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. 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
  2. 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
  3. razgriz10000
    Oct 30, 2012
    1
    Horrible. I give it a 1 because the graphics are good. Other than that the game is absolute crap. There's no feeling of leveling up. You are handed everything. No buying anything. No customization. Stupid camera angles. The cars feel like you're driving 20 ton dump trucks with cheese for wheels. You can't even pick between an automatic or a manual transmission anymore. The run was a badHorrible. I give it a 1 because the graphics are good. Other than that the game is absolute crap. There's no feeling of leveling up. You are handed everything. No buying anything. No customization. Stupid camera angles. The cars feel like you're driving 20 ton dump trucks with cheese for wheels. You can't even pick between an automatic or a manual transmission anymore. The run was a bad blow to NFS. This game has killed the series for me. Time to go back to midnight club where I can at least have some fun and have a personalized car and stuff.… Expand
  4. 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
  5. Ritual85
    Oct 30, 2012
    0
    I have never written a review in my life, but after seeing some of the reviews here I HAD to write one. It's plain to see that all the positive reviews are written by EA employees or promoters trying to keep the balance in the game. This game is complete garbage and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I can't believe that EA continues to release bad games and steal peoples money with goodI have never written a review in my life, but after seeing some of the reviews here I HAD to write one. It's plain to see that all the positive reviews are written by EA employees or promoters trying to keep the balance in the game. This game is complete garbage and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I can't believe that EA continues to release bad games and steal peoples money with good trailers. You should have called it Need for Speed: We finally ruined the franchise. You can't switch to manual at all and there's no leveling system in the game. There's no story line that drives you to an ending. I played this game for 30 minutes and you would think that the game would at least be fun at the beginning to draw you in. The controls are horrible and each car feels exactly the same with horrible turning. After purchasing this game I went back to the store and exchanged it. I lost money and I am completely disappointed. I was really looking forward to a sequel to the first Most Wanted, which I enjoyed very much. This game gets a 0 from me, because every game has good graphics these days and that's not an exception for a 1.… Expand
  6. millionareman66
    Oct 30, 2012
    1
    WHAT???????? No manual transmission,serious is racing now been down by Automatic cars.Bought it,played 10 mins and extremely disappointing. Graphics is very well done, and that's about it.
  7. bitNine
    Oct 30, 2012
    1
    Nice graphics, but this is a super cheesy game. I played it for 30 minutes or so before I was so sick of playing it, I turned it off, put it back in the case, and promptly traded it in for Forza Horizon. There are numerous problems with this game, but it starts with the driving mechanics. Never have I driven a game where when you let off the stick in a turn, and the car keeps turning inNice graphics, but this is a super cheesy game. I played it for 30 minutes or so before I was so sick of playing it, I turned it off, put it back in the case, and promptly traded it in for Forza Horizon. There are numerous problems with this game, but it starts with the driving mechanics. Never have I driven a game where when you let off the stick in a turn, and the car keeps turning in that direction, even though you're not in a slide. It actually has some sort of mega-over steer. At the very least the car should let up in the turn, but it doesn't. Coming out of most turns you are required to counter-steer just to get the car to straighten out, which results in over-correction. I understand the idea of having to counter steer when the back end of the car is sliding out, but that's not what's happening in this case. It's completely unrealistic, and absolutely no fun. You can get used to it, but it's a terrible way to start out a game. The next thing that drove me NUTS is that every time you smashed into a wall or a car or anything else, the whole screen changes to a 3rd person view and says "CRASHED", all slow motion, but then just drops you back into the car right where you were. What's the point in that? Even if it's a minor enough crash that in most games you could just continue driving, in this game it must make a BIG deal that you crashed, even though you didn't really "crash". Stupid. Next, is how stupid police chases are. There's no reason to get away from the cops, as you don't lose anything by getting caught. There's zero incentive to get away. Next is the lack of manual shifting. This reminds me of Burnout where every car had 847364923 gears, and it just kept shifting and shifting and shifting. Stupid. You can't choose car colors, or make the car special, which is what was so great about the original NFS Most Wanted. The map is the size of a rural crap-hole town with 500 people living in it. I know millionaires with bigger garages than this city (maybe a bit of an embellishment, but you get my point) This is just a barely upgraded version of Burnout, which was another game I played for a few hours, got bored with, and traded in. I play a LOT of driving games, and I'm disappointed I wasted my time with this, and even more disappointed that I didn't just buy Forza Horizon instead. Good riddance, and NEVER again will I purchase a Criterion pile-o-crap driving game.… Expand
  8. 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
  9. augustobt
    May 7, 2018
    1
    This is the worst Need For Speed game in the whole franchise, yet it's "critically acclaimed". Could've been released as a Burnout, then I wouldn't care. But not only they choose to sell it as 'Need for Speed', but as a MOST WANTED, probably my favorite of them all, and resembles in NOTHING the original.

    Don't ever buy it, even it's a penny.
  10. 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
  11. 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.
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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.
  16. 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
  17. Enpatsu
    Jul 5, 2013
    2
    i give a 2 for the graphism because the rest is a fake burnout style. horrible gameplay, horrible police car
    better to pay 5e for burnout paradise than this awful game
  18. 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.
  19. iamevan13
    Dec 15, 2012
    3
    I bought this last night so i have less than 24 hours in with it thus far. i do like that it has the open ended world to it. that is somewhat entertaining and the police chases are fun...at first. after awhile you just want them to end. now really all that is left is the racing. so here is how racing goes, you click on your race and it starts. that gps type map is mostly useless or itI bought this last night so i have less than 24 hours in with it thus far. i do like that it has the open ended world to it. that is somewhat entertaining and the police chases are fun...at first. after awhile you just want them to end. now really all that is left is the racing. so here is how racing goes, you click on your race and it starts. that gps type map is mostly useless or it gives misleading info. so you have to wing it. the checkpoint markers aren't always that easy to spot you realize where they are as you are passing the turn. there is nothing more frustrating that coming to one checkpoint, waiting for the next one and coming to a T in the road at 140 mph with still no sign of the next checkpoint. either let us race from point a to b without using checkpoints and letting us pick our own path or actually mark this well enough to actually run a race. if you want something that resembles a race, this is not the game for you. i'm already bored to death with it there should be a few modes where there are no cops and maybe even more of a track or no traffic. i understand that the premise is street racing and i love the idea of racing in cars you may see on the street. but this is a very flawed game.also, multiplayer absolutely sucks when playing with strangers at least. it's nothing but a demolition derby. not to mention that youd' think there would be some sort of clear controls to quiet or mute the other drivers. i dont plunk down my money to listen to someone's faulty mic. this game is a waste of time and money. the only purpose it serves is to be something you can play for 15 minutes to kill time. but after a weekend of playing this is sure to collect dust. there simply isn't much desire for repeated play with this and when you get down to it that is the only criteria that really matters.… Expand
  20. ktmgtr
    Nov 16, 2012
    2
    Criterion haven't reinvented their formula since at least Burnout Paradise. This is obviously just some tweaks since then with some changes to Autolog introduced in Hot Pursuit. Heck, this is a step back in ways, what happened to being able to drop in/drop out for multiplayer action? Why a loading screen? Lost the guys who knew how to do that? Game has some poor collision, how many timesCriterion haven't reinvented their formula since at least Burnout Paradise. This is obviously just some tweaks since then with some changes to Autolog introduced in Hot Pursuit. Heck, this is a step back in ways, what happened to being able to drop in/drop out for multiplayer action? Why a loading screen? Lost the guys who knew how to do that? Game has some poor collision, how many times have you hit an object at 100+ mph head on and not crashed but stopped dead? Running away from the cops is boring, boring boring. Nothing like spawning into an event wrecked and the AI have a massive racing start, only for the restart option to spawn you like that again. The menus are a bit slow to enter. Why do I have to wait, constantly 15 seconds to see some stupid pointless things about my car before I can set a new checkpoint to drive to the next event, or change the upgrades to my car? I don't care about some stupid little graphic showing the mods on or available to my car, I can see that with the easydrive menu. The messaging for items, is STILL in the middle of the screen, how many criterion game iterations has this been? Nothing like not being able to see ahead of you as you're driving through congested streets at 150mph... The cop detection as you've hidden, or are running away is something of epic legend, they can spot you through walls and over objects without direct line of sight! nothing more fun than having been bored of running away and found a hiding spot, only for the xray cops to catch you and force you to take another 2 mins to try and hide away from them because this town has an unlimited supply of cops so you can't destroy them all.… Expand
  21. 6speedmanual
    Dec 25, 2012
    3
    Crazy how real racing enthusiast are being criticized because they want "manual transmission" option... the mental capacity required for this game is fit for a 9 year old... with all due respect, no story, few options and the inability to simply choose whether I want manual or automatic is atrocious. On a good note, the graphics are about the best I've seen in any NFS games.
  22. eviltruth
    Jan 17, 2013
    0
    I am very disapointed in this game and its developers. I played it 5 min and got shocked by a for this time poor graphic, a unrealistic steering which makes you think that there is somebody else steering your car while you drive, just to make you mad.
    No customization, just a crappy bumper few, no manual transmission, no tuning, no making money, no money needed at all for some strange    I am very disapointed in this game and its developers. I played it 5 min and got shocked by a for this time poor graphic, a unrealistic steering which makes you think that there is somebody else steering your car while you drive, just to make you mad.
    No customization, just a crappy bumper few, no manual transmission, no tuning, no making money, no money needed at all for some strange reason. Its all together a big idiotic dissapointment and not worth it 5 $. Why in hell did i buy this?    … Expand
  23. EV3RLiGHT
    Mar 25, 2013
    1
    Absolutely rubbish. No vehicle customization, terrible game-engine, no realism whatsoever, over saturated filter... Criterion has ruined it and EA is stupid for letting them.
  24. CubicWebs
    Aug 11, 2013
    0
    I'm so happy this was a free game for PlayStation Plus members, because I wouldn't pay a penny for it, it's boring, the cops come from the woodwork, the options for the game are to a minimum. You can't turn off the cut scene's if you crash.

    Bad car handling, no car customization, everything Need For Speed was is chucked out the window. I however admit the graphics are ten times better,    I'm so happy this was a free game for PlayStation Plus members, because I wouldn't pay a penny for it, it's boring, the cops come from the woodwork, the options for the game are to a minimum. You can't turn off the cut scene's if you crash.

    Bad car handling, no car customization, everything Need For Speed was is chucked out the window. I however admit the graphics are ten times better, however that doesn't make a good game. I won't be purchasing a game of NFS again, again thankfully I didn't buy this, I would of sent it back to EA and requested a refund.    … Expand
  25. 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.
  26. Audius
    Nov 1, 2012
    3
    Honestly, this game is pretty mediocre. If you were at all a fan of the older Need for Speed titles, namely, Need for Speed Underground 1 & 2, Most Wanted 1, and aren't particularly a fan of the Burnout series, you'll find yourself pretty disappointed with this game.

    The game shouldn't have the title Need for Speed in it, as it is extremely misleading. As many know, the game was    Honestly, this game is pretty mediocre. If you were at all a fan of the older Need for Speed titles, namely, Need for Speed Underground 1 & 2, Most Wanted 1, and aren't particularly a fan of the Burnout series, you'll find yourself pretty disappointed with this game.

    The game shouldn't have the title Need for Speed in it, as it is extremely misleading. As many know, the game was developed by Criterion, the same people who brought us the Burnout series, which I'm going to say right out I'm not a particular fan of. I like games that have great customization, and a solid progression base. The open world style is great, but there's no unlocking cars, you just drive around and swap cars whenever you want. But there's no customization, you can swap parts around here and there to get minor boosts, but there's no customization to the actual car (you can't even change the color of your car - unless you drive through a shop which repairs your car/changes the color. I found myself disliking the handling a lot, it's extremely "drift" based where making any turn almost necessitates forcing your car into a drift because the handling is so shoddy. One of the things they imported from Burnout which I disliked the most was the wiping out, even after minor crashes your car would wreck/spin out and you'd have to wait for your car to respawn to play again. This gets extremely frustrating when you're trying to outrun cops and because the handling is so poor you almost can't avoid slamming into a car in front of you. When I saw that this was going to be made by Criterion, I thought, why not give it a go, it has the Need for Speed title afterall. Frankly, it just feels like another Burnout title with cops added in. Almost nothing was imported from what made the Need for Speed titles great, especially Most Wanted 1. If you don't like the Burnout style, don't bother with this game, you'll find yourself extremely disappointed like I did.    … Expand
  27. DokHolliday
    Nov 3, 2012
    3
    Let me start by saying that I'm a big fan of both the NFS and Burnout franchises. And as a fan of both franchises, I was severely disappointed in this game, particularly after reading all the critic reviews that raved about it. I know a company like EA can influence some publications, but this one got pretty ridiculous.

    As many others have said, the graphics are great, but in this case    Let me start by saying that I'm a big fan of both the NFS and Burnout franchises. And as a fan of both franchises, I was severely disappointed in this game, particularly after reading all the critic reviews that raved about it. I know a company like EA can influence some publications, but this one got pretty ridiculous.

    As many others have said, the graphics are great, but in this case they're merely polish on a turd. The game plays like a fusion of Burnout: Paradise and one of the blander NFS games, but with all the fun methodically drained from the experience. The vehicle handling is god-awful--NFS: The Run had issues, but at least the cars were driveable. I'm a fan of both arcade racers and simulators, and this game is neither.

    BP's takedowns were a ton of fun, but without the slo-mo and the terrible wrecks, they seem pretty boring and uninteresting. As many other users pointed out, the cop chases are a huge letdown as well--NFS:MW nearly perfected the cop chase/escape formula--why wouldn't you crib some ideas from that?

    I'm thankful I got this game as a rental from Gamefly and didn't buy it. If you haven't bought it yet, definitely give it a rental before plucking down the $60.    … Expand
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 55dmax
    Nov 9, 2012
    1
    NFS fans like me won't like this game, it has the title "Most Wanted" which reminds us of the awesome 2005 NFS, not some sort of Criterion "good idea" concept. Criterion should just stop making NFS' and go back to Burnout.
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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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