User Reviews (1 - 11 of 36)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Theres a Bounty Out!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: November 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The Black Edition contains some commentary by the performers, some trailers they used for actual promotion of the game, screen shots of all the Cars Body Kits and some other stuff. The Black Edition also has 2 extra Cars and some extra tracks. They did a good job with this game. One word I can use to describe it is RAW just like racing should be! The physics of the game is great. It reminds kind of how Gran Turismo 1 was. The Physics is excellent and simple flat out racing without being padded. Good sounds and feel of the game with the control especially with vibration on. A ton of great features. EA keep up the Good Work! Peace.

Best Need For Speed since Porsche Unleashed

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: January 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Intro:
I have played all of the games in the Need For Speed franchise and other than my personal favorite (Porsche Unleashed) Most Wanted is the overall best.

Story:
The game starts out with a pretty engaging intro followed by some horrible acting in the story scenes. The story itself though is fairly good, although somewhat cheesy, and makes you want to see the career mode through to competition. Another good thing about the story is that is makes the career a somewhat uniform length as both novice and expert racing gamers need to progress through the easily accomplishable tasks.

Game Play:
The driving experience (i.e. physics modle, steering responsiveness, etc.) was decent but fine. The steering was very forgiving and spins/skids were really strange in behavior. The responsiveness is much better than in Underground 2 and there is less need for hand break which is a good thing. The hand break puts the car into one of the poorly modeled spins, which can't be corrected by counter steering and applying throttle.
The race mode is O.K. but the AI is pretty weak in the early levels. The different kinds of racing add interest and can be very fun. The racing would by painfully easy if the courses didn't keep changing. Well, they aren't really courses but more routes through the free roam world (I'll get to that later). To make sure you're ready for any sharp turns you need to remain alert while racing and I think that add a ton to the game.
The free roam world is one of the major pluses to this game. It is fun for races because you don't have to load menus if you drive around to find a race. Also it is cool because it adds believability to the story but the number one awesome part of free roam mode is the cop chases.
The Police chases in Need for Speed Most Wanted are incredible. A huge gain over NFS Hot Pursuit is that Hot Pursuit had one-dimensional chases that were pretty tame. Most Wanted has a full go anywhere world that for a first-of-it-kind is unbelievable. If a cop sees you on the streets they will instantly give chase. If you haven't been in a chase before the cop cars will start out as the standard black and white. As you cause the police more problems your cars heat will rise until you have roadblocks all over the place, police helicopters hovering over you, and police undercover Corvettes hunting you. The free roam world makes the pursuits 100 times better. Most Wanted and Hot Pursuit are like an 8-inch black and white TV and the OMNI Max dome. I would buy this game just for the chases.

Cars:
The cars selection was good and I like the choices that were given. The visual options were impressive in terms of upgrades but performance ones were lacking. When buying cars they show top speed, acceleration and handling on little bars. Now I think that is LAMO, I mean I don't care about bars, SHOW ME HORSEPOWER, 0-60, Quarter mile times... something. It seems that EA is giving info to the very novice gamer, couldn't they do both? Anyway, it seems a pretty minor problem in a great game.

Graphics:
The graphics for this game are exceptional. The cars especially, they have great textures and light mapping.

Conclusion:
This is a great game to buy.

Story: A-
Realism: B
Races: B+
Handling: A-
World: A+
Chases: A+
Cars: A
Car Opts: B-
Graphics: A
Sound: A

Overall: A

The fact on Black

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: May 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Ive read all the reviews and wonder where the info is coming from. Fact: There is free roaming in this game just like in Need for Speed Underground, though the roaming isnt required to get to races. Its still nice to drive around though. Fact: this "rubberband" AI catchup thing, can be TURNED OFF! Its in the options. The game pretty much is a mirror of Underground, maybe with better graphics, certainly more interactive traffic. The AI cops are smart, and use shortcuts to catch up. They even attempt to slow you down using objects or other cars. Biggest change, is the loss of Drag and drift races, thank god. You have sprints, circuits, tollbooth(time trial) and knock out... last place car gets knocked off per lap. Outside career you have quick race and custom, where you pick location, traffic etc. There is also challenge mode. This is many small races with a reward at the end. The blacklist are a bunch of high profile racers you take down in order. To reach them you must win races and defy authorities. From what Ive seen you can do races over and over earning $$. Tuning, custom designs and such are all still in the game. Changing your cars paint, look etc is important, not for fame, but to avoid the cops. Cops, that come out of nowhere in the middle of races. You are also allowed to listen to the police frequency, which at times is quite funny. All in all, this game is better than Underground and if you are new to the series, this is the one to pick up.

NFS continues the ongoing evolution of video game racing with a fresh and original series. Most Wanted.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: January 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Comparisons to previous versions of NFS: First off, I would like to say that this game should not be compared to the underground series. It is in fact, a new take on NFS; a series that has not been done prior to this. Most wanted is in it's own right an original series. Yes, certainly there are elements from Underground and Pursuit but this game essentially has a different and refreshing feel to it. One that is warmly welcomed. One that I think will be widely adopted and accepted. Do note, Most Wanted is not a sequel to NFS Underground 2. A new version of the underground series will hopefully make it's way into our lives in the near future. But for now, we have the beginning of a great series with Most Wanted. A series that combines the street scene of NFS Underground with the hysterical thrills of NFS Hot Pursuit all mended and meshed into one of the genre's greatest conquest. A game not for the timid, a game that will have you mesmerized from the BMW M3 intro.

Customizations: The customizations in this game are not on par with underground nor is there really any need for it. It makes sense to keep the mods and customizations in this game on a simpler level than Underground. Over-complicating it with overdone visuals, performance, and parts tweaks would be too overwhelming. And at times, I must admit Underground suffered from this. By keeping it simple, often times you will find this simpler method better suited for gameplay and car design. And trust me, there are plenty of customizations to tickle your fancy or rice out your ride. There are a few things in the customizations department that this game suffers from, namely not enough vinyls to choose from and you can only apply one layer. I would also like to see a "customs" section where you can import jpg or gif pictures into the game to make your own original vinyl. I think this would topple the endless possibility factor. The car models have been much approved and the body kits offered up for each of 32 cars will throw you through a loop. They are spectacular to say the least. So much so that they will spoil and sour your eye to their "stock" counterparts; you will never want to go back.

Plus: Simple and easy to use interfaces to "trick" out one's ride to get your car back in the game without endless time lost on customization and tweaking. Decent level of unlockeable upgrades to choose from. Stock, Race, Pro, Super Pro..all with
appropriate variations of brand name aftermarket parts. Toyo, Momo, Apex, NOS, Konig, Brembo, Bilstein, HKS to only name a few of their nearly endless collection. Almost every major aftermarket brand is listed.

Cons: Cannot apply multiple layers of Vinyl. The vinyl selection seems a bit un-inspired and there is simply not enough of it. They should have taken vinyls from the vast selection that NFSU2 offered. Those who are into tweaking engine specs, shift throws, suspension, nitrous duration and the like will not find any of that here. There is no performance tweaking, just upgrades.

Gameplay: The gameplay is much more fluid than Underground and a tad-bit more arcade and a tad-bit less technical which comes off as a nice relief from the tires of frustration that where burned throughout my Underground experiences. Most Wanted throws police chases into the mix which was that shadowy gap that seemed unfilled by underground. In the world of such underground mischief, you are bound to run into the law. This never came about with the Underground series and who knows why. With most wanted, police encounters add a lot of new flavor and adrenaline-filled excitement through challenging chases. Ramming into cop cars, avoiding or charging through blockades, setting off a "pursuit-breaker", hiding in desolate areas to lose heat, and trading paint with a chasing flasher all adds to an excitement of Most Wanted.

Traffic Reduction snatches golden ticket: The traffic during races has been signficantly reduced from previous versions of NFS, namely the Underground series, to make for seamless gameplay without boiling frustration and interruption. This focuses the success of each race more towards speed, acceleration, punching nitrous into the engine's blood-stream, taking on bends, tackling corners and competing with foes. This re-emphasis has left the random traffic accident factor that cursed and blistered endless frustration in the Underground series behind. Thank God. The focus of skill goes more towards mastering the course rather than to dodging traffic. There is still that element of dodging traffic but it is a lot more balanced and fitting, instead of just being annoying, dangerously frustrating and random. Unfortunately NFS has still decided to plague their titles by placing traffic in their drag events. Since when do drag events include variations of traffic. Even real street drag events are wise enough to have the road blocked off. Putting traffic in drag events is like putting oregano on your cereal, there is no place for it. Drag events should solely concentrate their efforts on four things: performance of the car, good shifts, warding off your competition and punching the nitrous. That's it.

Drag events: Very fluid and rapid. Shift throws are down-right
flawless.

Pros: Timely and rapid shift throws, NOS and great jab to the right or left handling. Some of the traffic does add to the exitement.

Cons: Damn traffic and random object placement make for weird, unexplicable collisions. Dangerously frustrating, watch your blood pressure gauge. Don't won't to blow your body's transmission.

List of cars: Lexus IS 300, Chevy Cobalt SS, Fiat Punto, VW Golf GTI, Audi TT 3.2 Quattro, Audi A3 3.2 Quattro, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Audi A4 FSI 3.2 Quattro, Toyota Supra, Renault Clio V6, Mazda RX-8, Cadillac CTS, Mustang GT, Lancer Evo VIII, Mercedez SL 500, Pontiac GTO, Vauxhall Monaro VXR, Porsche Cayman S, Subaru WRX STI, Mazda RX-7, Mercedez CLK 500, Lotus Elise, Ashton Martin DB9, Porsche 911 Carrera S, Dodge Viper SRT-10, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911 Turbo S, Chevy Corvette C6, Lamborghini Murcielago, Ford GT, Mercedez SLR McLaren, Porsche Carrera GT. With ofcourse a few hidden unlockeables not listed here and the signature BMW M3.

Pros: Great selection of cars and Most Wanted seems to pick a nice diversity of the right cars that most auto-fanatics will appreciate.

Cons: Well, there is always going to be a few cars that you would have like to see. More Bimmers would be nice. No roadsters, where is the Miata, S2000, BMW Roadster? No classics or old muscle cars. More project cars and more sport compact cars would have been nice.

Environment: Where does EA get all the time?? Every niche and cranny of this massive world is superbly well thought-out, drawn and laid out. Probably, bar-none, the best ever done in a racing game. I have yet to see anything compete at this level. I am not just talking about well-done textures and surface areas, although the game is well-equipped in those areas too. I'm talking about the incredible architectural renderings that went into every building, structure, and landmark. And I'm also talking about the vastness, massiveness and depth of this fantasy world that EA has created. The landscapes are vivid and awe-inspired from actual north-eastern depictions. The new england-esque style buildings, trees, landscapes, foliage, rivers, streams, hills, theme parks, bays, boardwalks, houses, landmarks and remnants are all remarkably captured and sometimes take on their own fantastical intrigue and uniqueness. They are truly breath-taking and seamlessly massive. The road textures are probably the best I have ever seen. The foliage remains, bumps, gravel, imperfections and all come off their reflective road surface in true dimension. These layered textures do depend on what level of quality in the video settings you have set. They are not a terrible loss if you do not have the high-end video card to warrant such high detail. One could literally spend hours upon hours just simply exploring this massive world. Some truly remarkable encounters include but are certainly not limited to going off road into a golf course, wreaking maniacal dusty havoc in a camp park, evading the police through the college baseball field, soaring through caves of wonderment, skating dangerously through industrial areas, and taking out benches on the boardwalk.

Speed: The speed factor in this game is unbelievable. Right off the bat, the speed you can accomplish just using the beginner level cars will amaze you. You wonder to yourself what the cars higher up in the chain must feel like. Unlike other games of this graphical caliber, like Forza or others which seem to take a hit with the speed factor to sustain such graphical mastermind, Most wanted somehow manages both graphical intrigue and arcade-esque speed. Catering to both worlds with almost uncanny execution. Often times, when in free-roam mode, you will find yourself slowing down to catch a glance at your beautiful surroundings which are highly in depth and will captivate you around every bend.

Handling: The handling in this game is up to par with the speed. Which initially surprises you when
you are blazing past blurred surroundings at speeds well over 100 MPH. AT this point you are thinking to yourself how can any reasonable control come out of such speeds? Dodging traffic, switching lanes, avoiding the police, taking on bends at incredible speeds will all eventually become 2nd nature thanks to this game's control engine. This game is very well tuned in finding the ideal balance between speed and handling.

Graphics: Remarkable. Over the edge. Breathtaking. Car models, wire-frames, and surface textures are astonishingly realistic to their real life counterparts. Great effects range from smoking tires, exhaust fumes, dust trails, sparks, speed blurring, skid marks, shadows and reflections. Many varying levels of resolution and quality details to choose from to cater specifically to your computer's specifications. Highly compatible. Game-engine runs surprisingly smooth at resolutions and details that you may not have expected to get. Runs just as smooth or smoother than NFS Underground 2 at the same resolution and level of detail with of course graphics that make Underground 2 seem antique.

Sound: Appropriate soundtrack for a race game, does not get tiring like previous NFS releases. Well done. Remarkable resemblance for every type of car engine you encounter and every type of road surface that cross over. Game makes great use of surround sound and depicts a life-like experience.

Gameplay: Linear but seductive. Implements the right balance between challenging vs. fluidness and fun. Not overly frustrating like previous versions of NFS. Great story, good characters and gives plenty of reasons to drive progression. The right selection of cars, mods, tweaks and unlockable content all drive home it's endurance and replay value. Revamped graphics and control engine give new life to the NFS series with fluid and tireless gameplay. All well done.

Rating: 92 out of 100.

Review to be continued..

EA Finally Did It Right

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: January 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have to admit I have been disappointed with some of the past NFS games in the underground series specifically. I did not like how as you progressed in the game, they just added more laps to the same tracks. Most wanted is different: Although it all takes place in the same City, almost every race is different, and nothign really feels the same. When you go on milestone missions to increase your bounty, there are an inifinite number of possibilities to go through, so it continues to stay fun. The graphics in this game are really good. I am running it on a 2.6GHz P4, Ati 9800XT, and 512mb of ram, and it runs great. I rarely ever get a slow down at 1280x1024 and all advanced graphics options on high. The cars look beautiful and I am really impressed.

I was also surprised with how good the story in this game, the past couple NFS's have beeen a little flakey on the story, but this one is pretty good (I won't reveal anything about it though).

The online play is alright. I had some initial connection problems which I think was due to the fact that I did not register my game. To play online I beleive you have to do this. As soon as I did, it started working alright.

Overall it is a very fun game and I really enjoy it. I like how they combined the parts custimization of NFS Underground with the classic "Run from the cops" of Hot Pursuit.

It is definitely worth the money.

Best One Yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: March 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Need for Speed (NFS) Most Wanted is the hottest driving game yet. It compiles the best from NFS Underground 2 and NFS Hot Pursuit. The graphics, music and simulation are amazing. You can get around the police by dropping loads of lumber and cars from the 18-wheelers. You can blow up gas stations, drop water towers, and crumple the police communication towers. You can drop the screen from the drive-in cinema, and play a round of golf while evading the police. Want to rest? Why not park in the bus terminal or at college and watch the fun begin with the police cars! Beware of the Rhinos! They'll stop you in your tracks. Better have enough juice to evade the pursuit vettes! Unfortunately the drawback to this game is that you definitely need a kickin' computer to play. If you are a NFS fan, I highly recommend NFS Most Wanted. Can't wait to see what EA dreams up for their next installment.

Awesome Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I never played any of NFS games before; I was debating on whether to purchase 'Most Wanted' or 'Carbon', and I'm glad I chose this one. In this game, the storyline isn't so bad for a racing game. You have a substantial amount of cars to purchase and claim (utilizing the pinkslips). The map is huge with many cities to drive in. The most intensifying quality about this game is the fact that a number of law enforcement pursue you, and they become tougher to escape the longer they chase you, being engaged by racers to helicopters. I won't compare this game to 'Carbon' as I do not want to post negative reviews about the game nor do I want to type another paragraph, just know that 'Most Wanted' IMO was a whole lot more fun.

Good addition to the series

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Maintains the fun factor of the other games in this series. Adding the police element back into the game makes this more challenging and fun than Underground 2. The game map is diverse and interesting. The storyline for the career is somewhat lame. The challenger series is the most difficult part of the game and has kept me playing long after I was done with the career.

love runnin from the cops...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: January 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My only real complaint about this game is that I cannot stop playing it. It was real easy to learn the basics and using the garage and buying the parts areas had good directions. The gameplay starts ya off slow and builds and builds. It can be very intense later in the game while your in that 12th minute, running from the cops, trying to get the next level and your heart is pounding just hoping you can make it another 3 minutes. I am on my 3rd run up the ladder and I find new challenges every time. My new Radeon x1600 PRO graphics card makes the visuals even that much better. I was a little bummed by no drifting features as I got pretty good at that on "Underground". All in all "Most Wanted" is my favorite "Need for Speed" game yet. Porsche Unleashed is #2 and Underground #3. I have "Carbon" but have not been able to make it work yet. Huge lock-up issues. My suggestion, Buy it...you will like it. Rod

Great game... great visuals

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 6
Date: April 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

All I can say this game deserves 5 stars... great fun and excitement... amazing graphics and the content of the race game

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 Next 

Actions