Need For Speed: Most Wanted Video Review - IGN Reviews

00:00:09.170after the disappointment of NIMH speed

00:00:11.639the run most wanted as a brilliant and

00:00:13.620blistering return to 4/4 EA's flagship

00:00:15.839racing series but you'd expect nothing

00:00:17.640less coming from criterion the studio

00:00:19.680behind hot pursuit and the burnout games

00:00:21.420in fact most wanted as a racing game for

00:00:23.699people who don't usually buy racing

00:00:25.470games because you're not punished for

00:00:27.090deviating from that perfect racing line

00:00:28.980or for missing the crucial apex in fact

00:00:31.890deviation is something it actively

00:00:33.690encourages it will explore back roads

00:00:35.969and rooftops beaches and factories but

00:00:38.520most wanted as its title suggests also

00:00:40.770encourages deviants you'll break the

00:00:42.750speed limit ramp these cars into

00:00:44.460oncoming traffic and jump across and

00:00:46.079finish bridges and you'll be rewarded

00:00:47.760for it too

00:00:57.820nifa Speed Most Wanted is an impeccably

00:01:00.530well-made game the attention to detail

00:01:02.660is quite extraordinary and the

00:01:04.250production values are frequently

00:01:05.570astonishing as the cumulative effect of

00:01:07.790all these little touches that makes more

00:01:09.590swamp dates such as stunning and

00:01:10.940accomplished game the time and care have

00:01:12.890also been invested into planning the

00:01:14.660streets of Fair Haven at first the city

00:01:16.820seems limited a little samey and urban

00:01:19.550but over the course of the game you'll

00:01:21.170explore its hidden depths and see sides

00:01:23.150you never knew existed from underground

00:01:25.100tunnels to power plants and airplane

00:01:27.080graveyards the whole experience is

00:01:29.060wonderfully continuous when the race

00:01:30.890ends it doesn't reset the world the

00:01:32.990action seamlessly carries on so if you

00:01:35.210were being chased by the police at the

00:01:36.560end of your last race they'll still be

00:01:38.210on your tail when it's over this fluid

00:01:40.070experience is further enhanced by easy

00:01:41.869Drive which enables you to access every

00:01:44.270aspect of the game from racers to your

00:01:46.490garage of cars without ever taking you

00:01:48.650away from the tarmac the aim of the game

00:01:57.680has become the city's best street racer

00:01:59.420to achieve this you need to rack up

00:02:01.040speed points by winning races setting

00:02:03.590off speed cameras and evading the cops

00:02:05.560crucially speed points give you the edge

00:02:07.700by enabling you to mod your cars adding

00:02:10.340nitrous switching Shetty's and more the

00:02:13.400same mods are available to each car but

00:02:15.860you'll have to start from scratch every

00:02:17.180time slightly repetitive to a lot the

00:02:19.910same mods time and again but the variety

00:02:21.680of races themselves make up for it of

00:02:24.380course you can just Jack about a car one

00:02:26.600of the best things about Most Wanted is

00:02:28.250that most of its 41 cars are available

00:02:30.530to drive right from the start from the

00:02:32.180mundane Lancia Delta to the highly

00:02:34.250desirable Aston Martin v12 Vantage you

00:02:36.920just have to find them each car has five

00:02:39.140races of varying difficulty open to it

00:02:41.330and they're fairly vary to from

00:02:43.010straightforward circuit races to speed

00:02:45.020runs which require you to maintain a

00:02:46.910ludicrously high average speed while

00:02:49.250avoiding traffic most races are

00:02:51.470complicated by the presence of fair

00:02:53.030havens cops they'll do everything they

00:02:54.830can to stop the race by ramming you off

00:02:56.630the road dropping spike strips in your

00:02:58.550path

00:02:59.069blocking the entire intersections but

00:03:00.900over time you'll come to know not only

00:03:02.340the streets of Fair Haven but also its

00:03:04.500back alleys a big part the fun is

00:03:06.390antagonizing and losing the boys in blue

00:03:08.340whether that's by venturing into one of

00:03:10.230the city's many restricted areas or

00:03:12.060patiently hiding in the shadows like

00:03:13.890Ryan Gosling and drive once you've

00:03:16.470acquired a respectable amount speed

00:03:18.120points you'll be able to take on the

00:03:19.680city's most notorious racers one by one

00:03:21.870ten races stand between you and your

00:03:23.700ultimate goal of becoming fair havens

00:03:25.530Most Wanted these races drive the most

00:03:27.540desirable cars in the game from concept

00:03:29.579designs to the absurdly fast bugatti

00:03:31.530veyron and if you can beat them you can

00:03:33.480take their wheels the kind of like boss

00:03:35.400battles periodically testing your skills

00:03:37.500gameplay is really accessible and the

00:03:39.689cars handling is wonderfully unrealistic

00:03:41.700once you have mastered drifting around

00:03:43.439corners and how to use nitrous

00:03:45.060effectively will find yourself

00:03:46.470competitive in most races it's

00:03:48.269incredibly fast and frantic you'll crash

00:03:50.819and jostle with other racers frequently

00:03:52.829engineering the misfortune of those

00:03:54.510around you you'll discover shortcuts on

00:03:56.700the fly that help you take the lead and

00:03:58.470when it all comes together as it

00:04:00.120frequently does it's genuinely exciting

00:04:02.639although easy drive theoretically lets

00:04:04.590you mod your car on the fly when

00:04:06.329traveling at such high speed it's really

00:04:08.519not all that practical if you know an

00:04:10.260off-road section is coming up switching

00:04:11.819tires just isn't worth the risk of

00:04:13.560crashing into a wall it's also a shame

00:04:15.599that some cars are restricted to certain

00:04:17.099races but these are minor gripes that

00:04:19.229don't take the sheen away from what is

00:04:21.060an otherwise perfectly polished game in

00:04:23.669multiplayer

00:04:24.630Fairhaven will be populated by your

00:04:26.370friends you can choose to drive together

00:04:28.169or take part and setlist which combined

00:04:30.150events in different ways from team races

00:04:32.490to seeing who can make the biggest jump

00:04:34.260it's all underpinned by the games same

00:04:36.120free-flowing nature but even if

00:04:38.070multiplayer isn't your thing you'll

00:04:39.659constantly be compared with your friends

00:04:41.580to see who is currently the most wanted

00:04:43.110you'll be judged on so many different

00:04:44.729aspects it's all done subtly and

00:04:46.680effectively and is a really smart and

00:04:48.840obtrusive way of introducing competition

00:04:50.580into the very landscape around you

00:05:01.430neva Speed Most Wanted is a game that

00:05:03.720craves speed and rewards aggression and

00:05:06.000risk-taking equally it has a healthy

00:05:08.310disregard for reality and the laws of

00:05:10.080physics you'll jump improbable distances

00:05:12.660drift around corners with shredded tires

00:05:14.460and drive away from the most spectacular

00:05:16.170crashes unharmed but the execution of

00:05:19.020masked wonder is so so good you'll find

00:05:22.110quality in almost every aspect the

00:05:24.480visuals gameplay the world design it all

00:05:27.540combines to make Maus wanted one of this

00:05:29.610year's most exhilarating experiences for

00:05:32.340the laces on Need for Speed Most Wanted

00:05:34.110keep it locked on IGN