NEED FOR SPEED: MOST WANTED (X360)
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Publisher: EA.
Developer: Criterion. Released: November 2012 (Europe). Genre: Racing. Other versions: PS3; PC; PSV. Posted 19th July 2013. By Shane Battams © 2013 |
Criterion Games have always been known for high-octane driving and exciting destruction, proving their status as a top-tier racing developer with the Burnout series. When they began working with the Need for Speed series, gearheads became ecstatic, and this proved well-deserved when a rebooted Hot Pursuit debuted in 2010 to critical praise. Now, Criterion is rebooting another popular instalment with Most Wanted. Being the 19th edition in this series, one would hope Criterion would push the envelope, but though multiplayer is often engaging and fun, the single-player feels lacklustre and clinical.
While the original Most Wanted weaved an absurd tale of 10 outlandish racers who you had to take out to become the best, this one forgoes any kind of story. You’re simply given a list of 10 cars, deemed the ‘Most Wanted’, and told to take them out. To accomplish this, you must earn a requisite number of Speed Points by playing a variety of events, including standard sprint events, speed challenges and police pursuits. Once you earn enough points, you can take on the next opponent on the list, and after beating them, performing a takedown will earn you their car. The game lacks motivation for progression, and the repetitive structure can consequently become dull. Most Wanted is also brisk, as you can blow through the list in less than ten hours, while finishing off the events and collectibles could push it closer to – though not above – the twenty hour mark.
RR Mom's method of avoiding traffic on the school-run is a bit dangerous
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In real life, billboards, like fences, suggest you should slow down a bit
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The actual racing is fun, but at this point, the series has become engulfed in the tropes of Burnout. There’s a good range of vehicles, all of which handle really well, from dirt-friendly SUVs to exotic Lamborghinis. Each vehicle brings with it several individual events along with an assortment of general races, totalling 61 unique events in all. Criterion smartly forces you to test out new vehicles through this, and completing events rewards you with more SP and vehicle upgrades. These wrinkles aside, it feels familiar to Criterion’s homegrown franchise, often imitating but never improving on mechanics of Burnout. Rounding out the package are hundreds of collectibles, such as billboards and security gates. Jack spots are also available, allowing you to warp around the world once you discover them. The collectibles aren’t particularly interesting, though you earn SP for finding them at least.
Police Pursuits return, and are superb. Several events focus on pursuits, and you can start one yourself during free-roam. There’s a feeling of excitement to the proceedings, as a risk-reward factor comes into play. Destroying police vehicles earns you speed points – but only if you can complete the pursuit. Obviously, destroying cars will increase your heat level, and in the upper heat levels, escaping becomes significantly harder. Though utilising gas stations to change the colour of your car can help when in cool-down, you may have to use it multiple times as it only removes one heat level. The stakes become incredibly high, as thousands of speed points could be lost with a split-second mistake. This element of gambling really heightens the excitement of police chases, and this is by far the most fun part of playing solo.
Though racing solo is dull, even just having an internet connection opens the game up considerably. Competition is deeply embedded into Most Wanted’s solo play, through the neat Autolog system. After races or smashing billboards, friend’s times pop up, and just to add icing to the cake, the highest air time amongst your friends puts the gamer-picture of said person on the billboard until it is beaten. The Autolog also helps organise races, car customisation, Most Wanted events and other features into one cohesive whole. Actual competitive racing is insanely fun too, with a wealth of race types ranging from team races to specific challenges such as jumps and drifts. The switch between solo and multiplayer is seamless, with no load times. Speedlists allow you to craft your own series of races, or you can just roam around the entirety of the map. It’s a lot of fun, and far more energetic than the often sterile single-player.
Police Pursuits return, and are superb. Several events focus on pursuits, and you can start one yourself during free-roam. There’s a feeling of excitement to the proceedings, as a risk-reward factor comes into play. Destroying police vehicles earns you speed points – but only if you can complete the pursuit. Obviously, destroying cars will increase your heat level, and in the upper heat levels, escaping becomes significantly harder. Though utilising gas stations to change the colour of your car can help when in cool-down, you may have to use it multiple times as it only removes one heat level. The stakes become incredibly high, as thousands of speed points could be lost with a split-second mistake. This element of gambling really heightens the excitement of police chases, and this is by far the most fun part of playing solo.
Though racing solo is dull, even just having an internet connection opens the game up considerably. Competition is deeply embedded into Most Wanted’s solo play, through the neat Autolog system. After races or smashing billboards, friend’s times pop up, and just to add icing to the cake, the highest air time amongst your friends puts the gamer-picture of said person on the billboard until it is beaten. The Autolog also helps organise races, car customisation, Most Wanted events and other features into one cohesive whole. Actual competitive racing is insanely fun too, with a wealth of race types ranging from team races to specific challenges such as jumps and drifts. The switch between solo and multiplayer is seamless, with no load times. Speedlists allow you to craft your own series of races, or you can just roam around the entirety of the map. It’s a lot of fun, and far more energetic than the often sterile single-player.
Shelby: no street racer can claim to be a street racer without one
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Just gotta hope these trucks have good airbags, I guess
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Criterion brings their sense of style to proceedings, as well as high-tech visuals. The standout moments come from extremely abstract cut-scenes before each race, which sometimes border on bizarre. Cars form from small molecules, and before police chases gamers are treated to a sequence involving floating cars among other weird scenarios. During the actual racing, the game looks really great. Vehicle models are detailed and the damage modelling is sweet. The environments are pretty, all things considered, though there’s occasionally rough texturing in some locations. The dingy colours are a bit of an eye-sore, but it’s still pretty. The sound is solid, with a varied and fitting soundtrack and good vehicle sounds, as well as satisfying crunches from collisions.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted satisfies the quota, but never pushes beyond it. The racing is solid and exciting, which makes it all the more saddening that the single-player is just so sterile. It’s not that racing games need absurd stories to stand out, but the solo racing just lacks a distinct personality, often mimicking its Burnout cousin without utilising an interesting structure to keep you motivated. It all changes when you hop online though, with exciting multiplayer which cleverly borrows many components from single-player and offers social gaming or competitive racing, depending on your preference. The thing is, when games like Forza Horizon, Blur – and even to a degree, Hot Pursuit – offer equally good single-player and multiplayer, Most Wanted pales in comparison.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted satisfies the quota, but never pushes beyond it. The racing is solid and exciting, which makes it all the more saddening that the single-player is just so sterile. It’s not that racing games need absurd stories to stand out, but the solo racing just lacks a distinct personality, often mimicking its Burnout cousin without utilising an interesting structure to keep you motivated. It all changes when you hop online though, with exciting multiplayer which cleverly borrows many components from single-player and offers social gaming or competitive racing, depending on your preference. The thing is, when games like Forza Horizon, Blur – and even to a degree, Hot Pursuit – offer equally good single-player and multiplayer, Most Wanted pales in comparison.
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VERDICT
Visual: 8/10
Audio: 7/10 Gameplay: 6/10 Longevity: 6/10 OVERALL: 6/10 |
PIXEL SECONDS: NEED FOR SPEED: MOST WANTED (PS3)
On paper, Most Wanted couldn’t go far wrong. It’s got all the glitzy supercars, breakneck speeds and robust gameplay mechanics fans have come to demand of the series, yet in the final reckoning, it’s too clinical for its own good. A sandbox racer with no main campaign, MW struggles to remain consistently engaging, as there’s little sense of organised progression and rewards for success are surprisingly negligible. Thus it’s tricky to find long-term motivation in seeking out single races, many of which require a lengthy drive just to instigate them. Whilst its predecessor The Run generated endless variety through its broad range of road surfaces and locations, Fairhaven proves to be another identikit of Burnout Paradise that quickly loses its allure, even if its basic realisation is of a good standard. It looks the business, whilst slides and nitrous in particular are satisfying to employ, with the risk ‘n’ reward gameplay making for edge-of-the-seat racing that’s not without its frustrations. The game wins points for a nice upgrade system which rewards various driving milestones, whilst its high difficulty level will undoubtedly endear it to speed freaks, even if the elasticity of the A.I. in the head-to-head duels is so pronounced, it renders the first half of such races somewhat obsolete. Multiplayer is okay but prone to undesirable gaps between races, and it’s a suite that’s neither as enjoyable as Burnout Paradise’s nor as rewarding as The Run’s, and as both of these offer stronger single-player as well, they’re ultimately worthier alternatives. [6] – Tom Clare © 2015
On paper, Most Wanted couldn’t go far wrong. It’s got all the glitzy supercars, breakneck speeds and robust gameplay mechanics fans have come to demand of the series, yet in the final reckoning, it’s too clinical for its own good. A sandbox racer with no main campaign, MW struggles to remain consistently engaging, as there’s little sense of organised progression and rewards for success are surprisingly negligible. Thus it’s tricky to find long-term motivation in seeking out single races, many of which require a lengthy drive just to instigate them. Whilst its predecessor The Run generated endless variety through its broad range of road surfaces and locations, Fairhaven proves to be another identikit of Burnout Paradise that quickly loses its allure, even if its basic realisation is of a good standard. It looks the business, whilst slides and nitrous in particular are satisfying to employ, with the risk ‘n’ reward gameplay making for edge-of-the-seat racing that’s not without its frustrations. The game wins points for a nice upgrade system which rewards various driving milestones, whilst its high difficulty level will undoubtedly endear it to speed freaks, even if the elasticity of the A.I. in the head-to-head duels is so pronounced, it renders the first half of such races somewhat obsolete. Multiplayer is okay but prone to undesirable gaps between races, and it’s a suite that’s neither as enjoyable as Burnout Paradise’s nor as rewarding as The Run’s, and as both of these offer stronger single-player as well, they’re ultimately worthier alternatives. [6] – Tom Clare © 2015