for Speed is back to its core, or is it?

    I have been a long time fan of the Need for Speed Franchise but have been disappointed in the series in the past few years. The Run was shameful, ProStreet was abysmal, Undercover was just a Most Wanted Rip off. Although Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted have been redeeming and funnily enough made by the same developers. Gameplay 9/10 Action    Need for Speed is back to its core, or is it?

    I have been a long time fan of the Need for Speed Franchise but have been disappointed in the series in the past few years. The Run was shameful, ProStreet was abysmal, Undercover was just a Most Wanted Rip off. Although Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted have been redeeming and funnily enough made by the same developers.

    Gameplay 9/10 Action packed, Cinematic police chase and crazily fast races. All this makes Most Wanted one of my favourite racers this generation. If you've ever played Burnout Paradise, you'll instantly be able to see the comparison between the two. The Races can get a little repetitive at points and you only have 5 races per car or up to 4 extra with the DLC but you could easily get lost driving around the city.

    Story 0/10 No Narrative, Just Takedown the Most Wanted to be the Most Wanted... Simple.

    Presentation 8/10 I do love the new way the things are presented in the game (which are also featured in Metal Gear Rising), from race starts to scores everything is easily visible and clear. Race checkpoints and finish lines can be seen above the buildings in the distance and the scores are tagged onto the car like little price tags. Its brilliant and Minimalistic.

    DLC 6/10 The DLC for this game is quite good, the new terminal brings in a whole new section into the game... although its just an airstrip with a few jumps it does make for some fun races and jumps as well as a good place to set some top speeds. The Pricing of the Packs are £7.99 each or £20 for the bundle. Getting the bundle is worthwhile as you get a bunch of new mods and cars, new and old. I personally love the Spyder & the James Bond DB. I wasn't a fan of the pricing though.

    Overall 9/10 Brilliant game which has brought the need for speed series back to its roots, although the customisation is limited and it feels alot like Burnout Paradise 2. It separates itself from that shadow and brings its own unique content. The Graphics of the game set it apart from things like GT5, the Lighting under the wheels when the tires are blown are amazing at nighttime making it seem like fire from under the car.

    I really enjoyed this game and recommend you buy the game, aswell as the DLC bundle!    … Expand
  38. duffmanth
    Dec 5, 2012
    8
    This is an updated review of this game since I finished the single player mode recently. The main story mode where you have to take down the 10 most wanted cars to unlock them is a fun experience. Also the 40 or so licensed cars that are scattered around Fairhaven are fun to drive and beat the races that are tied to a specific car. While Most Wanted has some elements of past NFS gamesThis is an updated review of this game since I finished the single player mode recently. The main story mode where you have to take down the 10 most wanted cars to unlock them is a fun experience. Also the 40 or so licensed cars that are scattered around Fairhaven are fun to drive and beat the races that are tied to a specific car. While Most Wanted has some elements of past NFS games like the cop chases, the crazy speed, and licensed cars, it feels more like a sequel to Burnout Paradise, which isn't a bad thing unless you're a hardcore NFS fan. The crashes and handling of the cars is very Burnout Paradise. The single player mode you can easily finish in a week, so it really isn't that lengthy. The online multi player in fun and that's where the true value of the game is. There isn't any cheesy story mode in this game like past NFS games, which is fine by me. The graphics, controls, and gameplay are all solid in this game, if you're expecting a true NFS game and/or a lengthy single player campaign, you might wanna pass this game by or wait til it's cheaper.… Expand
  39. bigslicksly
    Nov 3, 2012
    8
    Ok everyone, take a deep breath. What about the 10 and the o !!! First, before writing a review, try to play the game more than 10 or 30 minutes. Second, every gamer on the planet knows that this game is the legetimate successor to BURNOUT and not MOST WANTED. finaly, stop comparing it to Forza, its a totaly different experience. Forza is a sim racer that let you pay outside of the track.Ok everyone, take a deep breath. What about the 10 and the o !!! First, before writing a review, try to play the game more than 10 or 30 minutes. Second, every gamer on the planet knows that this game is the legetimate successor to BURNOUT and not MOST WANTED. finaly, stop comparing it to Forza, its a totaly different experience. Forza is a sim racer that let you pay outside of the track. The other is clearly a fast pace adrenaline pumping arcade racer with over the top jumps and crushing crash. For my part, this is a excellent game. It got its flaws but every game does. Its realy Burnout with real cars. Once you get used to the controls and the weight of the car it plays like a charm. Its clear that the single player is not as chunky as Burnout but you got plenty to keep you busy even if you dont play online. It could take you weeks juste to find all short cuts and billboards. I love that i can pick any car i want and try it. Changing cars on the fly is great to. There is no real customisation. Its more like tuning your car to fit the next race. If your a tuning freek and like to spend hours working on you car, look elswhere, this is not a game for you. If you liked Burnout paradise and other arcare racer, you will love this game.… Expand
  40. joerevs300
    Nov 2, 2012
    8
    It's just amazing that in a game that was CLEARLY billed by both EA and NFS/Criterion as "Burnout Paradise 2" or "Burnout Paradise with Cops", so many reviews keep going back to the whole NFS:MW on the PS2.

    At NO time was that ever hinted at or suggested. The intention of this game was always to be open world and to compete against your friends. There are plenty of ways to get Autolog    It's just amazing that in a game that was CLEARLY billed by both EA and NFS/Criterion as "Burnout Paradise 2" or "Burnout Paradise with Cops", so many reviews keep going back to the whole NFS:MW on the PS2.

    At NO time was that ever hinted at or suggested. The intention of this game was always to be open world and to compete against your friends. There are plenty of ways to get Autolog fans which is another thing people are missing, apparently.

    Cars DO handle differently, you've got to be a racing ran and have played a LOT of different ones to really see the subtle ones. Two cars can have the same top speed/accel but handle WAY different. It's about trial and error.

    As for "having everything handed to you", I see it as refreshing. You're not worrying about maxing out experience points to unlock all the cars. They are all available at the start. Sure, some of them are out of the way, but I found 5 in the first 10 minutes of play. As a developer, it's near impossible to produce a racing game that's going to satisfy both the hardcore and the casual fan.

    I've played darn near every racing game ever released for the PS3, and this game falls into a lump with Blur, Dirt 3, Gran Turismo 5 and Driver: San Francisco as to which one is "truly" the best. It's definitely the best open world game (light years ahead of TDU2). I've now put 4 days into the game and I love it. I think the # of cars available is a little on the low side, and I think there's some significant difficulty spikes (especially the races that ask you to maintain an average speed). I also think that if you don't have Autolog friends and are simply staring at this as a single player game, you'll be through it rather quickly. If you've got friends and have seen how great multiplayer is, give this a 9. If you don't have friends and understand you're going to have to make your own fun/blaze your own trail, give it a 7. I simply shot the middle.    … Expand
  41. Reverz
    Oct 31, 2012
    8
    The graphics are what they should be, the sound is good and game has imo the best soundtrack any EA has had in the last 5 year. The handling seems a bit stiff at first but after a good hour of play you pretty much get used to it and it's no longer an issue. Lastly the autolog 2.0 is everything autolog 1.0 was and more: it basically keeps track of everything you do in the game, not justThe graphics are what they should be, the sound is good and game has imo the best soundtrack any EA has had in the last 5 year. The handling seems a bit stiff at first but after a good hour of play you pretty much get used to it and it's no longer an issue. Lastly the autolog 2.0 is everything autolog 1.0 was and more: it basically keeps track of everything you do in the game, not just race times but also the speeds at which you pass a traffic cam or the distance you jump through a billboard. It's all there so for pretty much everything you do in this game, you can see how you're doing compared to your friends.

    So much for the good things. The game has one major downside... it just lacks any sense of progress. The least they could've done is wrap the singleplayer up in a storyline. It didn't even have to be a super exciting story, just ANY basic story (like in the previous Most Wanted or Carbon) would've been fine. Instead, all you do now is drive around the map, looking for new cars. Once you get a car you win 5 races with it and you go on to the next car, rinse and repeat. The only thing that interupts this routine are the 10 Most Wanted drivers you can challenge, altho challenge is a bad word, destroy seems to be the better option.

    I have not yet tried the multiplayer part of the game. I am assuming, like usual for me, that this part of the game will be more exiting.

    All in all, it's a good game but they missed quite a few chances here to merge Need for Speed & Burnout together into a fantastic piece. Instead the game just feels like a dumbed down version of Burnout with the Need for Speed cars instead of fictional ones. Neither of the two fanbases will be extatic with how this game turned out.

    PS: I would like to say: people that complain about the lack of manual transmission should shut up. This is an arcade racer, if you want manual transmission go play a simulation. Arcade racers aren't supposed to have all kinds of fancy crap like detailed **** view or steering wheel support, they are about hitting the gas as much and often as you can and Most Wanted gives you exactly that.    … Expand
  42. GeeRodKee
    Nov 4, 2012
    8
    I
  43. mearlam
    Nov 3, 2012
    8
    I should first say that I am only a few hours into this game but I feel the need to post a review because some of the ridiculous user reviews on here giving it a bad score.

    This game is an open world and as such seems not to have much structure to it but it does and I think it is quite clever. I actually dislike open world in pretty much every game because it is a cheap way of making a    I should first say that I am only a few hours into this game but I feel the need to post a review because some of the ridiculous user reviews on here giving it a bad score.

    This game is an open world and as such seems not to have much structure to it but it does and I think it is quite clever. I actually dislike open world in pretty much every game because it is a cheap way of making a game seem big when it isn't.

    This open world works and lets you decide what to do. Getting from A to B is very fun and the cops won't bug you if you slow down when they are around, pretty easy.

    The racing is simply arcade fun where you can smash into things and still win...it depends what you want really. Controls are a little loose but that is entirely on purpose.

    I have to say ignore all the bad user comments because they were expecting a different game and come here to complain.

    Get this game if you liked hot pursuit or burnout paradise, do not get it if you didn't.

    The only thing I don't like so far is that the take downs you do does not have a slow mo camera thing like ALL the other burnout games, which is pretty annoying.

    FYI:the logitech wheel works great for this game.    … Expand
  44. SLaRionov
    Nov 4, 2012
    8
    Приветствую, Земляки! Первое впечатление от игры - самоеПриветствую, Земляки! Первое впечатление от игры - самое положительное, это именно то, чего ждали от Criterion Games (CG). Геймплей горячий, нагнетающий, лихой, передающий всю гамму чувств от езды на мощных авто, каков восторг! Я за игру вообще не переживал, CG знают свое дело.
    Система Easy Drive просто порадовала, отлично вкручена в геймплей. Погони с полицией - просто бомба. Копы стали очень агрессивными, умными и хитрыми, а еще очень быстрыми, просто так теперь не уйти. Азарт во время погони просто зашкаливает! SoundTrack в игре просто отличный, почти так же гармонично вписывающийсяв игру, как это было с NFS Hot Pursuit 2 далеком 2004.
    Вообщем то об игре вы все и так знаете, я лишь пишу подтверждение всему вышесказанному в СМИ. Игра имеет полное право поселиться на десктопе каждого кто любит лихие гонки!    … Expand
  45. stevie
    Nov 5, 2012
    8
    A good solid racing game that you don't need to spend 25 hours on just to unlock a half-decent car. Take it for what it is, a pick-up-and-play racer with little to no need for massive time investment. If you want to tune your car, or spend 40 hours unlocking a twin turbo hatchback, then buy GT5 or Forza. If you are married or have kids and just want to spin the wheels for half an hour,A good solid racing game that you don't need to spend 25 hours on just to unlock a half-decent car. Take it for what it is, a pick-up-and-play racer with little to no need for massive time investment. If you want to tune your car, or spend 40 hours unlocking a twin turbo hatchback, then buy GT5 or Forza. If you are married or have kids and just want to spin the wheels for half an hour, buy this game.… Expand
  46. MothOne
    Dec 18, 2012
    8
    I find a lot of you being blatant jerks and giving the game a score of 0 or 1. I would think anyone with a rational bone in their body would use these low scores for their intended purpose, which is to give something that is such a complete abomination that it is broken.... un-playable. Have some professionalism people!
    It seems like most of the complaints are stating that you played the    I find a lot of you being blatant jerks and giving the game a score of 0 or 1. I would think anyone with a rational bone in their body would use these low scores for their intended purpose, which is to give something that is such a complete abomination that it is broken.... un-playable. Have some professionalism people!
    It seems like most of the complaints are stating that you played the game for 30 minutes, maybe an hour ( Personally I always know every last detail there is to know about every last game I buy after 10 minutes of game play, so I don't know what is wrong with you all) and complain about how the game is not a real NFS title.... how it is the death of the franchise... How Criterion ruined Need For Speed. Well it was stated months ago in every major published preview of the game that Criterion was the Developer (Shocker number one for you all I know) and that the title would follow the same style of game play as Criterion's "Burnout Paradise" (Shocker number two). So It was clearly said BY EA that the game would be a sort of mash up of Need For Speed: Most wanted, and Criterion's Burnout Paradise.... Hence the title: "Need For Speed: Most Wanted - a Criterion game". Wow so now that you dingbats with the 0's and 1's have no excuse... You officially know that this game was developed by Criterion with burnout paradise in mind as a model, and I think they did a DAMN GOOD JOB!
    The game is set in a gorgeous open world, the selection of cars is nothing short of awesome, the soundtrack is stellar, and the game play is fantastic.
    One aspect I found to be particularly cool was that you had the option to compete in different style-race events catered to each individual car, which would earn you speed points advancing you closer to the coveted number 1 most wanted spot, and earn you upgrades such as specialized tires, nitro boost, better chassis and gearbox layouts, ect.. But you have a virtual bevy of other options to earn points. These include the obvious such as catching air and smashing through billboards much like in Burnout Paradise, deliberately crashing into cops and starting chases, finding new cars, driving past speed cameras in excess of the posted speed and more... Aside from this you also earn points from reaching certain milestones such as drifting certain distances, driving for set amounts of time (with different point scales for driving on the correct side of the road, and driving into oncoming traffic) and many other activities that tend to just happen from driving each car anyway.
    The Graphics and sound are just PHENOMENAL, The cars sound as close as can be to their actual counterparts in reality (I know because I watch A LOT of "Top Gear" UK), the soundtrack is one that you would come to expect from an EA title except a lot better than usual, the day to night cycles and weather effects are so realistic that as in real life they just blend into the greater world as something that is just happening (not to mention that I found the wet ground/ spray from driving to be absolutely life-like). The cars pick up dirt, or mud if driving after poor weather conditions, and as with all of the effects in the game this looks fantastic. There are many different parts to this open world leaving something for everyone.... Crazy architecture for the stunt driver, bumpy dirt trails for the rally driver, Winding mountain roads for the initial-d loving toge drivers, freeway systems for pedal to the metal top-speed drivers, and of course... the city itself for the good old fashioned track racers (I found many hours wasted developing my own routes through the city, which helped me earn milestones in each different car i used. Now here is where we get to the major parts of this game that prevented it from earning a higher score in my book. First and by far the worst is the multiplayer. It is great racing around and making friends who's high scores are then posted into the speed cameras, billboards ect. in your city, meaning you can beat their scores in single player. This makes for some fun competition amongst friends. This is all well and good but the multiplayer games are horribly difficult to find out what you are supposed to be doing, and sometimes when you do find out the challenge is so stupid that it might prompt some to leave the game then and there. I found myself spending so much of the time trying to figure out what to do that in many cases I had been eliminated before having a chance to even compete. Another major flaw is the inability to select a manual transmission. I do not know what the developers were thinking and I put it off as the game being released pre-maturely in order to fit into the holiday sales period. If this is the case it was a huge mistake on the part of EA as most of the people I have talked to playing this game find this to be a major flaw in an otherwise great game. All and all I would recommend this title to any fan of arcade style racers    … Expand
  47. ryanamich
    Dec 31, 2012
    8
    This game is awesome! It's the best racing game I've ever played, but being that it was made by Criterion, it was far more like Burnout. I like Burnout way more than Need for Speed, so I didn't mind playing what, essentially, is a Burnout game with the Need for Speed name. They kept some elements of customization, but this game a lot more fun and a lot less difficult than other Need forThis game is awesome! It's the best racing game I've ever played, but being that it was made by Criterion, it was far more like Burnout. I like Burnout way more than Need for Speed, so I didn't mind playing what, essentially, is a Burnout game with the Need for Speed name. They kept some elements of customization, but this game a lot more fun and a lot less difficult than other Need for Speed games.… Expand
  48. Slushy-Ness
    Feb 6, 2013
    8
    This game is good i admit, but when i play online and say a host leaves the game, it sometimes freezes my Ps3, so i turn my console off after a while of waiting for it to un-freeze. Then i go back into the game and my Single player has been reset, this has happened to me twice and and it's really annoying, does anyone have any ideas how to stop this from happening?
  49. scottiejacks
    May 1, 2013
    8
    Best NFS game yet races are a good challenge and the graphics are amazing when it comes to upgrading your car there is not a lot of options but the races are that good you don't miss it. Multiplayer is also amazing overall the best arcade racer money can buy.
  50. TheDeadSerious
    Oct 14, 2013
    8
    I thoroughly enjoy this game. Once I got a hang of the reward and open world mechanics I found it immensely satisfying to gather the points needed to unlock the next Most Wanted challenge. The cars really have different handling, and the power-ups like different gear ratios that you unlock by winning races have a huge impact on them. The graphics are impressive, the controls feelI thoroughly enjoy this game. Once I got a hang of the reward and open world mechanics I found it immensely satisfying to gather the points needed to unlock the next Most Wanted challenge. The cars really have different handling, and the power-ups like different gear ratios that you unlock by winning races have a huge impact on them. The graphics are impressive, the controls feel responsive and the engines roar when attached to a stereo. What I find somewhat frustrating is the amount of luck involved sometimes: The police and traffic appear somewhat randomly, and if you're out of luck you'll crash without any chance of avoiding it shortly before the end of a 5 minute race. The uncertainty does add some additional thrill on the other hand. Also, the rubber-band is somewhat annoying. While it is very hard to win a race when you accidentally crash more than a 2-3 times, opponents are always close behind you even if you do a perfect display and should be way out front, so any mistake leads to a lost race. What I also found annoying is the aggressive promotion of DLC-stuff. It is in all the regular menus and the DLC-cars can be found around town just like the other ones, just until you approach them to switch and see a "Hit Button to go to store" instead of "to switch cars". All in all a very fun arcade racing game.… Expand
  51. ShunOugarden
    Jan 9, 2019
    8
    NFS Most Wanted or NFS Rivals ? Two good game with some differences. For the first, you have a list of cars and each car have 8 races, the second you have objectives and you choose your car for the race. You don't really have a true personalisation with MW (when you pass in a garage you have a random color, and technicals choices are very simple)... personnalisation is better in Rivals.NFS Most Wanted or NFS Rivals ? Two good game with some differences. For the first, you have a list of cars and each car have 8 races, the second you have objectives and you choose your car for the race. You don't really have a true personalisation with MW (when you pass in a garage you have a random color, and technicals choices are very simple)... personnalisation is better in Rivals. You have the choice between Police and Pilot in Rivals, the gameplay is not excatly the same. It's true that you can't loose all your speed point after a race, but if you are near a safe place, juste press L1 and the pursuit is over. Good interface and manoeuvrability, fun with vintage Fiat fiat500 or Myto (dlc).… Expand
  52. Lewa
    Feb 22, 2014
    8
    Don't trust the other reviewers. This is a great game, and a big improvment from Hot Pursuit. I like how it is open world, doesn't feel to linear, and the races and chases are mega intense. The speed point system is good, and not to complex. And contrary to popular belief, there is a consequence for being busted by the cops. During the pursuits, you rack up speed points, but they only giveDon't trust the other reviewers. This is a great game, and a big improvment from Hot Pursuit. I like how it is open world, doesn't feel to linear, and the races and chases are mega intense. The speed point system is good, and not to complex. And contrary to popular belief, there is a consequence for being busted by the cops. During the pursuits, you rack up speed points, but they only give them to you if you escape. If you are busted, you gain NOTHING. For example, I was saving up speed points for my next most wanted race, and this one particular pursuit ran very long, about 40 minutes. Sounds boring, right? No. This one was filled with epic moments and high speed. I had about 40,000 speed points in the pursuit, the heat levels were in 5 or 6, and I knew that if I was busted, all that hard work would lead to nothing. I escaped by going up into a train track and waiting it out. One of the best feeling you can get from a game. Sure the handling feels a bit vague, and it can get really frustrating really quickly, but this is one of the best racers on the market so far.… Expand
  53. Bensterbas
    Apr 7, 2014
    8
    Ill make this short for people looking to buy the game. I am a big fan of the nfs series and this one fits right in, sure it has its problems such as i dont like the car switching system and some of the car physics could use some work but outside of that the game is fun and action packed. You will be racing in multiple fast cars and coming up against some hard AI drivers, in a battle toIll make this short for people looking to buy the game. I am a big fan of the nfs series and this one fits right in, sure it has its problems such as i dont like the car switching system and some of the car physics could use some work but outside of that the game is fun and action packed. You will be racing in multiple fast cars and coming up against some hard AI drivers, in a battle to become number 1. It is a great game and a great buy but in my opinion it did not do the original nfs most wanted justice.… Expand
  54. kartzy
    Oct 23, 2014
    8
    A very nice game (not as good as 2010's Hot Pursuit though) with great graphics, a good selection of cars, nice handling and vehicle mods. Note that this game has only 64 events (Hot Pursuit has 108), and these can be played only as a racer. You can't drop spikes or launch EMPs like you did in Hot Pursuit.
  55. Kostas101
    Oct 11, 2021
    8
    This is a great arcade racing game, but it's a little bit messy for a Need for Speed game. The physics are chaotic, and the handling is very drifty, but at the same time, it's very fun, there are many challenges you can do, the graphics are fantastic, and unlocking new cars feels rewarding & satisfying.
  56. Geneneric
    Jul 3, 2020
    8
    the game is quite solid, the controls are easy to use, the challenges of the cars become challenging although they are also quite easy, good catalog of cars, a not so extensive but quite iconic map, frantic Gameplay, a Perfect soundtrack, along with hot pursuit, are one of the best nfs remasters. Recommended to have a good time
  57. Ardho
    Aug 28, 2021
    8
    Not the best NFS of course, but the gameplay is still good to play, the graphics are also good for the ps3, although the change car feature is weird
  58. Austin36Ween
    Nov 11, 2022
    8
    Great game overall.

    Pros: Great Graphics, Car sounds are beautiful, and map is pretty big.

    Cons: Progression is bad, and DLC is overpriced.

    Verdict: If you find it for cheap, would recommend.
  59. NendroidNick
    Dec 13, 2022
    8
    This is one of my favorite racing games, NFS:MW (2012) is one of my comfort games and It will be so for a long time. NFS:MW (2012) isn't a Normal Car Game, it doesn't feature a lot of customization, it doesn't feature a real story but it does have something most games don't, the ability to just turn it on and go. This is a game where you drive around the overworld, find cars, go to races,This is one of my favorite racing games, NFS:MW (2012) is one of my comfort games and It will be so for a long time. NFS:MW (2012) isn't a Normal Car Game, it doesn't feature a lot of customization, it doesn't feature a real story but it does have something most games don't, the ability to just turn it on and go. This is a game where you drive around the overworld, find cars, go to races, upgrade cars, rack up a score to take down more cars then get those said cars you take down. That's it, that's the whole game. That is what I love about it, the ability to just sit down and have fun, it is simple which makes it more accessible to non racing game people. I definitely recommend this game to people who don't play a lot of racing games. The only issue I have ever had with this game is that it waves certain cars in your face that are DLC, that kind of makes me irritated but it is fine in the long run. When I play this game I turn it on, drive around the overworld and relax doing whatever I want to. The only thing I would change would be the option to customize cars more.… Expand
  60. asdgasgea
    May 19, 2023
    8
    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
  61. kowalski
    Dec 7, 2012
    7
    Need for Speed: Most Wanted - A Criterion Game (since that is, apparently, its full name) is a tough nut to crack. On one hand, it's a huge improvement over humiliating "The Run" that I still can't recover from, and a smart coalition of NFS and Burnout series. And to some degree, it is. It is smart, it is fun, it is visually pleasing to the eye. And then, there are those little things,Need for Speed: Most Wanted - A Criterion Game (since that is, apparently, its full name) is a tough nut to crack. On one hand, it's a huge improvement over humiliating "The Run" that I still can't recover from, and a smart coalition of NFS and Burnout series. And to some degree, it is. It is smart, it is fun, it is visually pleasing to the eye. And then, there are those little things, that prove to be not so little after a while. The biggest downfall for me is the absolute lack of any innovation. We are placed in, almost literally, the same city: coast from one side, mountains from the other. Downtown in between, plus the industrial area and highways holding it all together. That is something we've seen hundreds of times, from NFS and Burnout series, too - isn't it time for innovation? The game is obvious down to the soundtrack: some d'n'b, some hits, some rock, some american poprock, some electronic, few hits. It's painfully expectable. The game has some issues with the difficulty level, too - some tracks deemed as "easy" prove to be impossible to finish, and vice versa. And as you play, more and more of those little devilish details start to pile up - until you finish the game, which is rather quickly. NfSMWACG could be a top game if two braniac studios had shown a bit of innovation and risk-taking, instead of pure laziness and the same, stale gimmicks.… Expand
  62. LilD
    Nov 3, 2013
    7
    The first Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005) is still my most favorite racing game of all time. The police chases were fast, frenetic, and fun and had a pretty decent story that was the first interesting one in a racing game that I can remember (even better one than the Fast and Furious movies). This game is entirely different, which is bittersweet. With that said, this sequel, reboot, orThe first Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005) is still my most favorite racing game of all time. The police chases were fast, frenetic, and fun and had a pretty decent story that was the first interesting one in a racing game that I can remember (even better one than the Fast and Furious movies). This game is entirely different, which is bittersweet. With that said, this sequel, reboot, or whatever it is defined as has police chases, but they are not nearly as fun or intense as the original. In the original, there were specific sites that your vehicle could hit that would cause explosions, tip towers over, etc. to help lose the police and is sorely missed in this version. The mechanics of the chases themselves just don't feel as exciting. The only way to outrun police in the new version is to find the highway and outrun them. In the older version, going off-roading into the world's golf course or twisting and turning in new directions could lose the police. In typical Criterion fashion, this game does not have any story to it. Also, there is no customization to the cars. When you finally realize this is its own game, you realize how good it is. The game makes up for the disappointments with tons of great ideas. Autolog is back. Unlockables. VERY lifelike city. Very different range of cars from a Ford F150 to Forumala One racing car. You basically had to use a certain vehicle in the original to progress, but you can swap between about 40 or so cars at will using one or many to complete the game. This game promotes EXPLORATION, which is its finest trait. Knocking down billboards, finding cars, and speed cameras are a few of the things that the game rewards you for. With such a nice city, it takes awhile for it to get old. There's nothing like the freedom of an open road trying to find every nook and cranny where a new vehicle may be hiding. Like the previous Most Wanted game, it is just FUN. It is not the sequel I was expecting, but take out the Most Wanted title out and is is very good. Good enough to be my second favorite racer of all time (and I've played alot).… Expand
  63. Firemind
    Oct 30, 2012
    7
    It's a remake with some new Features. Guess that's okay and I really don't expect much more of EA...but it's not as good as Forza Horizon. It's still way too much Arcade, Forza gets the symbiosis between Simulation and Arcade way better. The cars are fine, but for my taste it's once more too much PS-Monsters. Guess there's not much left to say. Buy it, if you have no XBox 360. If you'veIt's a remake with some new Features. Guess that's okay and I really don't expect much more of EA...but it's not as good as Forza Horizon. It's still way too much Arcade, Forza gets the symbiosis between Simulation and Arcade way better. The cars are fine, but for my taste it's once more too much PS-Monsters. Guess there's not much left to say. Buy it, if you have no XBox 360. If you've got one: Forza Horizon.… Expand
  64. OoTB77oO
    Nov 2, 2012
    7
    OK. I wasn't signed up for this site and I only went on it for the first time today. I only signed up because i was angry at some of these scores and feel I should write my honest review. Some of these reviews are ridiculous, the amount of 1/10s and 0/10s given to this game are beyond stupid. This game, after playing several hours, is a new concept from the starting from scratch type ofOK. I wasn't signed up for this site and I only went on it for the first time today. I only signed up because i was angry at some of these scores and feel I should write my honest review. Some of these reviews are ridiculous, the amount of 1/10s and 0/10s given to this game are beyond stupid. This game, after playing several hours, is a new concept from the starting from scratch type of storyline given with most racers. For me, that is a relief. I love driving around in the best of the best cars, and searching for them all over the map is sooo rewarding. The scenery of the city is amazing, a massive improvement to previous need for speeds, with graphics being just as impressive. The car handling starts off difficult, however unlocking new parts help to eventually turn your favourite car into drift king, being able to do maneuvers which leaves you in awe. The most wanted list brings back memories from the old most wanted, which was my favourite racer of all time, being able to wipe out the most wanted list members and take their car to eventually become the number 1. However, I would understand why people may dislike this game due to not being able to customise the car as much as in the previous games. But not for me, the slick glossy colours of the cars look so sweet I coudn't care less if I don't have some kind of dragon on it. Actually, it probably would ruin it. An issue I did have with the game was the amount of cop cars. They are everywhere. Starting a pursuit by hitting a cop is easy, and could come annoying. But that's not a problem for me, because I love cop chases. Unfortunately, they took away the crashing objects to take out the cops, which i did enjoy. It does however make the pursuits more challenging.

    Overall, I am really happy with this game and am enjoying it, however it doesn't quite live up to the name of the 2005 version. Oh, and the soundtrack is awesome, much better than previous NFS soundtracks.    … Expand
  65. CypherQ
    Nov 11, 2012
    7
    You know when games used to simpler? When things were about purely having fun? Easy to pick up and play for a couple of hours? Well here we have such a arcade racer. The key term in there is *arcade* racer. This has no pretension of being a Forza or a GT5. This is about clean arcade entrainment and about having FUN! It's insanely addictive and packs a whole load of action from the outsetYou know when games used to simpler? When things were about purely having fun? Easy to pick up and play for a couple of hours? Well here we have such a arcade racer. The key term in there is *arcade* racer. This has no pretension of being a Forza or a GT5. This is about clean arcade entrainment and about having FUN! It's insanely addictive and packs a whole load of action from the outset it's very easy to loose a couple of hours to this game! From the get go at the start of the game everything is open to you nothing is locked. New cars are scattered around the open world for you to collect when you discover them. No areas of the world are locked off. So basically you start the game by being dropped into an open world to do as you will! Race? Do it! Burn up the streets trying to whizz past speed cameras scattered around as fast as you can (and beat your friends scores handily shown on a billboard near the camera) just do it! Find the craziest jump to attempt and smash through a billboard to beat your friends distance go for it! Have a play with the Police? Tap a Police car and off you go for an insane chase around the city. The whole game engine moves at a fantastic pace (as can be expected from a Criterion game) and considering the speed it runs looks very nice indeed, reflections of puddles on the ground, lens flare effects etc. all looks very pretty! Soundtrack is great too not as garish as some Need For Speeds and tastefully put together. The other aspect of this is multiplayer. This is insane fun and will provide endless hours of carnage and fun! There are a multitude of challenges availalable which the CPU or hosting user can create play lists from. This will basically set up a list of these challenges that happen one after the other with intermissions between each where everyone can have fun getting to the next challenge maybe trying to get a shifty take down to the next challenge! Immense fun. Essentially this game provides a playground to have some action driving fun in. It's a toy box. Use your imagination with it and you can invent any sort of game you like! Of course your have a Police force in there too to spice things up to. It's like playing all those cops and robbers shows for real! They even drag out stingers and make roadblocks to stop you (which you can satisfyingly smash through!). This is one of the best arcade racers out there and anyone needing action and carnage packed into every minute of gameplay this is where it is at. Oh did I mention Burnout Paradise?! Effectively treat this as the BP on steriods. This is BP the next iteration in all but name. Staggeringly good game Criterion and keep up the great work making wonderfully addictive fast action packed arcade racers of the highest order. Cannot recommend this enough. Oh did I mention anywhere that this game is a whole bunch of FUN! :) EDIT
    Update on the original review I made of this. After spending around 10hours playing with this and I started to attempt to actually play the single player game found the races immensely frustrating. Problem I mainly had was with the view. Generally don't play drivers in 3rd person view (behind the car) and use the bonnet cam. I attempted my first most wanted race ( for the Alfa 4C) and simply was not able to complete this race in 1st person view. The camera is simply too low and near the road to be useable. However I did complete the event on my first try in 3rd person view. Seemingly the game was designed to be played in 3rd person view, which is unfortunate as it feels far to sluggish in this mode... Like driving through treacle if you will. Still a great game if you can get on with the camera views. However I will stick with Burnout Paradise for my action racer and move this on.

    Another point to note is with respect to the PS3 version. It takes far to long to load and this is particularly noticible when your want to replay a race the blu-ray drive seems to grind on for what seems like an eternity. Unfortunately there is no install to HDD option so if you have both consoles to choose from unless you have specific reasons for choosing the PS3 version ( online friends list) then I would opt for the 360 version as at least you are able to install to the HDD!

    In summary still a fun game but the racing part gets tiresome too quickly IMHO. Which is a shame. Burnout Paradise will scratch that online fun arcade itch for a fraction of the price if you can find any
    online buddies to race against that is ( getting on a bit now...). IMHO it's the better game though and runs a good bit faster at 60fps too.....    … Expand
  66. McFungus
    Nov 11, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Sighs! Wailing! Lamentations! Need For Speed you do this to me again.
    After every iteration I wonder when I may, perchance, break the sound barrier in your game. Or ride a rocket through space. Surely both of those devices provide greater high speeds then the cars you offer me. It still takes me far too long to get across town but in a supersonic jet? No time at all.
    Good job suckering me in with that "Most Wanted" phrase, for these surely are my most wanted vehicles to enter the Need For Speed fray. Alas, I sit in a car, touching the ground and look up at the rendered sky above and dream.    … Expand
  67. Greng
    Dec 30, 2012
    7
    This is a sublime street racing game, one of the best of it's kind. The autolog is more innovative than you may realise and allows fluid transitions between different cars and locations (races).

    The only truly frustrating aspect is the way DLC content is forced into the game itself. You see a new car-jack spot and head over to claim your new car only to be taken to the in-game store    This is a sublime street racing game, one of the best of it's kind. The autolog is more innovative than you may realise and allows fluid transitions between different cars and locations (races).

    The only truly frustrating aspect is the way DLC content is forced into the game itself. You see a new car-jack spot and head over to claim your new car only to be taken to the in-game store to buy the right to use the content. DLC is here and can actually be used to breathe new life into titles but to have it severely impact on the fluidity of the game unless you pay for it is a real let down.    … Expand
  68. tsakiym
    May 18, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I do not have to say anything. But i need to write one hundred and fifty characters. i think my score can describe it.................................… Expand
  69. goodfellas100
    Aug 11, 2019
    7
    Ok calm down people. Don't pay any attention to the any scores under 5 that is just ridiculous. Burnout paradise is my favourite racing game and this game is made by the same guys. Therefore there are many similarities with the game play which I like. The graphics and sound are top notch and the game is massive. You'll get your money's worth if you buy this. Now for the game itself. In myOk calm down people. Don't pay any attention to the any scores under 5 that is just ridiculous. Burnout paradise is my favourite racing game and this game is made by the same guys. Therefore there are many similarities with the game play which I like. The graphics and sound are top notch and the game is massive. You'll get your money's worth if you buy this. Now for the game itself. In my opinion it's one of the most frustrating yet rewarding games I've ever played and I've been playing games since pong. I felt that the difficulty level was a little high when you begin the game. I kept crashing, kept getting taken out and not progressing. However, I bought the game 2nd game and it didn't have the manual so that may be the reason. I was very close to giving up on the game as I was tearing my hair out, losing again and again. Top tip. Find the new cars and finish the easy races first. Don't give up thinking it's too hard. I was going to rate it an 8 but there are too many times you get taken out or smashed into a corner after a good run. It's infuriating. It's as if the designers just will not let you get a 1st place before a certain amount of attempts. Yes, it could be I'm getting old and my reactions are too slow. But I recently completed 'The last of us' on it's hardest setting so that can't be the reason? This is a game where you will lose a lot of times so if you want an easy racing game, look elsewhere. It's a great game and it's a challenge. It would be an insult to the games designers to give it less than a 7. They put a lot of hard work into this game and it shows.… Expand
  70. All_ButTrU4
    Jul 27, 2022
    7
    I really enjoyed this inoffensive arcade racer game. It is easy to play,thrilling and relaxing. It's fun to pass time. The graphics are really nice and the variety for cars is exceptional. Im not versed enough in racing games to make comparisons only that i enjoyed playing this with my family before the world tuned to ****
  71. DisneyLover1
    Apr 27, 2021
    7
    Most Wanted 2012 has fun gameplay, a good open world to explore including the DLC expansion, and the DLC cars give more variety to the player based on their style of gameplay. I appreciate Criterion innovating about giving every car to the player but that takes away the grind to unlock items.

    My favorite moment of this game is when my brother beat the Bugatti Veyron with the Ford Raptor    Most Wanted 2012 has fun gameplay, a good open world to explore including the DLC expansion, and the DLC cars give more variety to the player based on their style of gameplay. I appreciate Criterion innovating about giving every car to the player but that takes away the grind to unlock items.

    My favorite moment of this game is when my brother beat the Bugatti Veyron with the Ford Raptor (Haters gonna Hate but IDC)

    I enjoyed playing this game & this installment will be remembered as the last GOOD NFS Game.    … Expand
  72. Izitmee
    Aug 23, 2013
    6
    Take Burnout Paradise (also made by Criterion), change the city, add real cars instead than inspired-from-real ones, remove the wonderfully fun-to-drive motorcycles, et voilà, you have NFS Most Wanted. A game which, in the end, clones its own developer's previous efforts, but removes stuff instead than adding it (ok, real cars apart), while keeping all the faults, which are many. ForTake Burnout Paradise (also made by Criterion), change the city, add real cars instead than inspired-from-real ones, remove the wonderfully fun-to-drive motorcycles, et voilà, you have NFS Most Wanted. A game which, in the end, clones its own developer's previous efforts, but removes stuff instead than adding it (ok, real cars apart), while keeping all the faults, which are many. For example, when racing, the checkpoints are not very visible and often badly positioned, so unless you have squinted eyes that allow you to drive while focusing both on the road and on the minimap, you will often miss the right exit or turn. It's also full of little but annoying bugs. As in Burnout Paradise, you will get points by finding and destroying all billboards and gates. Too bad that half the time a destroyed billboard/gate is readily forgotten by the save/scoring system. All in all, if you have Burnout Paradise, stick to that, since it's much more fun. Otherwise, you might want to give Most Wanted a try: the driving system is arcade and fun, though it becomes quickly frustrating when you're forced to concentrate on the minimap instead than on being a cool driver.… Expand
  73. DiscardingSkin
    Nov 1, 2012
    6
    If you're a fan of Burnout Paradise. You'll like this game. From everything I saw about this game. Told me about the customizing. Like an old NFS game. None of that is in this. Sure, you can "tune" your car. Kind of. To select a car, you cant just buy it. You have to find it. And painting. No choice. Drive through a random booth and it does a random color. Plus the steering.. Turn right.If you're a fan of Burnout Paradise. You'll like this game. From everything I saw about this game. Told me about the customizing. Like an old NFS game. None of that is in this. Sure, you can "tune" your car. Kind of. To select a car, you cant just buy it. You have to find it. And painting. No choice. Drive through a random booth and it does a random color. Plus the steering.. Turn right. Pull off the analog stick. And it's still turning right. In my opinion, if you had to choose between this and Forza Horizon. Forza it is..… Expand
  74. Praxiss
    Oct 30, 2012
    6
    Been playing this for a few hours now and I like the vast majority of the game thus far. The graphics are very nice and the cars look perfect. Most Wanted 2.0 also has many more cars and a more interesting variety, which is awesome. The take-down system from the Burnout games is well implemented and makes racing much more interesting. The streamlined menus are easily accessed from theBeen playing this for a few hours now and I like the vast majority of the game thus far. The graphics are very nice and the cars look perfect. Most Wanted 2.0 also has many more cars and a more interesting variety, which is awesome. The take-down system from the Burnout games is well implemented and makes racing much more interesting. The streamlined menus are easily accessed from the D-Pad for swapping cars, parts, and managing events. However, Criterion's makeover falls short in a few disappointing ways for me, in no particular order: 1) No manual transmission!?!?! That was one of the few pieces of enjoyment I got from racing games, being able to downshift in anticipation of turns and having the added challenge keeps every race fresh; not in this game though. 2) No customization. Basically a cornerstone of NFS was the customization. You can't even pick the color you want it in this one... (aside from zipping through a drivethrough to repair and recolor it randomly). You unlock part upgrades by getting 2nd or 1st in a race and there's basically 2 options per part and allow you to tweak the stats slightly and get a pro-version of that part for completing certain challenges. That's it. No performance dymo, no tuning, just plug and play. 3) No car progression. What I mean by this is you don't save up for that special car you've had your eye on and then make it your own in this game. (In fact there's no currency at all.) You get 5 events to do with each car and then its essentially done, and you move onto the next car and rinse and repeat. That was something I (and I think a lot of people) really enjoyed doing in NFS games was building your baby from the beginning. Sure you might go through 3 or 4 cars on a play-through but you always had that goal to go for. Without being able to progress a car like in NFS Underground 1 and 2 and Most Wanted 1.0 it really takes away from the game by making it too much like the Burnout's. 4) There is no consequence for getting Busted. As you may remember from NFS Most Wanted 1.0, if you go busted you had some options. Using the tokens you got from Blacklist members to get out of jail free or add impound strikes could save you from paying those hefty fines which increased the more mayhem you caused. In this, you go back to the police station. That's it. No money in the game for them to take away, no way to lose your car. Just go back three spaces. Really makes pursuits completely pointless by doing it this way. Just finish a race with cops on you? Just stop and save yourself 5 minutes of trying to evade, it doesn't make a difference if you evade or get caught; sad but true. 5) In NFS: MW 1.0 they had a plot for us for why we were trying to go back up the Blacklist and had some little plot twists and deception going on which was a nice touch. Here in 2.0, the nice lady voice tells you about the list and that you should be #1 and to have fun. I'm not sure what I would ask from Criterion in this department...but it just feels like they should have done...something. *** IN SUMMARY, this doesn't feel like a NFS game as much it feels like a Burnout game and while the game does a lot of things right and it would play fine for a game on its own merits, this just doesn't live up to the original. If anything I just want to play the first one more now, but give it a go and try it for yourself. It's not a bad game by any means just not as good as it could have been by keeping the core and building around it, instead of trying to smash two franchises together in a somewhat disappointing way to both NFS and Burnout fans.… Expand
  75. LadyJane
    Oct 31, 2012
    6
    This is the review to explain all the other reviews! Perhaps my background might help you judge how valuable this review is. I am a huge NFS fan, and I have been playing it since Porsche Unleashed, before the first Hot Pursuit. I have not played every NFS game because many have been duds. I am not a huge fan of sim-racing, I do prefer arcade racing, so Burnout: Paradise was one of myThis is the review to explain all the other reviews! Perhaps my background might help you judge how valuable this review is. I am a huge NFS fan, and I have been playing it since Porsche Unleashed, before the first Hot Pursuit. I have not played every NFS game because many have been duds. I am not a huge fan of sim-racing, I do prefer arcade racing, so Burnout: Paradise was one of my favorite driving games to date. Hopefully that gives you an idea of where I'm coming from.

    The original Most Wanted was one of my favorite NFS games that I ever played. I could tell early on that this was not a successor to that in so many ways. For example, no interactive environment. You might remember the original MW had police chase breakers, where you could drive into areas on your map listed with a triangle and it would slow down cops by a giant plastic donut dropping from a restaurant logo, or perhaps a gas station blowing up. Well, nothing like that here.

    I wouldn't say that the police chases are non-consequential as others have said, but they're nearly non-consequential. They exist merely to entertain and/or irritate. The cars handle reasonably well, although still not as arcadey as they did in Burnout: Paradise, and they don't have a wealth of difference between them all, other than the feeling of weight, and of course: speed.

    So why the sharp difference in reviews? Perhaps some felt that this would revive the NFS franchise after The Run? It certainly won't do that. While it doesn't have a clunky narrative that gets in the way like The Run, it doesn't have... anything. Any story at all. Yes, I know this is Criterion and they never promised a story, etc. But it does feel sorely missing, especially in a game called Most Wanted where they took a game with a decent (albeit cheesy) story and attempted to remake it. So for fans that are looking for a reboot for NFS, it sadly does not start here.

    What about for those looking for the successor of Most Wanted? Again, no! This is not it. Most Wanted (the original) was a really great game. You jumped in, and you felt part of the game. The story held it all together, and the cop chases were great. You really were interested in lowering your heat level, or driving around for 10 minutes to find a pursuit breaker and then a cool-down spot, only to be detected at the last minute. Paying huge fines or customizing your car really made you feel like your character... you were invested! There was gain and loss, so winning felt like success, not simply the "next step". In short: there is none of that here. No customization, which personally I can live with in Burnout, but it doesn't fly here! The single-player campaign which was so exhilarating in MW (original) barely exists here. While they matched the joy of simply driving around and taking in the sights, not much else meets the 7-year old marker left by the original, which is sad given the age difference between the two products. Junior should be beating up the dad, but it just doesn't happen.

    So then, that leaves us with one last group of people... the group of people I fall into: people looking for a spiritual successor to Burnout Paradise. Before even buying the game I knew all of the above. None of that surprises me... but I was looking for the next Burnout Paradise. Even after 100 solid hours of gameplay on Burnout Paradise to get all your trophies, etc, you still had a lengthy online play-life because helping others complete their challenges or stunt runs with new challengers was always a joy. Hell, it still is! And now Criterion are coming out with a brand new game where they've focused EVEN MORE energy into multiplayer. Sign me up, amirite?!? Well - multiplayer has some advantages here and some disadvantages. Advantages is that competition is drummed up much more through results being everywhere, and of course the famed billboard pics. This is great - perhaps it would be more great if I played online with my known friends, but since I play online more with random people it doesn't pack the same punch. Be that as it may, online multiplayer is where this game is at... although without the longevity of challenges stunt runs and gameplay elements like this, I can't see it matching Paradise for long. It should be noted that MW doesn't have individual Freeburn challenges like in Paradise either, but speed lists which are a lot more clunky, and frustrating should people drop out. No more 1 minute challenges... you're signing up for 10 - 20 minutes each time.

    So, why the vast difference in reviews? Perhaps someone was expecting one of the above scenarios to be true. The fact is, this isn't a turning point for NFS, it's not a better game than Most Wanted (original) and it's not better than Paradise. Still, the amalgum here is still good in it's own right. Great graphics, new challenges online, fun competition, but still: an overwhelming missed opportunity. See Praxiss review for everything I couldn't write here!    … Expand
  76. Lord-Xaffax
    Nov 2, 2012
    6
    I have the X-box 360 version. It runs smoothly and looks good. The main problem with the game is that it doesn't live up to its name. I am a Most Wanted 2005 fan. And this game misses the mix of basic elements that made that game so much fun.
    It does have an open world and cops, but that's all. It misses the story line, cheesy but fun cut scenes with the funny characters, the sense o    I have the X-box 360 version. It runs smoothly and looks good. The main problem with the game is that it doesn't live up to its name. I am a Most Wanted 2005 fan. And this game misses the mix of basic elements that made that game so much fun.
    It does have an open world and cops, but that's all. It misses the story line, cheesy but fun cut scenes with the funny characters, the sense o achievement, the pimping of your ride, the building of you car collection, and the general sense of building up your rep. Most Wanted 2005 had an open world but also well defined goals. This game misses all that. But most of all it doesn't suck you in like the original.

    I would have given it a 7 if it wasn't called "Most Wanted" but because it's false advertising I give it a 6.    … Expand
  77. mewshiny
    Nov 7, 2012
    6
    This is not Need for Speed. They should named it Burnout. It has nothing to do with the old NFS Most Wanted. It feels like that even the police is just in the game so they could named it Most Wanted. If you get busted you dont looe any money, nothing, no consequencces for getting busted. The game has good graphics and nice sounds. If you play it without thinking that this is a NFS game,This is not Need for Speed. They should named it Burnout. It has nothing to do with the old NFS Most Wanted. It feels like that even the police is just in the game so they could named it Most Wanted. If you get busted you dont looe any money, nothing, no consequencces for getting busted. The game has good graphics and nice sounds. If you play it without thinking that this is a NFS game, its pretty good and fun to play. So finally, the game itself would be a good sequel for Burnout Paradise but because they had to name it NFS Most Wanted, which has nothing to do with the old Most Wanted or even with any NFS this game isn't worth to buy.… Expand
  78. pauloredline
    Nov 22, 2012
    6
    Esse jogo está longe, mas muito longe de ser o verdadeiro Need for Speed Most Wanted, parece um clone e mal feito gráficos não não tudo pessoal será que vou ver um Need for Speed descente?

    Is this play distant, but much far from being the true Need for Speed Most Wanted, it seems a clone and when personal one was badly made printers not not everything    Esse jogo está longe, mas muito longe de ser o verdadeiro Need for Speed Most Wanted, parece um clone e mal feito gráficos não não tudo pessoal será que vou ver um Need for Speed descente?

    Is this play distant, but much far from being the true Need for Speed Most Wanted, it seems a clone and when personal one was badly made printers not not everything it will be that I am going to see a Need he will be descending Speed?    … Expand
  79. Kostas_Spirou
    May 16, 2023
    6
    This is a great arcade racing game but it's a little bit messy for a Need for Speed game, the physics are chaotic and the handling is drifty, which makes for an unbalanced racing experience overall.

    There are many challenges you can do, unlock cars and upgrade them, surpass other players in the leaderboard and grind for more points. The biggest downside is that there's pretty much no    This is a great arcade racing game but it's a little bit messy for a Need for Speed game, the physics are chaotic and the handling is drifty, which makes for an unbalanced racing experience overall.

    There are many challenges you can do, unlock cars and upgrade them, surpass other players in the leaderboard and grind for more points.

    The biggest downside is that there's pretty much no car customization, you can make your cars faster and you can swap colors but you can't change their look.

    Despite its obvious issues I still like this game.

    Final Rating: "Decent" ~ 6/10    … Expand
  80. VidsRule
    Nov 21, 2012
    5
    The physics of Hot Pursuit meets the open world of Paradise City. Now imagine coming around a corner with the heavier physics and seeing 3 different obsticals in the way and having to steer around them. This worked very well with arcade handling, but it doesn't here. Hot Pursuit had a small amout of obsticals for this very reason. And somehow (a mystery) the developers are still forcing usThe physics of Hot Pursuit meets the open world of Paradise City. Now imagine coming around a corner with the heavier physics and seeing 3 different obsticals in the way and having to steer around them. This worked very well with arcade handling, but it doesn't here. Hot Pursuit had a small amout of obsticals for this very reason. And somehow (a mystery) the developers are still forcing us to watch every crash. There was an outcry after Paradise City after they did this. Were you not paying attention? And to top it off, they took away the takedown cutaway, which were truly cool. Now it just says "Takedown". However, the graphis are great and I like the progression. And when it's working well, it is a lot of fun. It's just one of those games were you can have a lot of fun but it seems like, literally, every 90 seconds I'm findng something that totally annoys me until I sell the game (which I just did).… Expand
  81. Dredd731
    Nov 1, 2012
    5
    I am more than a little pissed. I bought this game based on the first 10 reviews that averaged nearly 90% so I spent 60 on a very average game only to find out that it was not all it was supposed to be. It seems EA is buying reviews and this kills all credibility of EA and review sites. No wonder why EA is so hated in the gaming community.
  82. finnh
    Nov 3, 2012
    5
    The biggest mistake I made going into this game is making the presumption that this would be a Need For Speed game. I also foolishly presumed it would be in the same vein as its namesake, the 2005 hit Need For Speed: Most Wanted. I'd like to start by first listing a few things that game had that made it so appealing.

    -A storyline that was illustrated through both CGI and live action    The biggest mistake I made going into this game is making the presumption that this would be a Need For Speed game. I also foolishly presumed it would be in the same vein as its namesake, the 2005 hit Need For Speed: Most Wanted. I'd like to start by first listing a few things that game had that made it so appealing.

    -A storyline that was illustrated through both CGI and live action cinematics, text messages and voicemails.
    -Characterisation of adversaries that provided incentive.
    -Unscripted police presence and chases during races.
    -Unique and inventive racing modes.
    -Varied destructible environments including vivid large-scale props to break up police chases.
    -A well balanced currency system.
    -A stripped down (compared to Underground 2) but still highly in-depth customisation system that included car performance, visual alterations and body modification.
    -An ongoing heat system that related to specific cars in a realistic manner.
    -Easy access to in-depth chase records.
    -Clear, relevant and varied police chatter.
    -A wide range of police tactics and vehicles.
    -Excellent AI scaling.
    -Repercussions from getting BUSTED.
    -A prologue that adequately explains game mechanics and allows players to trial as they are eased into free roam gameplay.
    -A city that felt varied, inspired and easy to navigate.
    -A sensical GPS system that allowed instant and easy navigation.
    -A choice between automatic and manual.
    -A small degree of music player customisation.

    Go into Critereon's Most Wanted knowing that it has none of this. What you're getting is a bland and decidedly dated feeling free roaming racer. It follows mechanics more akin to Burnout than NFS. This isn't a huge problem, but it is so grating when expecting a different franchise. The city is uninspired, more like something from a GTA-knock off than one of the beautiful cities from Carbon, Most Wanted or even Underground 2. They have stripped back any customisation in all facets to nil for the bro audience. Their alternative is drive-through repair shops (much like the Pay 'n' Spray spots in earlier GTAs) which choose a new car colour for you and repair the small visible damage.
    Most of your time between races is spent eliminating 'collectibles'. These are repetitive billboards and fences half-assedly hidden around the boxed in game world. What's more, the billboards all promote EA and its bought companies. They couldn't even bother creating fictional in-game companies and the few little sparks of character around the world are repeated to the point of mundanity. Seeing 'FML' on a building isn't funny the first time, it won't be the next hundred times either.

    The visuals are good if not at the level expected of a 2012 game but the load times will remind you of how far this game stretches to meet these standards. The cars handle like cartoon vehicles, more like Mario Kart handling than anything NFS have done previously and players will suffer from bizarre unpredictabilities in the nuances of turning corners that the rival racer AI (which never seems to change) never suffer. The police chases are awful. Easy and unvaried. The time it takes to build heat (which resets every time a pursuit ends) is not worth it just to get into a fulfilling chase.

    What really hurts this game is a lack of story. I know that, as a racing game it's not required, but what replaces it is a weak, tinny intro speech that tells you nothing before you're thrown into your first car. After this point, you can do whatever you want. Some people may like the sound of this, but keep in mind doing 'what you want' involves either finding another insta-gain car, smashing one of four possible environment props, entering a chase, or racing in one of the three staple racing modes (time trial, sprint and circuit. yawn). This is fun, don't get me wrong, but for three hours. You have no incentive to race the 10 cars on the Most Wanted list (a pale impression of 2005's MW Blacklist which involved characters with visually unique vehicles) other than to collect another car that feels almost no different and can't be customised to look any differently to the rest.

    The game fails on some very basic mechanics too. Terrible mini-map system, difficult navigation in and out of races (you will lose so many races because there is NO INDICATION to turn unless it's extra unclear in which case the devs popped in a little band-aid arrow border) and the GPS doesn't help at all. You cannot even choose between automatic and manual. It's automatic all the way with uncustomisable music so you can nod your head to 2009's top 20 bro-tunes while you bro-steer through a cardboard cutout environment.

    In short, this game isn't worth your money. It's about $30 worth of solid fun and there's still something to be said there. This game isn't entirely awful, but it's unfinished and there's no reason to have ever called it NFS or MW. It feels like false advertising.    … Expand
  83. jsskppnn
    Nov 9, 2012
    5
    I have played Criterion's Most Wanted on PS3 for a week now and to me best part of the game so far is the billboard smashing (from Burnout Paradise).

    Racing is quite hard, partly because I'm still a novice with the gamepad, but mainly because the tracks do not have those floating arrow barriers to show you where to drive at intersections and the sides of the roads are filled with    I have played Criterion's Most Wanted on PS3 for a week now and to me best part of the game so far is the billboard smashing (from Burnout Paradise).

    Racing is quite hard, partly because I'm still a novice with the gamepad, but mainly because the tracks do not have those floating arrow barriers to show you where to drive at intersections and the sides of the roads are filled with hundredths of sudden stop opportunities.

    This game is definitely a step back from The Run and even Criterion's own Hot Pursuit. If we are honest and I always am, this game is nothing more than a badge engineered Burnout Paradise 2. I haven't yet found a single feature that would scream out Need for Speed, but a ton of ones that say: "Hey look, I'm a sequel to Burnout Paradise with a high profile name and licensed cars".

    The game would have scored better, if it did not have so many missing and left out features. The game has no screenshot ability and it's missing hood cam and far chase cam (arcade game does not really need a **** view). There's no proper customization, but that's understandable, since the game also has no money and no garage to put your cars in. In fact. I think all cars are stolen. There's also no real incentive to get away from the cops in your stolen car, because there's no money in the game, so you won't get fined no matter what you do with your car. With all these absent features and more, I can only give it half of what I would give to a good game with no missing features (5/10).

    Conclusion: It's a fun game and you'll love it, if you liked Burnout Paradise. If you loved the original Most Wanted and couldn't care less about Burnout Paradise, you will most likely hate this game with all your heart.    … Expand
  84. Retriex
    Aug 16, 2013
    5
    This game was an OK experience. The graphics are good, the cars have great detail, and there is a lot of cars in this game, BUT the thing that made me give this game a relatively average score is that you have to "find" them instead of earning them, the only cars you can earn are the cars you win when you complete a most wanted race, witch there are 10 in total. In the PS2 games, you'dThis game was an OK experience. The graphics are good, the cars have great detail, and there is a lot of cars in this game, BUT the thing that made me give this game a relatively average score is that you have to "find" them instead of earning them, the only cars you can earn are the cars you win when you complete a most wanted race, witch there are 10 in total. In the PS2 games, you'd have to BUY the cars, earning money from races and challenges. I felt no reward what so ever when i found an supercar a random place in the city, (and btw, the city is not big at all) it's even marked on your map when you're close to the cars you find. Another problem are the cops, they ram into you, it feels like they want to kill you, not stop you. If you're on an edge of a cliff, they just ram into you, killing you and themselves. Crashes are SOO frustrating and BORING in this game, they last waay to long, and your car looks the same after you've crashed your car 200 KmH into a wall. What happened to the crashes from Burnout? It's the same studio that made that game, why isn't it here Criterion? Another let down is NO customization AT ALL, the only things you can do is put off-road tires and nitro-boost in your car. The online can be pretty fun, but you have to drive to these locations and do the races or challenges, then drive to a new one. Why isn't there MODES in this game? If you want to do free-roam only in a public game, too bad, there is none of that, only in-between the races or challenges. Some people might enjoy this, but why not include RACE-ONLY, JUMP-CHALLENGES ONLY or DRIFTING-CHALLENGES ONLY modes. I am disappointed Critirion. The game can be really fun at times, racing against other on the highway is pretty fun, free roam is also fun, but is ruined by lack off specific modes, you have to do all this things you might not be intrested in too. There is nothing that makes your car special, in multiplayer, none will notice your car.
    If this is the way you want to go, having no customization, finding cars around the city, even starting off with a supercar, i will not buy your next game, and a lot of other fans that want progression and customization.    … Expand
  85. Nuteboy100
    Feb 26, 2017
    5
    DLC is ridiculously overpriced if you wish to get it for $9.99 on the PlayStation Store. But it its a good game to play online, cause mayhem in police pursuits inside a Lexus LFA or a Porsche, and beating friends. Nothing else really.
  86. Skyler360
    May 23, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I love the burnout style gameplay because the car is damaged with every shock, the graphics are very good, the music is decent, the selection of cars is fine and the cars are very well controlled and the map is very broad and well detailed. But the coup de grace and the reasons why I give it a five are the following; there is no history, there is no garage to store your cars and there are no stores to customize them and there is NO option to tune since you can only repair it, and in doing so change the color that is random and improve the power of the car. I expected something much better, and more knowing that Criterion came from creating Burnout Paradise and having collaborated with the development of the Hot Pursuit of 2010, but I left a gap that I could never fill. Just three words: WHAT, GREAT, DECEPTION.… Expand
  87. mixxd69
    Nov 8, 2020
    5
    I loved the game but the worst thing no ps4 controller compatibility ugh i have a bad contition ps3 controller why ea you need to add ps4 controller conpatibility
  88. YNXD
    Oct 27, 2021
    5
    - Races
    Unfortunately, it is so easy even if they write Hard on the mission, if I want the challenge I play with stock mods, and for every car, they give you 8 races, and that is not enough to enjoy your favorite car.
    -------------------------------------------------- - World Sometimes I feel like the map is bad, the route is bad, as a racing game, I crashed too much because of the    - Races
    Unfortunately, it is so easy even if they write Hard on the mission, if I want the challenge I play with stock mods, and for every car, they give you 8 races, and that is not enough to enjoy your favorite car.
    --------------------------------------------------
    - World
    Sometimes I feel like the map is bad, the route is bad, as a racing game, I crashed too much because of the route on the hill then there is a turn, even in a straight line, there is a little hill then 30 degrees turn.
    How can I turn if I am flying?
    the map has hills more than "World war" games.
    It is called Need For Speed and I need to slow down to stay on the ground.
    I enjoyed the game but this is the biggest problem in this game from my perspective.
    --------------------------------------------------
    - billboards
    As a collectible for a trophy is boring but as friend's challenge it is competitive but I don't have a friend so it is useless to me, I don't even try to beat my own score.
    --------------------------------------------------
    - Gates
    As a collectible for a trophy is not that fun when I find out they don't tell which one you destroyed.
    --------------------------------------------------
    - Camera
    Amazing collectible fun, and like the billboards as friend's challenge it is competitive and more fun.
    --------------------------------------------------
    - Speed Points and Driver Details:
    Totally Useless after 1 million points.
    Milestones rewards are ****
    if you finish a race 1st time in 1st place your reward is 12K *the race takes 1 to 4 mins*
    if you drive a specific car for 10hrs your reward is 1K
    and I don't know why is this challenge don't progress online,
    I finish the main game in 5hrs and there is no New Game +.
    the reward is so bad from every challenge, even your autolog recommends giving you 2K Speed points.
    --------------------------------------------------
    - Cars
    Even with all these cars you have a feeling, there is nothing I can do after finishing the races
    but I like every car Look, sound and tune.
    --------------------------------------------------
    - DLCs:
    they add Terminal as map expansion, mods, cars & races
    one of the amazing mods they add drift tires.
    and the drift races but these are so short.
    --------------------------------------------------    … Expand
  89. TheTouch
    Sep 5, 2013
    4
    This game is simply not enjoyable in any way other than the visuals, which are the only reason that it didn't get a lower score. The handling of the cars is truly abysmal even the Ariel Atom handles like a boat. And escaping the police is an exercise in frustration, often escalating to the point where the most you can do is lower your wanted level a little before an eagle-eyedThis game is simply not enjoyable in any way other than the visuals, which are the only reason that it didn't get a lower score. The handling of the cars is truly abysmal even the Ariel Atom handles like a boat. And escaping the police is an exercise in frustration, often escalating to the point where the most you can do is lower your wanted level a little before an eagle-eyed patrolman positively identifies you through a crack in a fence from 2 miles away.

    I want to love this game, but I absolutely cannot stand to play it for another moment.    … Expand
  90. Phintias
    Nov 5, 2012
    4
    I'm a little torn how to rate this. I play with my family and cousins online and we were all very excited about this game. Each of us had differing opinions on games, but we all enjoy playing together when we can. First, why call this Most Wanted? It clearly isn't and the idea they posted it under the NFS franchise suggests they were looking for sales based off the Title alone. NFS:MWI'm a little torn how to rate this. I play with my family and cousins online and we were all very excited about this game. Each of us had differing opinions on games, but we all enjoy playing together when we can. First, why call this Most Wanted? It clearly isn't and the idea they posted it under the NFS franchise suggests they were looking for sales based off the Title alone. NFS:MW was/is one of the better racing games made. It catered to both Sim fans and Arcade fans. This is back when it mattered to EA if they released a good game or not. I personally thought with Criterion involved even EA couldn't mess it up.
    So when my cousin won a copy, we were all pretty excited. We went over expecting to find a great game the rest of us would want to buy and play together. We found some really fun aspects, which could equate to a lot of fun racing online. But after a few days playing, I think we all kind of decided it just wasn't worth the money. It's certainly not a racing Sim, which is fine since a few of us don't really care for racing sims. But the lack of camera views was annoying. I don't care about manual/automatic but my brother did. I do care about fun, and every car had it's unique qualities, which is ok, but they also all were pretty much the same. You could win with a little 4 cyl compact as easily as a super sports car. This is fun, at first, but after awhile it gets annoying. Especially if you get a car you think looks cool, because you're only allowed so many races per car.

    Really, you can read most reviews, aside from the "This is the best game ever, get it now!!!' and the "WTF, no manual transmission? This game sux don't buy" reviews. There are plenty of people who actually spent time to write what's good and bad about this game. Most of the better reviews gave it lower scores, but they explained it. Many of the 9 and 10 reviews seem to write how everyone else is wrong and the game is really good but they don't really go into details why. Just from what I've seen anyway. I strongly recommend you read more than a few reviews to get a better idea of the good and bad points. Because this game definitely has some great features and some not-so-great features.

    From a racing sim fans point of view, this game just isn't worth the money for me. It feels like they went for an over-the-top attempt and glitz and decided that a high production quality makes a good game. And for those who like that kind of racing, it will be a very fun game. Because, even though I won't buy it, it would be fun to play from time-to-time in smaller doses. For me, I don't think this really fits what I would call a racing game. I don't need full out realism, but I do need a challenge when I race and this game isn't challenging. It's a smash-up game, and they could substitute the cars with tractors, bicycles, old people pushing carts, just about anything that moves could be swapped out. My brother said it best "It's Mario kart but with kick butt graphics and very cool cars." And Mario Kart is a very fun arcade game, so maybe EA does have a hit on their hands. Just not with us. I think we all wanted to like this game, but it just is lacking in too many areas. Too bad.    … Expand
  91. Gar
    Nov 2, 2012
    4
    This is a half breed for Burnout and Need for Speed. Bad thing is that they picked the worsts parts of both so its really really bad. They use the stupid "always in-game menus" Criterion seems obsessed with. Those menus are both annoying an slow to use. Handling is awful. When your handling has a totally different "mode" for going fast/straight lines and a separate "drift" mechanic, theThis is a half breed for Burnout and Need for Speed. Bad thing is that they picked the worsts parts of both so its really really bad. They use the stupid "always in-game menus" Criterion seems obsessed with. Those menus are both annoying an slow to use. Handling is awful. When your handling has a totally different "mode" for going fast/straight lines and a separate "drift" mechanic, the switch between those has to feel right. Its feels awful which ruins the whole handling. Things are made even worse by bad lightning which sometimes blocks your vision causing you to miss judge your turn-in point. AI is cheap since it uses rubberband so its always close to you. Soundtrack is so bad that the 4th most used button after gas/brake/steering is "skip track". Yeah, cant say anything good about this game expect for the fact that it works and boots up. Please EA, stop making these dumb excuses for a NFS game.

    In short: RIdge Racer Unbouded is a better Burnout expiriecen, Forza Horizon is a better racing game if you want real cars. Blur is also a much much better game.    … Expand
  92. mosessaur
    Mar 5, 2014
    4
    Not a racing game fan. But I liked NFS undercover. Which made me try this one. Plus it was for free on PS Plus.
    I didn't like the game. Races were ok. But not fun. At least not as fun as it was with Undercover. There was a story, there was cut scenes. You were supposed to feel like a bad ass racer in single player.
    Here in NFS most wanted all races are just repetitive of each other. You    Not a racing game fan. But I liked NFS undercover. Which made me try this one. Plus it was for free on PS Plus.
    I didn't like the game. Races were ok. But not fun. At least not as fun as it was with Undercover. There was a story, there was cut scenes. You were supposed to feel like a bad ass racer in single player.
    Here in NFS most wanted all races are just repetitive of each other. You just need to change the care to feel slightly different.
    I am close to platinum this one. But it wasn't fun at all. I didn't enjoy it    … Expand
  93. AngeAlexiel
    Oct 30, 2012
    4
    do not listen to the press and web site, who are too king with EA ^^ this NFs is a big deception , mainly because criterion didn't make it out well , all their previous games was great, this one is really far from that . pick Forza Horizon wich is 10 times bigger , and looks great. the only good point of this game is multiplayer , but as there is no story mode, nor real solo play ( so short
  94. Jaybo
    Nov 6, 2012
    4
    This is hands down the best Need For Speed ever. Well sorry to burst your bubble. Graphics for this game are very impressive, however the physics and how the cars handle are horrible. cops blow past you and AI is incredibly aggressive to the point where police and racers stop every positive thing you have in a race. handling is by far the worst part of the game. when braking you continueThis is hands down the best Need For Speed ever. Well sorry to burst your bubble. Graphics for this game are very impressive, however the physics and how the cars handle are horrible. cops blow past you and AI is incredibly aggressive to the point where police and racers stop every positive thing you have in a race. handling is by far the worst part of the game. when braking you continue in the straight forward direction and then finally the car will break loose in to sliding any direction. when driving slow your car will turn sharper than you want regardless of your tilt on the joystick. it seems that all effort was put into the game looking good and was not focused on creating a good and balanced game for gamers. Fans of the NFS series were given the open road again but no longer have the feeling of accomplishment since the developers have essentially put cars around the city for you to find. No customization options for car color, drive through repair shop and hope you get the color you want if not try again. Parts are basic but nothing in terms of building the car how you like it. Options wise there are none for steering sensitivity or AI difficulty which may leave more novice fans or beginners of the series feeling like they wasted their money on this one. The game soundtrack is ok nothing spectacular at all especially given this a racing game. All-in-all I have been a fan of the series but the past 2 games have me questioning if I would get the next title release for the NFS franchise.the in game menu is to much to navigate through when trying to drive to various locations and navigating around the city and in races is not user friendly. They needed to put some sort of turning system in the game to warn you of approaching turns. So much is going on on screen that wrecks happen to frequent and the road bumps move the screen up and down not just the cars.… Expand
  95. Blink
    Nov 9, 2012
    4
    One of the things that saddens us is the lack of a storyline, a plot that accompany us during our progress towards the top of the "blacklist", if its name is still this, of Fairhaven City.
    Only 10 cars, and no more "opponents" or "racers", to beat in a simple race 1 vs 1. All this makes the single player banal because, running in front of a camera and jumping like kangaroos through    One of the things that saddens us is the lack of a storyline, a plot that accompany us during our progress towards the top of the "blacklist", if its name is still this, of Fairhaven City.
    Only 10 cars, and no more "opponents" or "racers", to beat in a simple race 1 vs 1. All this makes the single player banal because, running in front of a camera and jumping like kangaroos through billboards, like in Burnout Paradise, becomes boring after the first 30 minutes of gameplay.
    The handlings are really embarrassing at first, but once you get used becomes "just" horrible! Being able to control a car becomes a mission impossible in certain situations. You can't avoid traffic cars like you want, it's all about being lucky! And, the worst thing is that the difference between the various cars is imperceptible: physics, speed, control, and all the rest are almost identical regardless of the car on which we stand, regardless of the changes that we apply to them.
    Police in Fairhaven will not be so hard as everyone might think. Their only advantage is to have trucks and Corvettes that drop spike strips like in Hot Pursuit, in order to stop your run, however, those vehicles will be available only when you reach heat 6! But even with the heat 6 is still too easy to run away!
    The other things that the Criterion team has taken from his best creation, Burnout, are Takedowns and how to change color and repair your car. The takedowns were a good thing before coming to Need for Speed​​: here, every single hit, even the most trivial, over 60km / h turns into a f**ckin' "takedown moment", and after the first half hour of play they become very annoying! And we can't do anything to disable those takedowns!
    The AI ​​is less involved than the previous titles.
    The multiplayer is well structured and it's very funny, like Burnout Paradise. But even this becomes boring a lot in about 2 days!
    Good things: graphics and sounds.
    Bad things: almost all the rest: handlings, takedowns, no storyline, easy AI, boring, no tuning, etc...    … Expand
  96. chanco
    Nov 12, 2012
    4
    First off, I loved both the original NFS:MW and Burnout Paradise, so this amalgam of those two franchises must be truly amazing yes? Unfortunately this is very far from the case. This new NFS:MW is probably the most disappointing game I have played in a long time. It borrows only at a very high level from the above two franchises (Police chases from the former, open world layout of theFirst off, I loved both the original NFS:MW and Burnout Paradise, so this amalgam of those two franchises must be truly amazing yes? Unfortunately this is very far from the case. This new NFS:MW is probably the most disappointing game I have played in a long time. It borrows only at a very high level from the above two franchises (Police chases from the former, open world layout of the latter) but fails to implement any of the sense of fun or progression that exist in either of those (superior) titles.

    I'm sure in multi-player this game starts to make sense, but this is also its undoing. It comes across as a game world designed wholly for you to race around with your on-line friends but with absolutely no content for off-line players (bar smashing billboards lifted straight from Burnout Paradise), think Quake:Arena off-line appeal as a point of reference.

    Whilst the graphics and frame rate are excellent, the handling and AI is truly appalling. None of the cars have a natural weight or feel to them and all feel like they have four flat tires, such is the waywardness of their handling. Slightly squiffy handling can be overlooked if the game still manages to be fun (this was the case with Burnout Paradise), but even here NFS:MW fails on this basic requirement. The game just feels aimless with no sense of point or progression. There is no story, just a leaderboard of faceless "Most Wanted" drivers to beat. If you're coming to this game with fond memories of the (intentionally) cheesy rival cut-scenes from the original NFS:MW then you are in for a major disappointment here.

    Probably the biggest crime (ironic, considering the title!) this game commits is the removal of car ownership! Yes that's right, this is probably the only racing game where you don't get to build your own virtual garage of bought / won cars. Sometimes trying something new is the way to reinvigorating a tired genre, but there is a reason why no-one has gone down this route before. If you remove the need to earn money to buy cars (or races where you win cars) then you remove one of the main points for playing a racing game. With the whole game essentially "unlocked" right from the beginning, once you've had a little burn around the map and completed a couple of races your quickly find yourself becoming bored. It's like the developers took on board the "endless grinding" comments about GT5 and thought "we'll do the exact opposite of that", when in fact what is required is a halfway house (as implemented by every other racing game). The fact that the police and competitors fully embrace rubber band physics, even the chases / races aren't very enjoyable.

    This brings me on to my other complaint of this title, the police chases. They're just not very interesting. In the original NFS:MW you would actively search out police and incite them to chase you because the chases (especially as they ramped up in scale) were truly fun and as enjoyable as the races. This is not the case with this latest incarnation where the police chases just act as an annoyance that get in the way of you racing.

    Resident Evil 6 was something of a disappointment (mainly due to clunky AI, controls and camera angles and total lack of scares or puzzles) but at least had a sense of fun. This is just not the case with NFS:MW. It's a racing game with dodgy handling, rubber band AI and absolutely no sense of progression, achievement or fun.

    NFS:MW biggest problem though is that Forza Horizon already does everything (bar the police chases and considering how poorly NFS:MW implemented them this isn't a real issue) that NFS:MW does, but does it much better. Open world environment, CHECK. Fabulous graphics and silky frame rate, CHECK. Wide list of cars both past and present, CHECK. Superb handling that can be tailored to suite, CHECK. Diverse selection of race events, CHECK. On-line racing, CHECK. Ability to purchase / win and customise cars, CHECK.

    With Forza Horizon the developers have taken all the elements from the best racing games, thrown them into a pot and cooked them up into a lovely tasting concoction that satisfies on (almost) every level. With NFS:MW, Criterion have taken Burnout Paradise, stripped out all the offline content, tacked on police chases and ended up with something very underwhelming.

    All that's left to say is that with Black OPS 2 out tomorrow, my copy of NFS:MW is going to help fund its purchase. All I'm hoping is that NFS:MW trade in value hasn't been dented too much yet by other disgruntled players.    … Expand
  97. lobeSpace
    Nov 15, 2012
    4
    The game is fun, but compared to what it could be... it's got nothing.

    I was stoked for a new street racing game, I've been looking forward to something in open world street racing since Midnight Club L.A. I have to say Rockstar nailed it with that game. I guess I was hoping for something a bit more like that. A couple main points they missed. Customization - half the fun of street    The game is fun, but compared to what it could be... it's got nothing.

    I was stoked for a new street racing game, I've been looking forward to something in open world street racing since Midnight Club L.A. I have to say Rockstar nailed it with that game. I guess I was hoping for something a bit more like that. A couple main points they missed.

    Customization - half the fun of street racing is customizing your car. In NFSMW you can get mods, but they don't do anything to the car. You can't even keep a color. Pretty lame

    Money - The other half of street racing that is fun is starting with an empty wallet and a POS car, and working your way up. NFSMW has Speed Points... but those are pretty worthless, they don't really unlock anything, you can't use them for anything... they just keep stacking up. Like a bank account you can deposit money into, but can't withdraw. All you can do it show people how much "money" you have.

    Cars - I have to admit, driving around in some of those supercars is a lot of fun. But in a street racing game, does it really make sense? I have more fun rolling in a Mitsubishi Evo X than the Bugatti Veyron, just because it makes more sense to me. It would be great if there were more street cars and a bit less supercar weight. Progression - NFSMW is open from the beginning... all the cars are there, you just need to find them... which may sound cool in theory, but it ruins the game for me. There is no game progression. The easiest part of the game was beating the top ten cars... the "MAIN STORY"

    Story - I put Main Story in quotes above, because there is no story at all. Which is fine. I was expecting more of an arcade racer light on the story... but they play with you... just a little hint of a story... and nothing more.

    Cut-Scenes - One thing I thought looked promising was the seamless gameplay... which is done well at points... but then you start a race by squealing you wheels. You think you should just be able to start the race there, right? Nope, you need to wait for a freaking ridiculous cut scene to play. Even when you skip the scene, you are still forced to sit through the end of it. So lame.

    Crash Cam - This is cool for about 2 seconds, and then it gets real old. Especially during multiplayer (which I will get to in a second). Again the seamless quality of the game is completely ruined by this slow motion crash camera... which you can't skip

    Multiplayer - It seems the whole goal to multiplayer is to smash into other people. I think it would be fine if that was a part of it, but you get more points from smashing people constantly than you do from actually winning the events. I just played a multiplayer speedlist, won each event, and then came in 4th overall... How can you win every event and come in 4th? The three people above you decided to crash into people instead of racing. I was done after than one....

    The idea of the game is great. It looks fantastic, the cars are fun to drive, but the racing and overall enjoyment is mediocre (because of the faults listed)... It's like they had this awesome abstract sculpture that they kept filing away at... getting rid of parts... smoothing out any edges... polishing... making sure it made sense to everyone... making sure not to make it to hard... making sure there were not sharp edges... and what they were left with was a polished statue of a little puppy. Cute and all, but the meaning and meat of the work is gone.    … Expand
  98. PeenApple
    Dec 27, 2012
    4
    Bah This game is heavily Repetitive compared to the 2005 Most wanted. No story which makes the racing pointless. After beating the most wanted which was really easy, The game feels really empty and doesn't really reward much. The multiplayer is quite repetitive as well.
  99. Magnesium
    May 7, 2018
    4
    I tried to be optimistic about this game after I started the game, but the only thing I enjoyed was finding the jack spots.
    Cars crash a lot at first but eventually they improve. So you’ll need to repeat the first events.
    It lacks the system of customization and performance upgrade which I believe is a let down. I didn’t get very involved with the game but I couldn’t find drag and drift    I tried to be optimistic about this game after I started the game, but the only thing I enjoyed was finding the jack spots.
    Cars crash a lot at first but eventually they improve. So you’ll need to repeat the first events.
    It lacks the system of customization and performance upgrade which I believe is a let down. I didn’t get very involved with the game but I couldn’t find drag and drift races which I extremely enjoy.
    Since I haven’t had played the game when it was released, graphics didn’t impress me but I’m sure they were incredible back at the time.
    Overally it doesn’t seem to be a need for speed game. But don’t get me wrong, it has a wide variety of high-end vehicles.    … Expand
  100. sebastianali
    Jul 23, 2021
    4
    Although many people defend this game saying that if it had not been called "Most Wanted" they surely would not have hated it, to me as a game it still seems pretty bad. Apart from the fact that the game does not give you complete control over the car and less in a curve (or also the lack of speedbreaker mechanic), every minimum hit you crash, a cinematic interrupts the race that lastsAlthough many people defend this game saying that if it had not been called "Most Wanted" they surely would not have hated it, to me as a game it still seems pretty bad. Apart from the fact that the game does not give you complete control over the car and less in a curve (or also the lack of speedbreaker mechanic), every minimum hit you crash, a cinematic interrupts the race that lasts about 7 seconds, the thing is that its so constant and the hitbox and impact force is super unrealistic as it can happen to you even with a low speed crash. The way to get vehicles in the game is absurd, since it eliminates the progression of the previous games in the series which consisted of starting with a bad car and getting better cars, in this one, you start with an Aston Martin and later you pick up a Porsche. Besides that if you get a good car at the beginning you will no longer need the rest, so this mechanic of finding cars in an open world at any time is terrible (and it is not surprising that other racing games do not have it), since it breaks completely the game. With only the Lamborghini Gallardo that you get in the first city and all the missions will be a piece of cake. The easiest way to solve this would be to block certain places on the map, as happened in Underground 2 or Most Wanted and that when you beat bosses they are enabled so you can pass, but no, you can go anywhere at any time, it that leaves the game very badly balanced.
    I would criticize other things, such as the lack of tuning, short lenght, story, the confusing and bad balanced online or the absurd amount of DLC.
    IMO one of the worst in the series.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Best PS3 Game of 2012
13
#13 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
19
#19 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 37
  3. Negative: 0 out of 37
  1. Hyper Magazine
    Dec 17, 2012
    90
    Great multiplayer and a huge sandbox to play in make this a wild and crazy ride. [Jan 2013, p.64]
  2. Play UK
    Nov 30, 2012
    95
    Easily the best arcade racer of this generation. [Issue#225, p.76]
  3. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Nov 28, 2012
    80
    Take Burnout Paradise's massive open world, strip out the wild, physics-defying, cabin-crushing crashes and insert a generous handful of the world's hottest or most iconic motors. This is Need for Speed that only Criterion could create. [Christmas 2012, p.83]
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