Need for Speed: Most Wanted Review

Vehicles

Of course, who cares about the map if the star of the show doesn’t deliver? Thankfully, the guide in Need for Speed: Most Wanted sets the bar for chaotic arcade racing. Cars look and feel perfect, each vehicle has its own unique handling and acceleration to set it apart from the rest.

Plus, the Jack Spot system seamlessly integrates into the world to make new car acquisition look fresh. Drivable cars are scattered around the map and simply by finding their parking space and driving beside them you can switch to the new car, unlocking it for customization. Stumbling into a pristine Lamborghini and taking it for a spin made me laugh like a schoolgirl, tapping into that childlike joy of finding a shiny new toy.

Unfortunately, one of the problems I ran into came in the form of car DLC. Even if the player does not own the DLC, purchasable cars appear in the open world just like regular cars, and attempting to enter one will require opening the game’s online store. My arousal went from sixty to zero every time I found a nice new carousel only to find I couldn’t play with it. However, a rich cornucopia of cars in the base game ensures that every driver finds the perfect fit.

Missions

The missions in Need for Speed: Most Wanted come from the EasyDrive game menu system. At any time while driving, pressing the directional button will bring up the EasyDrive menu with racing, car customization and other options.

This serves as the primary navigator and the way to access missions, although trying to use the menu while driving has me crashed several times. It’s the closest thing to texting and driving in a game, so perhaps a simple pause menu might have been enough.

Each car has its own set of races scattered across the map, with each race assigning a part of the car to be used in customization. While upgrading your car is rewarding, this progression system discourages players from using new cars without upgraded features.

It would have been nice if the boost was at least standard by default instead of having to be unlocked on every single vehicle, as picking up a new car feels painfully slow without a boost, souring what should be a big time.

Completing missions also awards SpeedPoints, points that rank the top 10 drivers on a “Most Wanted” list. Once the player passes a name on the list, they can take on that car in a head-to-head race with the police in pursuit. Defeating that car and taking it down adds it to your collection and takes a name off the list on your path to the top spot.