Need for Speed: Most Wanted - A Criterion Game PC
User Score
4.4 out of 10

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 469 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 146 out of 469
  2. Mixed: 63 out of 469
  3. Negative: 260 out of 469

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  1. Raf_rus
    Nov 1, 2012
    10
    This is awesome!!! the best arcade racing ever... i know it is not before Most Wanted, but it is best multiplayer race.... Thank's Criterion for this game.. P.S Good reviews would be more if the game is not called Most WAnted
  2. RiZ
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    Awesome! Well done Criterion! They know how to make a games! Dynamic gameplay, beautiful graphics on DX11, realistic sounds, realistic and intresting physical model. Many races, funny and playful multiplayer. I hope Criterion don't forget about DLC on PC.
  3. PrinceShpil
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    A great game. Criterion holds a trademark. A fascinating and dynamic gameplay, good physics and beautiful graphics. The multiplayer is very difficult to break away. Keep it up!
  4. Arbis
    Nov 1, 2012
    10
    Great game! Thank you Criterion! I really like it! Nostalgia for the old NFS games (HP, HS, PU). Cars looks like a real, physics too, damages - best in NFS series, great present-day soundtrack. Exciting singlplayer. Multiplayer is hot! Last game where it was so much fun - Hot Pursuit 2010. The game just like those who played NFS before 2002. This is real NFS - supercars, cops, beauty graphics, new technologies - just like old times :)
    Thanks!    … Expand
  5. DD281990
    Nov 2, 2012
    10
    Fellas if u lyk burnount paradise thn u definitely lyk this one.if u want realistic handling and performance go for nfs shift ,even hot pursuit did'n gave u that . graphics r good , game-play same as burnout,map is small at screen but when i play i find new places every time . free to roam everywhere . for me it's better game than hot pursuit n lil bit of burnout . u can't hold up on stories every time . multiplayer is just fantastic no other racing game can beat that .… Expand
  6. ericnpc
    Nov 7, 2012
    10
    I really don't understand how anybody could hate this game. Yes, it's obvious that it's a port. But, is that a big issue? I mean, in my computer (which is quite old) it's fast as hell. The graphics are super optimized and the gameplay deserves an award. The HUI is perfect, the car selection is awesome, the soundtrack is so various and excellent. One of the top NFS games for me. It has that arcade and fun touch that was necessary! I Just love it.… Expand
  7. RiverMonster
    Dec 27, 2012
    10
    Fantastic game, all framerate issues have been resolved by the patches. It's pure EA/Criterion goodness!

    Think Burnout Paradise meets NFS Hot Pursuit--it's a BLAST! As with all Criterion games they design with fun first--so folks looking for a tedious overly technical simulator aren't going to be happy.

    The rest of us who enjoy life and love a great arcade racer are going to have AN     AMAZING TIME! Can't recommend it enough!

    Do get yourself an XBox 360 controller for Windows though--then again if you're a PC gamer these days you should already have one. :) Cheers and see you guys on the streets!    … Expand
  8. 2Eric
    Jan 31, 2013
    10
    This game is awesome I loved the open world setting its like burnout paradise but with real high end sports cars and awesome graphics. If you have a high end pc this game definitely will show it off everything from the awesome weather effects to super detailed cars to effects like smoke coming out of sewer holes and waves splashing up against the shore all come together to make a very realistic experience. I love to hop in a Bugatti and just go driving then taunt a cop and then smoke him. It is cool to get on the high way and just open it up. Add all of the features from street racing to car mods and this makes for one cool driving experience.… Expand
  9. Stefarooh
    Nov 10, 2012
    9
    With all these whingers and whiners on this board proclaiming this to be the worst NFS tile yet you have to ask yourself did they even bother giving the game a chance before hopping on the flaming bandwagon. To say this is worse than NFS Undercover is a HUGE joke. Seriously??? In this day and age where every one is a throw away critic how can you possibly take anyone seriously after reading through the 0's and 1's and the extreme 10's. People if you are going to do a review remember to judge a game on the sum of its parts, to be objective and to leave emotion by the door. Its getting slightly ridiculous of late with the Jabber-wokkies jumping up and down handing out 0's and 1's because they never got what they wanted and on the other side those nut-jobs who proclaim certain games to be the best thing "EVA" after spending the total sum of no more than a 1-2 hrs with the game. Three of the years biggest titles (Diablo 3, Mass Effect 3 and now Need for Speed: Most Wanted) all suffered the same fate and none of them were bad by any standard, all being highly polished affairs and standing out amongst their respective genre peers. However, I am sensing I am starting to bring my own emotions into this review, so let me stop right there before I become a caricature of what I am protesting against.

    As for the game, I do agree the game is not optimized very well for the PC but it certainly does not make it unplayable and this is not the very worst port ever (sorry that goes to Dark Souls). In fact the developers have given PC gamers the stock standard options to mess about with when some don't even try and have provided a high definition texture pack. Is this what is considered bad now days? Man oh man how quick we seem to have forgotten the PC port of the excellent Resident Evil 4. With regards to the engine optimization, for those who bothered to fiddle around with the .ini file would have seen 30FPS=false line right at the top of their file and that by simply locking the game to 30FPS (I agree not ideal but hardly earth shattering in a game of this nature as the game still plays fast and furious) most of your stutters and FPS drops would have disappeared. Don't be afraid to experiment a bit after making a copy of the original as this has always been the joy of PC gaming and to see so many not even bother is saddening. Perhaps its because I am an old time gamer and in those good old days a lot of fidgeting and fiddling needed to take place inside those config files in order to get the desired result. Currently I run the game on a GT70 i7-3610QM with a GTX675M GPU and 16GB RAM with the frame rate lock and everything on HIGH and it plays fluidly and beautifully. Whilst I agree some of the more aging hardware out there may require you to fiddle around a bit more with the settings. Just off the bat the game is going to need some serious upper mid-level to high end tech if you are hoping to reach the 60FPS when the patch that address the engine optimizations is released (if its released at all).

    As for the handling, it took me some time to master and at first I simply hated it but a little time and patience was all I needed before I began to get the hang of it and the further you progress the more mods you unlock for your car which in turn makes the cars handle way much better than those first few frustrating hours. Personally I preferred The Runs handling but the game is certainly not unplayable as some have proclaimed. The graphics, for my humble eyes, are a scorcher and the game is simply stunning to look at on a high definition TV with the high definition pack enabled. Particle effects such as falling debris, smoke and the clash of metal on metal as sparks fly as is the reflections of the city on the bonnet and boot of your car as you whizz on by are also accurately portrayed and add to the height-end sense of Michael Bay reality that accompanies these arcade racers of the modern era. I have enjoyed this game on a graphical level immensely.

    Game-play is a lot like if Hot Pursuit and Burnout Paradise got together and had a bastard child. Initially I was not so sure how I was going to enjoy this but after having spent a good 30hrs with the game before commencing with this review in the end I feel the developers made the right choices. I did not mind the mechanics of having to search for new your wheels rather then getting them dished out to you as your skill level increased. I thought this was quite refreshing and a modern take giving everyone access to the more powerful vehicles off the bat instead of having to put in some serious time to earn them. But again this is hardly something that would warrant a 0 or a 1 for a score and is simply subjective. All in all NFS:MW 2012 is the most fun I have had with an arcade racer this generation, edging out Hot Pursuit and the original NFS:MW from 2005. I can see many hours should lost to this and the awesome muliplayer. Well done Criterion!    … Expand
  10. playbogdi5
    Oct 31, 2012
    9
    As I suspected many flame about this game because it's not like the original, the handling of a car is rubbish and so many other I-lost-a-race-the-game-sucks reasons. In my opinion the game is actually great. yes the single player lacks a story but so did Hot Pursuit. Visually the game is far superior over The Run and it doesn't use EA's performance-guzzling Frostbite 2 which I admit i hate it with a passion even though the visuals are superb. Even at the lowest settings the game looks great. I also love the fact that you have to find the cars so you can use them, not like in Hot Pursuit where you just unlocked them when reaching certain bounty. It adds a whole different challenge to get the best cars. To settle the naming dispute I consider Most Wanted as a homage to the original, NOT A SEQUEL. The range of cars is great although i expected a wee bit more for the selection. I mean... only one Nissan? Only two BMW or Audi? Shame.... wanted a wider selection. Another thing I didn't like about Most Wanted is the shortness of the Singleplayer, I wanted it to last a bit more. Still these aren't such big flaws. The game might not be perfect, but it's deffinetly better than the predecesor, I mean The Run. I can say I'm pleased with what came out.… Expand
  11. mkkillah
    Nov 9, 2012
    9
    GOOD: -graphics. -map. -multiplayer. -sound of engine is satisfying (try Lamborghini gallardo :O+high volume). -sound reverberation really nice -lots of cars. -GPS works really well. -ramming and fleeing the cops is really enjoyable -5.1/7.1 sound support.............. BAD: -crash cam (beginning). -cars are easy to unlock. -under 40 fps handling is strange and unnatural (read above: WARNING). -there is not a BIG difference in handling.............. NOT SURE: -soundtrack (everyone that says it sucks isn't being objective you can only really say that once you know all the songs by heart and put a lot of hours in the game). -maybe performance BUT it is Frostbite 2 engine (like BF3) so it should be hard on your pc. -I think it would've been nicer to have a tougher woman's voice in-game but this is personal preference. -handling feel is really bad under 40-50fps make SURE you run on 40-50fps at least… Expand
  12. vault2049
    Oct 31, 2012
    9
    People don't seem to realize who developed this game. It clearly states it on the title: A Criterion Game. If people want to play a NFS with story go play The Run, this is just typical Criterion material, and a very good entry at that. Graphics are awesome, plays well even on low-mid range PCs and it looks wonderful. As expected from Criterion, the damage impacts look real during and after the crashes. On the other hand, no AA option and (like it happened with Hot Pursuit), the weather effects seem to be missing as well. The weather effects should be added later on in a patch, like it happened with Hot Pursuit. The soundtrack it's VERY impressive; tunes are perfect for racing everywhere: Some pop, rock, techno, dance, etc. The cars handle differently from other Criterion games. The handling feels more difficult, heavier. but more challenging and realistic at the same time. The intros before the races are spectacular, very entertaining clips. The interface it's simple and (while it could have been more deep) it feels just right for the game as it is. There are no linear events here, just step into a car and complete specific-car races (every car has it's own set of racing events) and when you get bored just jump into another car. Finding these cars it's definitely rewarding and completing the milestones leaves a very nice feeling of satisfaction. Multiplayer it's a blast, Autolog really brings this game's potential to it's limit.

    This game it's super fun: crashing finding cars, earning milestones, and competing against friends. What this game does, it does extremely well. If people want to look further from that and criticize this game because it's completely different from the original Most Wanted, go ahead. You people are just missing one of the best and most entertaining racing games ever made.    … Expand
  13. marodalies
    Oct 31, 2012
    9
    Well, Game Is Good So Far, It has Many New Features , but Very bad Driving Not Realistic at all, But Multilayer is Great and also Being Able to Drive all Cars Whenever U Find Them, Good Idea , but Made The Game to Lose Career Mode Feature., Have also To Mention The Viewing Camera is Really In very bad Position. They Should Fix That in Updates to Come
  14. plk4
    Oct 31, 2012
    9
    The games is rather good, definitely exceeded my expectations. Some people say it like Burnout Paradise 2, but since when was that a bad thing? I mean really, amazing game-play that did not age a bit since the release in 2008. what i love the most about the game is freedom, just driving around the city not being forced to do that race to unlock car/boss/another race. The game really meets best of both worlds, and had really fell into my liking. The driving style is by no means realistic, its fun; no need to worry about any special steering wheels or anything as a pad will do just fine and even a keyboard on a bad day. The best part about the game is that anybody who played burnout and Most Wanted in the past can go through a tunnel and feel like its reminding of good old time in most wanted, but better in full blown multiplayer but even before that. Even at the beginning of the game you can feel that, Burnout and Nfs merge. Graphically the game is not the best, but it does not mean its ugly. It looks gorgeous, its not first class but the game works hard to defend itself; you can tell the designers had been concentrated on game-play not eye-candy, yet still making the game playable. So overall the game is good as a sandbox, perhaps not in TDU2 league but its pretty good, The game is really more target for multiplayer so i cannot agree with some of the reviews but that kinda made me do this one. Game-play is quite good although the police may be a bit annoying, in the end the game is really great and i would recommend everybody to play it.… Expand
  15. PopeRatzo
    Oct 31, 2012
    9
    When I started the game, I really didn't like the way the cars handled and thought it would be a big disappointment. As I've continued, now with 4 hours into the game, I'm getting really comfortable with the handling and the physics and I realize how the car customization changes the ways the cars feel on the road and perform.

    I really didn't want another NFS: the Run or Hot Pursuit.     I wanted another Burnout Paradise, and so far the game has absolutely delivered. I'm having a blast and the races and pursuits are breathtaking. If you're worried about the handling, level up your car or get a better vehicle. The physics will become more comfortable.

    This game is not a sim (than goodness!). It's a wild arcade racer with very life-like physics but enough of a break from reality to make it exhilarating fun.

    I'm really glad this game came along right now. I'm so tired of third person shooters and games that don't deliver the goods. This one delivers the goods. I would like to have seen some more detailed control adjustment, like sensitivity. The Autolog system is quite unique and effective. I enjoyed hundreds of hours of Burnout Paradise play. If Need for Speed: Most Wanted gets me half that much, it will have been well worth every penny. It is my opinion that I'll be enjoying this game a lot in the coming months.    … Expand
  16. Gman24
    Nov 3, 2012
    9
    Well, after a long time of not playing racing games (last one I played was actually the original "Most Wanted" title), I have to say I am impressed. This title is all about arcade racing action - every car feels different and controls different, giving them proper uniqueness and style. Graphics are amazing and the soundtrack is probably one of my favorites in a long time. Multi-player is also intelligently built into the game - to sum it up, one awesome arcade racing game!… Expand
  17. CrysisEnthusias
    Nov 3, 2012
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Guys, stop the hate. This is NOT the original most wanted, nor is it a sequel, it is a game of it's own, but with the same title as the old MW from 2005, so don't mix them up. This one has it's own touches and i like what they've done there. I like how they integrated as many cars as possible, and all of them handle very good. Although, they could have included manual transmission as well, so that's a 0.5 there. A story would also have been great, so that's another 0.5. Other than that, i find the game great. Billboards are everywhere and fun to smash and make all these jumps for, looking for your favorite car is indeed a pain but that's a nice challenge if you don't go looking online for it's location. Customization is ok but i didn't find it too bad, cause this is criterion as we know it, i would have gone for another 0.5 for it but there are not decimals in user scores here. Police chases are also good, some people are complaining about cooldown spots and destroyable stuff to slow the cops down, well, you could lure the cops in anyway, and not just by doing what we were used to in the original MW (i know it was fun), and cooldown spots are now these repair stations. Another thing i liked are the intros to the races, they are creative, and rather funny. Graphics are amazing, and for people saying it's a console port, it is definitely NOT. Get a decent graphics card and you will see how smoothly it runs at 60fps. And about the multiplayer side, i haven't tried that yet, but i'm sure it's as good as single player. All in all, it's an 8.5 from me, but it rounds up to 9 on the metacritic scale.… Expand
  18. RainerLCF
    Nov 4, 2012
    9
    Awesome game, Criterion does it again and bring us a very enjoyable, well built NSF game. Despite some performance issues (wich should be corrected with a patch asap), there aren't much things to complain here, there are lots of missions to do, good variety of cars to get, good AI and great multiplayer (autolog will soon become a standard in racing games). For those who are complaining, this games does NOT hold your hand, it leaves you to discover almost everything by yourself and to me, that's a good thing. While I somewhat agree with the complaining about the lack of more camera angles, I don't think it "kills" the game, as some want to make it seems.

    9/10, great game.    … Expand
  19. Bliss21
    Nov 7, 2012
    9
    I don't understand people complaining about the PC version of this game. It's one of the best PC versions of a game that also came out on console in my opinion (and I play a lot of different racing games).

    It runs very smooth 60fps on a GTX460 and Core i5 on medium settings (and some high) and looks great. Of course car handeling is very dependent on the type of car you driving and that     makes this game extra fun. Car handling is a bit different than regular NFS handling but if you get used to it works excellent. Presentation is also excellent and loading times are pretty fast compared to the last few NFS games. Autolog is great for challenging your 'friends' and multiplayer is a blast!. In my opinion Criterion did an excellent job in delivering this technical excellent open-world arcade racer and the 20+ hours in game time I already spent on it was definitely worth it. Only thing I agree with most of the negative comments is that should have called it Burnout: Most Wanted instead of NFS: Most wanted as it share more 'gameplay' blood with the Burnout series. But negatively judging a game only by your expectations based on the title is just plain wrong.… Expand
  20. Lintrup
    Nov 27, 2012
    9
    Need for speed : Most Wanted is a worthy edition to the long legacy of Need for Speed. It shouldn't be called Need for Speed tho, when it's clearly a follow up to the smash hit Burnout: Paradise City.. Even though its title is misleading, i believe that Criterion really made an awesome game here. It isn't like any Need for Speed that you have played before, which in some cases can be a blast of fresh air. The city of Fairhaven is even more chaotic and pumped with adrenaline than the previous cities we have visited.

    All in all, i believe that Criterion succeeds in making an arcade racing game, pumped with adrenaline, fast decisions and last but not least competition between you and your friends which for me is the most motivating thing in the world, when i meet up at a race, smashes a billboard or just driving around in the city to see that my best friend are way better than me. That's a motivating factor and that's what makes a arcade racer like Need for Speed: Most Wanted worth buying!

    I don't have any optimizing problems with it on my PC, don't know why people are complaining about it but if it's a problem then fix it for the people who have them. If i had the issues mentioned below it would have been a deal breaker. Still i think it's good to mention that not all PC users have these optimizing problems.

    Need for speed: Most wanted or should i say Burnout: Paradise City 2? - Is it even a bad thing? - NO!    … Expand
  21. ghost12345
    Dec 21, 2012
    9
    I liked the game very much because the graphics are outstanding,races are thrilling and there are so many cars for you to drive and modify.
    many people complain about lagging etc,they should upgrade their systems because its not the fault of developer.
    well because the last nfs game was completely story based so this time they have come with a complete make over (no story),but its a rac    ing game why do u need a story.
    BG music is good ,race intro videos are also a highlight of the game.    … Expand
  22. Ckazochnik
    Feb 15, 2013
    9
    Most Wanted by Criterion is true arcade racing. Tuning for kids and stupid storyline cutted and we having pure racing now. Beatiful and stylish cutscenes for each race. No money no limits, I can try each car in game in one game passing. Cops and opponents more aggressive than ever and it's cool. City is great and I like just to ride around. This game remember me about NFS3:HP. NFS:MW2012 is old-school NFS.… Expand
  23. Kutsubato
    May 3, 2013
    9
    I CAN´T UNDERSTAND ALL THESE PEOPLE WHO SAYS THAT NFS MOST WANTED IS A BAD GAME!!! It´s very great car game with the best multiplayer and graphic i´ve ever seen in a game like this!
  24. sinadoom
    Nov 14, 2012
    8
    I'll begin by addressing the problems and common misconceptions about this game. The main problem with this is that it's not optimized for PC. You may want to go straight to your "Criterion Games" folder in My Documents and in the cfg file set LockAt30fps to true. This is not something you should have to do with any game, let alone one designed for casual gamers. 30 FPS does suit the game well though. A recent patch has fixed many problems with regards to controllers and framerates though. In terms of the brick-like heavy handling and the seeming "auto-correct" when steering; just remember that this game is made for non-racers. If, like me, you're used to super-sharp and technical driving you need to break out of the precision mindset and just throw the car about more generally, since in more hardcore racing games the smallest input at the wrong time can lead to a disaster. Here you need to be aggressive, so it can take some getting used to if you're serious about your racing games. As for more general downsides, this game lacks any real depth in terms of single player content. It wouldn't be as empty if the leaderboards were more focused globally rather than on friends. Indeed if you have no friends who play the game all the speedwalls are pointless as always. But this game is designed with mutliplayer first, as stated by Criterion. Hence, the single player is just a free-roam messabout arena rather than the main chunk. The title has caused much confusion. The 2005 game is my 15th favourite game ever (at time of writing). However, Criterion have stated (see Wikipedia article on this game) that their intention was NOT to make a sequel to the original masterpiece. And so it follows that the concept behind the title is being "Most Wanted" amongst your friends. Like in NFS Hot Pursuit, the handling is very arcade and there is no manual transmission. However the city of Fairhaven resembles that of Most Wanted 2005 so you get a good mix of urban twisty roads and inner city centre. The design philosophy for the single player is to keep it very simple and basic. So no budget to manage, no garage, no consequences for getting busted, no special cars or upgrades to unlock from levelling up or whatever. Just very simply: Whatever car you find, you can drive. The graphics are obviously state-of-the-art; and you'd expect them to be given the system requirements. Compared to Hot Pursuit 2010, there's no innovation, and handling is inferior to that in The Run. The lack of manual transmission doesn't help matters. But unlike The Run this game doesn't have any camera issues, and it's not linear; it's free-roam. I like the concept and the game does feel very modern, with an excellent choice of cars which do handle slightly differently (although once again, not comparable to The Run's handling). This game is not sophisticated, and this is with great delibration. Infact, the emphasis is on the pick-up-and-play, do what you want whenever you want without having to grind through a half-arsed story - kind of thing. If you're expecting a sequel, then you have either been mislead by the title or deeply misinformed of the game's intentions. All in all it's a great game but the technical issues on the PC version on launch and the lack of emphasis on global leaderboards position if you don't have any friends is dissapointing; given that Autolog has been around for quite some time now. Nevertheless, it's definitely the game I would recommend to someone who has never tried a racing game. Everyone who thinks that this game is multiplayer only or is not worth getting if you're planning to mainly or only play single player is lying. When you consider how many cars there are in the game, and that there are 5 races for each, there are upgrades to unlock for each which have their distinct advantages and disadvantages and can be changed at any point even during a race, and the upgrades themselves have "Pro" versions (just as perks in Call of Duty have Pro versions); add in the 60-odd speed cameras and over a hundred billboards to smash and also trying to beat your best time on each race or get more points on each pursuit without having to worry about getting busted and paying a hefty fine - you get the idea. Basically, the amount of content in the single player is actually more than meets the eye if you want to do everything. Variety isn't great but is sufficient to keep it feeling satisfying. The city is tiny but it's used so well it feels bigger than it actually is. The cars sound great, have nice colour schemes, and SFX is generally high quality. When you consider that you get the best-looking racing game to date by a large margin with some of the finest cars around in a very casual drop-in/drop-out environment where there is still motive to unlock things but not the main part, it's very pleasing and relaxing. The difficulty of the races is pretty good if not a little too hard, especially for casuals. Overall, fantastic work Criterion.… Expand
  25. Vedranius
    Nov 4, 2012
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Long time ago, back to 1997., you were playing Need For Speed 2, with a crazy gameplay and fun, brutal machines on road, that were going like 400km/h at least, cool maps, multiplayer modes to have fun with friends... After that, they were another good NFS's, till the nicely century of graphicaly crazy games, and then it comes, NFS Underground which was OK, and then, then it comes 2005., Most Wanted, maybe the best NFS game from 2002. or for someone even from 1999. Most Wanted back in 2005. was an awesome game, you could drive many many cars, with crazy type of driving, no stupid tracking **** and other idiotic "helpful" stuff, like in upcoming Pro Street and Shift games, and even The Run...
    After 7 years, there it comes, Most Wanted again!
    I was pretty suprissed when they announced, because I had most fun in Most Wanted NFS, cuz of many many jumping tracks, fast driving and other crazy things I liked in it...
    So yes, I bought the Most Wanted, and starting it for the first time, still not really knowing what cars are in it. Starting with the main car, and suddenly founding another, Marussia, another one Porsche, another one, Aston Martin V12, and driving through some missions, I got the feeling from the old Most Wanted game, fast paced, crazy cars, awesome driving abilities and such.
    But, things I missed were, BUYING cars, making them the way I really wanted, do you remember Underground 1 and 2 from 2003.? Yes, making the car as you like, fast, awesome handling, nitro long or short as you like, that's what I missed for years and years, and I don't know why but EA/Criterion isn't making it again... So yes CUSTOMIZING CARS from tires to motor.
    OK, you got some minimal customization on fly, made for ridicilous consoles like Xbox - "Xbox, Xbox, change my tires to DIRT tires--- suddenly crashing on road going like 300km/h" :)

    CARS - yes, you got cool cars, but only 43 of them, and all are almost crazy as hell, yes you got oldies, but who cares about them if you can't tune em how you really like...
    I'd like to sit in Nissan 240sx and make it totally for drifting, brutally, with short nitro, feeling it the way I like it, not sitting in Audi R8 and feeling like a airplane driver, and winning almost every round cuz of stupid AI... :)
    I want old cars, or normal every day cars, like Mazda 3, Clio, Opel Astra, or even Smart, goddamit :D
    Making this cars brutal makes me play games like this more and more and more, trying adding another customization to it, making them more faster or more handable ... ;)

    Still, I'll give score 8 to this Most Wanted, because it's still the best NFS after whole this ****ty NFS's that were coming out after Carbon ;)    … Expand
  26. Never231
    Nov 3, 2012
    8
    Need for Speed: Most Wanted is by no means a bad game, but it doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table in terms of racing games. The gameplay is much less repetitive than any other racing game I've played to date, and the gameplay is much tougher than most racing games (due to the inability to hit civilian cars). It's purely fun, with good customization and fun racing. People **** this game are honestly just being ridiculous, it's a perfectly GOOD* game. It's not an amazing game, but it's definitely notable. Worth checking out.… Expand
  27. erase_trick
    Nov 1, 2012
    8
    I liked the old Most Wanted, i loved Burnout Paradise and I'm already impressed with 2012's Most Wanted....Criterion knows how to deliver racing games...i understand most of the players hate towards this game as they were hoping it to be like the original...but its Criterion...you have to judge it by its own merits or demerits...speaking of the game, it has more of the Burnout Paradise feel than any of the NFS games except for the cops...you're going to love to it or hate it..graphics are top-notch and the soundtrack is awesome too..my problem so far only has been the controls that needs to be fixed...… Expand
  28. Cooldude731
    Nov 1, 2012
    8
    This game is nice, is well done. The gameplay is very nice. I like the new style police chases, without any pursuit breakers or anything. I also like how you earn parts, cars, etc. My complaints are the handling on the cars. I find they are glitchey and sometimes unresponsive. Other than that the game is great! Just needs a patch or two.
  29. mar
    Oct 30, 2012
    8
    This game is a good work which difficulty does not have, and anyone runs invigoratingly and can enjoy. Many elements which can be enjoyed freely are incorporated and I was satisfied. However, it was regrettable that there is no story like a previous work in a single mode.
  30. unoMaestro
    Nov 2, 2012
    8
    When you meet "drifty handling" and "high crash sensitivity", you may be disappointed. But give this game a chance and try to progress through it. New cars, especially upgraded, have much better handling. With it and when you get used to handling a bit, the amount of crashes will decrease to some playable level. Though this game differs from the original MW, it has "right" atmosphere and lots of fun, especially in multi-player mode. Don't judge this game by single-player mode, which is not supposed to be its main part.… Expand
  31. eminefes
    Nov 3, 2012
    8
    There seems to some confusion and misinformation regarding this game. First off, the 10 "most wanted" cars are NOT available immediately. I know it seems contrary to what EA/Criterion have claimed, but you do actually have to earn these cars. The actual gameplay is a mix between NFS Hot Pursuit (2010) and Burnout Paradise. However, the game still feels unique and the setting feels very nice to drive around in. Navigation was the greatest issue in Paradise, but Most Wanted has a much better mini-map and you're far less likely to make a wrong turn. The only real complaint I have is with the performance of the game, since the framerate stutters on occasion, even with high-end systems and/or lowered graphics settings. Overall, this is one of the most addicting arcade racers I've played in quite some time. Beating the "most wanted" cars and taking ownership of them feels rewarding and makes you want to keep going so you can acquire the next one on the list. The cops are also fun and bring another level of excitement that Burnout Paradise never quite had.… Expand
  32. Coldcut333
    Nov 17, 2012
    8
    Awesome game, put 40+ hours in already, not even nearly done with it and i've hardly touched the multilayer.Fighting the Speedboards, jumps and cameras is addictive. Looks fantastic and plays well too when it wants to.

    I do encounter quite alot of crashes and some FPS dips, sometimes but there's other times it runs great.Might be my system but read a few having issues too.My score would     be higher if it wasn't for this.… Expand
  33. okuhle94
    Nov 22, 2012
    8
    This game is great, it has a great online multiplayer, great graphics, great sound tracks, and a fun single player. It would have been better if it had a proper story line, and the proper car customization like the early NFS games. Overall, I am happy with this game.
  34. bluemonkey93
    Jan 20, 2013
    7
    I am really enjoying this game. It is disappointing it doesn't have garages, money and customization like the original did, but as a modern racing game I find it stands out with its array of content, cars, and beautiful locations.
  35. DudeManGuy
    Oct 31, 2012
    7
    I am a huge Burnout Paradise City fan. This game seems to straddle the line between that game and the more recent Need for Speed titles... to it's detriment. It's not as silly and fun as Paradise City, nor as hardcore as the Need for Speed games. The map feels small and the vehicles are dished out too readily, making the reward seems less valuable. It can be fun, but it is not the masterpiece that Paradise City was and is. Also, I was hoping for some more/better PC options. As it is, I'm using a 660ti and the high res texture pack seems to make it drop frames. Not great.… Expand
  36. pawwilon
    Nov 18, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
  37. xjun1or3
    Oct 31, 2012
    7
    I like this game but have seriously performance issues, my PC run Battlefield 3, NFS the run, medal of honor very well and that most wanted (with the same engine) even with all in low settings have annoying frame drops that ruins the gameplay...
  38. lifexux
    Oct 31, 2012
    7
    As a racing game, it's not too bad. As a nfs game however, it fails to live up to it's expectations. This is not anything like the 2005 most wanted and you'd be disappointed if you were expecting anything more. However, gameplay is quite solid and the car selaction is pretty good, ranging fro classics to exotics. An obvious console port with massive framerate issues, this game is better off borrowed from a friend instead of a full purchase.… Expand
  39. ChrisDSouza
    Oct 31, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Criterion has taken the Need for Speed: Most Wanted Franchise to the next level. As far as the Graphics are concerned, it's a 9/10 cause the graphics are amazing.
    Most Wanted 2012 will give you real life street racing experience as the the race route is not just limited to your race path. All roads are open with a lot of traffic. You might find this annoying at first but I believe it's just Criterion's effort to make things real.
    The other difference from the previous Most Wanted is that there are no Pursuit Busters in this version. SO once, the cops are on your tail, it will take you a good 15-20 minutes to evade the pursuit.

    And Winning is really a challenge. So you will not like the game at first, but it will start growing on you once you win your first race.
    The best thing is there are lots of cars. And the graphics make them look very real.

    P.S. If you want to like this game, please do not compare it with the previous version of Most Wanted.    … Expand
  40. AndreyATGB
    Nov 5, 2012
    7
    First off, I do agree with the points everyone is making. If you look at it as a NFS game, it's worth 2 or 3. Looking at it as a Burnout with cops and licensed cars, it's a good game. The cars do feel too heavy, the game is one of the worst ports on PC I've seen recently. At first glance, it seems to have graphics options, but don't be deceived. You can't change VSync and refresh rate. There's only one option for textures: high res on and off. My GTX 580 (which runs any other game maxed out no problem) cannot run this at all high. It has severe frame drops. Even on medium and low shadows, there are frame spikes. I was playing with a PS3 controller and got used to the driving mechanics quickly. Single player is easy and lasts about 5-6 hours. Multiplayer is fun, burnout paradise challenges pretty much. Another thing that annoys me a lot is just the overall slow feeling, when you change a car or finish a race, you'll have to stare at your car with no HUD until the stats of it go away. This is just unnecessary and stupid, it's wasted time every time. Another thing are EA's complete and utterly horrible servers, more precisely Autolog. It doesn't stay connected more than 10 minutes and when it does connect, it DOWNLOADS your progress not uploads. That means while you're disconnected all the speed points you earn will not be uploaded once you reconnect during the game. It will only if you quit and reopen the game. Also, Origin doesn't sync save games. I should mention that I paid 1/3 of the price for it and based on that, I did not waste money. I give it a 7 despite the problems, but just barely. TL;DR Bad NFS game, OK racing game, good Burnout. Horrible PC port.… Expand
  41. emmanuelbriceno
    Jan 20, 2013
    7
    Multiplayer = frustrating derby, just crash, crash, crash, and more crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, stupid!!!!!!
  42. fessisbest
    Jan 16, 2013
    7
    I don't know where everyone is getting the poor performance excuse. I could run the game on all high settings 25-30 fps with my gtx 768mb. Overall though the lack of story and somewhat repetitive game-play could turn a lot of gamers off, but believe me, when it's fun, Its really fun.
  43. voiders
    Apr 26, 2013
    7
    Amazing graphics, imersive sounds and phisics but the game is very short and the moviments are weird.
    I have a steering wheel but i dont know why, the car lose control so easy.

    Some times i think you have to have some patience with bugs and controls.
  44. frast2012
    May 4, 2013
    7
    Nie łatwo jest zrobić kontynuacje czy odświeżenie tak bardzo lubianej gry wyścigowej w tak samo dobrym stylu. Myślę jednak że twórcą się to po części udało. Mamy tu główny nacisk na wyścigi w dzień, emocjonujące pościgi, ucieczki przed policją i otwarty świat. To chyba to było najważniejsze w starym Most Wanted? Myślę że brak tuningu to nie wada. Nacisk na tuning pojawił się w Underground' pojawił się w Underground'dzie 1 i 2, w Most Wanted głównymi czynnikami były inne rzeczy. Ludzie nie, nie lubią tej gry, ludzie nie chcą jej lubić. Hejt na nią jest uzasadniany żałosnymi argumentami..więc ja przedstawię swoje. Gra jest strasznie nie dopracowana. Bugi, bugi i jeszcze raz bugi. Nie mówię już o tych przez które przegrywałem wyścigi, ale coś w stylu speed 100 razy większy kiedy policja lub mój przeciwnik chce mnie dogonić(naprawdę popatrzcie sobie czasami na mapkę jak przeciwnik popełni błąd i będzie stał przez chwile, zobaczcie jak nagle przyśpieszy po pewnym czasie...). Do tego nie dopracowany Frosbite. Uruchamiając grafikę na Ultra mam tu tyle efektów, przez co nie widzę nic na ekranie. Jezu, nauczcie się wreszcie wykorzystywać dobrą grafikę. Gra zrobiona na totalny odpierdziel. Twórcy dali nam otwarty teren, dali nam auta, i nic, powiedzieli "ścigajcie się" i mieli, brzydko mówiąc "wszystko w d***e". Mało wyścigów do każdego auta, pewne głupie pomysły i momentami strasznie ciężka ucieczka od policji czasami ustępuje i wreszcie doznajemy przyjemność z wyścigów które rzeczywiście wyglądają ładnie, i rzeczywiście jeździ się przyjemnie. Podobają mi się jeszcze filmiki kiedy uruchamiamy wyścig z Most Wanted, naprawdę, perełka. Szkoda że Criterion po tak świetnym Hot Pursuit, tak spierniczył Most Wanted. Moja ocena 7/10… Expand
  45. Morgs
    Oct 30, 2012
    6
    I'm a big car racing fan and wanted to love this game after completing Dirt: Showdown too, too quickly. This game tries to straddle the line between Criterion's previous two release, but neither matches the single-minded determination of Hot Pursuit (2010), nor the variety Burnout Paradise. Specifically: (-) There are not enough race types (-) Finding cars instead of being gifted them was a dumb idea from the onset - where are the rewards!? (-) The car upgrade system is pointless as there are only five races per car, so by the time you've maxed it out you can't even go in a new race (-) All the cars feel more or less the same anyhow. (+) There are some positives as the graphics are pretty and Autolog is fantastic, but we are left with a big open world to explore with little reason to do so. This is a beautiful engine and a fantastic stat tracking app, but where has the game gone Criterion? *ugh* I just lost the game.… Expand
  46. franco214
    Nov 13, 2012
    6
    My problem with this game was where my expectations were before getting my hands on and some game time behind me. I love the NFS series and have hours of fun with friends racing and competing on Autolog. While these things still exist in Most Wanted i still feel like there is something missing from the experience. The handling took me a while getting used to and to be honest it rarely changes between car to car, providing no thrills from finding your next vehicle. The use of the easydrive system is good, if not a little difficult to use while racing, but once you are used to it can be very effective. For me the longevity in this game is lacking it has been less than a month out and i am feeling my will to play just slip away. Could have been much better.… Expand
  47. Kimomarudotcom
    Oct 31, 2012
    6
    Fun game, but it owes practically everything to the ultimately superior Burnout: Paradise (another Criterion game). In a total effort to avoid cannibalising Burnout: Paradise's look and feel, NFS: Most Wanted used the odd controls that are classic NFS (not snappy and precise like BP, but "sluggish" and weighty). Events are started at traffic lights just like BP, but for whatever reason don't feel as plentiful. I very much like the licensed cars and there's fun to be had in hunting them down, however. Online interaction with other players often devolves into "meeting up" with other players and having your car smashed repeatedly by other drivers as everyone waits for the event to start. As a series, I think Need for Speed needs to be retired. It had its time and place during the PlayStation era but unfortunately does not hold up next to the modern sensibilities of Burnout: Paradise. Criterion's wasting time with this franchise when it can be moving forward. For an example of its gameplay, see http://youtu.be/9QYby4Giox4 (you'll notice at 4:08 that a giant message pops up that totally obscures my view of the roadblock, causing me to crash.) Criterion, time to go back to Burnout and make players happy again. :(… Expand
  48. Ensi
    Dec 7, 2012
    6
    First of all, this is a fun game. It's a good mix of realism and arcade (leaning towards the arcade side) with nice cars and all in all fun gameplay. I don't do the races, but I do like to just drive around and drift corners in my favorite cars. For PC this game doesn't have the best optimization, I get mostly 60 FPS (capped) and it usually drops to 20-30 in some areas (670, 3570k, 16gb). Oh and there is no in-car view, disappointing for those with steering wheels. I played this with a gamepad (and so should you if you don't have a wheel).… Expand
  49. Rawberrie
    Nov 4, 2012
    6
    Well I got about 18 hours in so I feel like I can give a good review and not some of the ones that posted a review the same day the game came out so they could not have gotten THAT far. First off it looks pretty darn good on the PC. People saying it's a straight port obviously didn't catch that it has a high definition texture pack that I know the consoles don't use so they did put SOME thought into the PC but not nearly as much as I would like the graphics menu still doesn't have a lot of options a "Made for PC" game has. It sounds good most the cars sound somewhat like you expect and the music score is acceptable. Nothing special but it gets the job done without becoming annoying. The AI in the game can be challenging at times especially the police when you aren't in the greatest car to get away from them but other racers aren't terribly hard or aggressive. The story is like most stories in every racing game out there. It's stupid and easily forgotten and doesn't really matter. Who in the world buys a racing game for it's story I'll never know. I hate the way most the cars handle in the game. It's not arcade but it's not simulation it's somewhere in the middle which makes all the cars feel like they handle like crap. It has it's Burnout moments from time to time with the crashes and the racing which is a nice touch by Criterion Gaming but you can't help but feel EA was prolly really reluctant to allow them to add what they did. You can't customize your car that much but there are a few things that make your cars better for certain situations and can vastly differ how your cars handle but if you came here wanting to go all out on cars like some you can in Forza/GT5 and the like you will be left out. If you like arcade racing games then you may want to try this game out to see if you like it. It has it's moments when it's fun but the actual act of driving for me is ruined by the way all the cars feel and handle on the road with their in the middle of simulation and arcade feel.… Expand
  50. SilverSurferNHS
    Oct 30, 2012
    6
    What i have come to find after a day of playing it is that the controls are inconsistent due to the nature of switching between steering regularly and drifting. The controls feel mostly solid until your turning hard and then its like the game thinks your trying to drift. Then when you need to turn the other way for the next turn, its slow as hell to respond.

    The handbreak is frustrating     as well because sometimes it gets you into a great long drift, and other times it feels like it doesn't do a damn thing...

    My next quibble is the unrelenting, magical cops. One second, after finally getting to the cooldown, im trying to keep my distance from the cops behind me, when 3 cops appear in front of me on the map - so what do i do!?!?!? i make the next turn to evade both front and rear pursuers and BAM
    a magical SUV barricade.

    Third - EVERY SINGLE THING you touch makes you wreck. Taps from drivers next to you "push" you into the wall as if they made you steer into the wall?????

    I really wanted to like this game but i feel like it's currently unbalanced.
    I haven't been 100% happy with a NFS game since they started juggling developers. MW1 was great, though it lacked the customization of the previous games.
    I'm not opposed to a challenge. A game that's well balanced AND challenging is fun.
    This feels like "Oh your gonna go this way... HA take 2 ARMORED CARS UP YOU ***"
    It feels like a big **** you when you try to make progress in it.

    The graphics are awesome, but the framerate is choppy no matter what, again, "currently" even with an i7 4GHz 12GB ram GTX 680 4GB Vertex 4 SSD and ALL GFX SET TO LOW OR OFF (except for HD textures). really...? (oh and the on screen prompts/ blinding lens effects regularly disturb your view, which can feel like a cheap trick to make you crash...)

    The variety of vehicles is nicely balanced so that you rarely see more than 2 of the same vehicle in a race (with exceptions from time to time)

    I think after some tweaking, balancing and optimizations it could be a lot of fun, because i did have fun when none of those issues arose. For now i'm going back to Borderlands 2, Euro Truck Simulator 2, Dishonored and Darksiders II.    … Expand
  51. Techenz
    Nov 11, 2012
    6
    Is it just me or is everyone on metacritic **** about every sequel. I wasn't disappointed, I expected the game to be like this. The reason why games are consistently getting worse is because of the community whinging on and on. Such as the game not changing, the game hasn't changed enough or this game play mechanic is broken. EA tries to do their best to make a game that the community is happy about but that's it's flaw.… Collapse
  52. mikeandike
    Nov 10, 2012
    6
    The whole "easy ride" system is a great testament to the dangers of texting while driving. Well done, EA.

    As a visual piece, this game is one of the best racers I have played. Aside from that, it doesn't have much going for it. Repetitive races, lack of game progression paired with slow and clunky controls make this latest Need for Speed game weaker than its Most Wanted predecessor. The     visuals in this game are spectacular. You can really tell the time that went into crafting the Cinema 4D cinematics that you see when encountering each most wanted vehicle. Some of the in-game cinematics are quite nice too. At times the HUD can be extremely intrusive, especially during the target speed races when concentration is key. I could go on about how all the cars but 10 are handed to you right off the bat, or about how unresponsive the controls are, especially when you're moving at 300km/h however you can simply read the other user reviews to find out the weak aspects of this game.… Expand
  53. twilightrocks
    Dec 23, 2012
    6
    Not really worth spending £35 on. The optimization is very bad, even on my HD 7870 I get constant fps drops sometimes as low as 20. However, the game itself is good but could be better. The gps thingy is great, it is clear on the minimap on where you need to go and tells you the distance to the event you are getting to. The racing itself is good but again could be better. The car handling and responsiveness of the car is also good but once again could be better. A few things I haven't seen in the game which was in the original Most Wanted which I think EA could have added into the game are shops, car lots and a garage. Overall the game is decent but not excellent which is why I am rating this 6/10.… Expand
  54. Duro
    Apr 23, 2013
    6
    The first thing you need to do is change graphics because anything under 60fps ruins gameplay. Once configured to your specs the game is actually very enjoyable. Nothing like the original but still lots of fun driving around at high speeds. Cars are way to easy to get and after a handful of races with each there is really no reason to use it. There is no story or progression besides taking down the top 10 most wanted. The city feels empty and pursuits are very easy. Cops basically throw themselves at you, roadblocks are static and will not pursue you. Building heat is very easy and escaping pursuits is very boring as cops catch up to you from a dead stop almost instantly. Crashes are way overdone in both SP and MP. Multiplayer is somewhat fun if you mute everyone but again it is high speed bumper cars. I love racing games and have played all the NFS games. Yet this one just seems empty, its just about driving cars and nothing else. The DLC is just more cars. I was really unhappy at first but after a couple weeks it grew on me. All the cars are fun to drive there just really isn't any feeling of accomplishment in the game.

    Overall it is a good game. However the lack of patches and communication kills it.
    Criterion basically shut down their forums and won't respond to any problems.
    EA tries to help on their forums but it is frustrating because they can't do anything about it.
    The game crashes on one race 'Every time' and caused a corrupt save.
    Now the game won't even start up even after a repair of the install which found no errors.
    Many people are getting save problems that is causing them to delete and start all over.
    I would rent it if you really want to play it on console, but on PC its just a mess.
    How can you make a game and then ignore your customers? Not fix problems but yet push out DLC.    … Expand
  55. Vasot
    Oct 30, 2012
    5
    Need for Speed: NOT Wanted. Where can i start from the annoying camera that you have deal every time you pass a roadblock or the car handling that feels like driving a brick with wheels. And what is with the cops I am driving with over 300 km/h and still the cops always stick with me even if i am dealing with average police cars. How is it possible a average police car run with the same speed with a Super car that runs almost 300 km/h ?!!? (smells like cheating AI to me). As for the rest there is no Single player story or any real purpose just running around some city trying to be number 1 in some list and doing similar races every freaking time (very boring !!!). Only good thing about this game are the graphics which are pretty good as for the rest it is a disappointing game that gets boring really fast… Expand
  56. Turbobutts
    Oct 30, 2012
    5
    I weep for the Need For Speed series, and I weep because EA seem to force Criterion to make mediocre Burnout Paradise clones instead of decent Burnout games. If you want a good NFS game, get the new Hot Pursuit. Otherwise get Burnout Paradise. Plain and simple. ---- Now for the sake of the responsibility I carry as a reviewer I will go into detail a little more. The map is small and boring. The cars all seem to handle and perform almost the same, and earning them feels underwhelming because it's so easy. Also there's no visual customization and you can't even pick your paintjob freely. Then there's the annoying crash cam and less than appealing soundtrack. All in all a bittersweet experience, especially for people who know what Criterion are capable of if they're not handcuffed by EA.… Expand
  57. GALO
    Nov 4, 2012
    5
    NFS Most Wanted features a very, very small map, packed with horrible frame rate issues. The framerate is so poorly optimized that makes the game unplayable at certain sections of the map. A total disrespect to the PC customer. When you get the game working on the more "clean" sections of the map (and by lowering the graphics almost to nothingness) you can expect decent graphics, mediocre presentation, and poor soundtrack. Aside from the crazy framerate drops, the main problem with NFS:MW is the lack of content. You will beat the most wanted list in about 6-10 hours, and you will be forced to race the same tracks/events again and again, only with different cars. This game is not worth full price, wait for a price drop.… Expand
  58. Meteorix
    Oct 31, 2012
    5
    The Good - The graphic level, the tunnes, lights, cars and world in general are well made, the highways and streets are pretty well for a simulation of the city.

    The Bad - is a Burntout Paradise game with no challenges, run as crazy and free as you want, the filters to make look good this games are way to heavy and with no optimization at all, almost anything bigger than a LOW setting w    ill drop your fps to 35 fps wich by the way is unplayable.

    Other than that, is not what expected from "MOST WANTED", just another arcade game.    … Expand
  59. slartibartfas
    Oct 31, 2012
    5
    Not good. Very mediocre. -5 points for: - massive framerate drops even on actual hardware (i7, gtx660, 8 gb) - jaggies (where is the antialias setting, which every modern game has?) - missing story - missing motive force to do something - excessive emphasis on "social gaming" at the expense of the singleplayer campaign I'am really annoyed, that I've bought this game. For now, I will continue playing Borderlands 2.… Expand
  60. KalanYamato
    Mar 12, 2013
    5
    This game's not that bad as a game by itself, but this is purely Burnout Paradise. There's barely any trace of Need for Speed, or anything original to begin with.

    Decent game, but false advertising. Do not buy.
  61. SohailACE
    Nov 21, 2012
    5
    Very poorly optimized for PC, FPS very low, Loads of cars, no excitement of unlocking cars coz they are already unlocked and are parked roadside, too much VFX while racing which makes driving worse, NFS series is dead.
  62. Graeme171
    Oct 30, 2012
    5
    First of all, I would like to point out that this game is top-notch, and I am not giving this game a low score because of gameplay. I am just dissapointed that the game is not running smoothly on my more-than-capable computer. Constant lag spikes make this game almost unplayable. I'm hoping for an update that boosts the performance, but until then I'll be without a great game.
  63. Ewil
    Oct 31, 2012
    5
    Combine NFS: Undercover with Burnout: Paradise and that's exactly what "new" Most Wanted is. Criterion should stop making NFS games, because they can't do it properly. This game still has the very same mistakes I've hated since first MW, like utterly boring city with those same turns, loopings, highways and hairpins we've all seen in previous NFS games, cheating AI, inconveniently placed traffic and super fast cops. That's not all, I'm afraid. As with all Criterion games, steering wheel is useless and you can't even set it properly, only buttons. Handling is simply weird. It feels okay when you want to turn into a bigger corner, but if you want to steer just a bit to avoid oncoming traffic, it feels unpredictable. Entire game feels a bit stripped, there is no transmission options, only two camera views, which are both pretty bad, if you get busted nothing really happens, there is no money to buy cars with, no rewards for hitting billboards or security gates, no nothing. At least there is no story this time :)

    No, this is not a bad game. It's still quite fun, which is the most important thing, but it could have been so much better.    … Expand
  64. nathalex27
    Nov 4, 2012
    5
    My system specs, amd 1090t hexacore @ 4ghz 16 gb 1660mhz DDR3 GTX 660 ti @ 1385mhz and 2 gb memory GTX 560 ti for physx 2x 300mbps up/down ssd's raid 0 -Framerate of the game: Between 20 and 60 fps Driving under normal conditions is ok, it gives 40/60 fps but....BIG but...when you get chased by cops or do some heavy cornering you will experience heavy frame-drops with at sometimes slow motion
    action. This really is a petty because otherwise I find the cop chases very enjoyable.

    I played the Original most wanted several times incl. LAN play with friends.
    This is something totaly different.
    Aside from the cop chases.

    There is no car setup menu. ( in-game sort of but no tuning/styling or car tech adjustments )

    -There is no garage. ( find cars in-game and drive. When found you can select to drive instantly but wil start where the car was originally found, that might just be on the other side of the map.....)

    -When you're tires are spiked by cops you can just drive. no problem. I drove for a good 10 minutes at heat level 4 of 5 ( cop difficulty ) found a magic gas station and my tires where good again.

    - About that gas station......NFSMW right? Wrong This is a remake of Burnout Paradise with cops
    -Burnout Paradise billboard crashing..
    -Burnout Paradise style driving
    -Burnout Paradise style graphics
    -Burnout Paradise style environment
    -Burnout Paradise style NOS ( just different NOS gauge )
    -Burnout Paradise style car crashing ( slo mo, heavy damage crash but you're OK! And can just continue to drive! Please or no damage or realistic damage )

    I'm not trying to be **** here, I just added system specs for comparison but
    this game should run great on my setup. It is the un-optimized game engine that makes it such drag to play even at low / medium settings.
    Ambient occlusion off.
    Reflections low
    details medium.
    20/60 fps That is what bothered me the most about this game. Second comes the lack of imagination to create something new and exciting instead of a remake of one of you're own Criterion games being Burnout P.

    And third ( A pc gamer **** thing ) the lack of graphics option. ( tessellation, AA, FXAA, Gpu Physx instead of the heavy cpu physics that utiizes 70% of my cpu in hectic situations)

    Criterion, you FAILED misserably to re-create NFSMW.

    The feel of the original game that forced you to want to become that NR.1 is just not there.

    Only the cop chases....they are enjoyable was it not that the fps drops to 20.    … Expand
  65. jfrankie
    Nov 13, 2012
    5
    You would think that a game called need for speed wouldn't make a clunker of a game, but this game really sucks! it's an absolute dog on my gtx 560! Can't belive it!
  66. GeoVad
    Nov 18, 2012
    5
    The opponent in this game is not the racers aka black list,IS THE WALLS!most time you spend crashing than racing...also there is not a tuning option like turbo upgrades,ECU upgrades etc.There is just a ''customize car'' option with general upgrades,At last its not good to have a option to start with every car you found on the road,its better to start with a normal one and after you can change it.The only good in this game is the graphics which is very good and also the variety of the cars.Thats all.… Expand
  67. AcIDBased
    Nov 19, 2012
    5
    ooooo I get to customize my licence plate wow cool. it's a online game. give me sum stickers and paint dam it. iam 32 yo i still want sticks and paint man lol
  68. fredderator
    Jan 16, 2013
    5
    I wanted to love this game, I really did.

    Coming off the dismal "Need for Speed: The Run" last year, I was glad to hear Criteron was getting back to the style of "Hot Pursuit", the pinnacle of the modern NFS games. About three hours after firing this up, pumped as ever, I had to stop out of sheer frustration. First, the good. It seems as if there is a massive list of cars in this game.     Ranging for the Bugatti Veyron to the Ford Shelby GT, each car is faithfully represented on the screen.

    The graphics in the game are quite good but for me, they didn't look all too different from 2010's "Hot Pursuit". There are a few exceptions which I'll get into but overall, the game is still great to look at. The Bad.

    First, the controls feel incredibly sluggish. If you put Hot Pursuit at one end of the spectrum and The Run on the other, Most Wanted falls right in the middle. Perhaps I'm biased because I absolutely love the fast paced, arcade style controls of HP but MW falls disappointingly short. I didn't feel like I was in control of the car a lot of the times, especially if I was rubbing up against a wall. The amount of precision it takes to move away from the wall without slamming into the opposite one, feels inappropriate in this type of game. In Gran Turismo, this may work but I feel for a street racing game it's frustrating as all hell. I understand that upgrades can remedy this but you'll be repeating events so many times to get those upgrades the controls will start to wear on you.

    Rubber-banding and teleporting of opponents is commonplace in the NFS franchise unfortunately. Even my favorite, HP, is guilty of this. However in this game, it feels slightly unfair and here's why: At the beginning when you first obtain a car, you need to race for your upgrades including your boost. As far as I can tell, this happens with every single car (which is annoying to race for your boost on your car every single time). These races are already stacked against the player who already has enough to deal with when racing a new car, since each handles differently. Lack of boost, new car and rubber banding/teleporting in a preliminary race is way too much to throw at someone in the first race. The graphics, while beautiful, can be incredibly distracting. I remember during one race, I had the sun facing in my eyes for the entire time. I couldn't see a damn thing. Now this might work if the computer racers were somewhat affected, but they aren't. The amount of dust cars kick up also seems to be too much. In here lies a key problem with this game: It can't decide whether to be an arcade racing game or a simulator a la Gran Turismo. On one hand, the environmental effects scream "simulation" while slamming into a wall at 200/mph and driving away after multiple barrel rolls says "arcade". Mixing the two makes for a frustrating experience. Constant frame-rate issues also seem to plague the PC port but along with controls, it's not something new coming from a console focused title. However, it doesn't make it right. With virtually the same set up between the two, HP seems to have no frame-rate issues nor touchy control problems. The setting is incredibly bland, not to mention that this city feels incredibly similar to Burnout: Paradise's. Each race feels the same with slightly different turns. I think the series could have used some sort of plot device where it allowed for racing in different surroundings, like snowy rocky mountains or big canyons.


    The Indifferent

    There is really no story to NFS: MW. Then again, I don't necessarily play racing games for their story so this wasn't an issue for me but I could see how people feel less inclined to continue up the ranks. Different personalities for the "Most Wanted" drivers could have been neat but again, not really a necessity. The music is really nothing to write home about. You got your rock, your dubstep, blah blah blah. Typically they get drowned out by the constant crashing and smashing of cars that you'll barely notice there's any music. The sound overall is fantastic though, as each car has a distinct sound (as it should). Conclusion

    It may seem like I hate this game, but I really don't. I'm just incredibly disappointed with the end product after being hyped about this being the spiritual successor to Hot Pursuit. In the end, if you enjoy the NFS series as a whole, it's probably worth a rental. Anyone else may have a hard time staying interested after a few days.    … Expand
  69. Liquidlizard
    Nov 26, 2012
    4
    What the hell Criterion? Burnout Paradise was what? 4 years ago? and it still has better graphics and is more realistic than this crap. EA too - Prostreet is more fun. Coulda been alot better if you took another year to work on it. Plus, you cannot unlock/purchase cars. You have to find them around the city... That's no fun. This series is turning into Call of Duty. No one should get it. Good for $10. Great for $5.… Expand
  70. baddeadtaste
    Nov 7, 2012
    4
    This game has no soul at all. Taking down the most wanted rivals is completely boring. There is no character associated with a vehicle, no story at all. It's simply unlock a most wanted challenge and then beat it, get car, rinse, repeat. Customization is gone completely as all mods are the same for each vehicle and you unlock them in the same generic races over and over again. The online is kind of hit or miss for me...they reward crashing WAY too much. Nobody races with any finesse they just fly around slamming into you all the time. And WTF is up with the speed trials and challenge events!?! This is supposed to be a racing game!! In some events you actually have to try and PARK your car longer than anyone else in a specific spot!! That's right...the object is to PARK your car?!?! What the heck is Criterion thinking!?!?! After the awesomeness that was NFS: The Run, I had high hopes for this game but if you ask me Criterion screwed up just about every single aspect of this game and sucked all the fun right out of the online game. This is definitely one to avoid for sure.… Expand
  71. kryator
    Oct 30, 2012
    4
    This game is poorly optimized for PC, a straight port, constant fps drops make the game unplayable. The car handling is too "heavy", the camera choices are horrible.
    All in all, wasted money.
  72. v00d00m4n
    Dec 26, 2012
    4
    This game should be called "Burnout Paradise 2 - No Need for Speed: Least Wanted" becaus its not that awesome NFS Most Wanted game remake we wanted and expected, its not NFS at all!
    - What made original Most Wanted 2005 a great game? Story - with underground street racing atmosphere, its was intriguing blockbusters where you had clear goal, good characters and felt yourself a real st    reet racer a pain in cop's ass! Style - awesome moody "golden" lighting, real autumn, road with orange leafs, cool graffiti, awesome customized cars with all sorts of variety! Challenging races- against cop of regular NPC or both, it was not easy it was breathtaking in terms of tension they gave us, final race against cop was totally awesome experience i still cant forget. And getting new cars or customization as price in race was a real treasure that allowed to progress and match your rivals that progressed as well, to get a new car you need to win a lot of races and you need to choose wisely! Customization and tuning - well comparing to previous NFS Underground 2 or next NFS Carbon it was simplified here and there, but it still was good, stylish and allowed to make a lot of various rides, and i heard you all like pimping your rides and they put a "pimp your ride" in your "NFS" so everyone could spent half of gameplay time pimping ride like some Xzibit while playing NFS. Physics - well it was not realistic, it was arcadish, but it was adequate and balanced and kept everyone entertained. Various race modes - i cant remember them all, i think drag and drift racing was missing (well NFS UG 2 and Carbon was still better) but it was enough and all was challenging. Variety of gameplay features - you was able to not just use nitro, but a slow mo as well, was able to hide from cops, if you change cars or colors the heat was going down, you was able to brake parts of levels to make a traps for cops and rivals, there was SMS, car shops, customs shops, safehouses and count of damage you dealt to city, and more gameplay features. Cutscenes - well this goes to story department of game, but even if there was no good story, scenes was very-well directed and quite impressive, people really loved how they mixed real actors and in-game environment and cars, in game real-time cut-scenes that showed cars before and after races was impressive as well and was making all car lovers horny, it was a real vehicle-porn in good meaning. Controls - they was different for every car, they was good, they was optimized well for gamepad, keyboard and wheels. Sound track - i guess everyone remembed awesome tracks since NFS Underground famous "Eron-don-don" and up to Carbon dark grime. There was more good things about original MW, but i need to finally start talking about MW 2012, however there is not too much to talk about.
    So if you played original MW, once you hear about new MW, you expect all the good things from original to appear in new game and evolve to next level.. to make this game even greater than original was...
    And the biggest problem of NFS Most Wanted 2012 that this freaking game HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING OF WHAT I JUST LISTED AND WHAT MADE ORIGINAL MOST WANTED 2005 such a good game!
    Im freaking serious! Almost Absolutely nothing except for cop and free roaming city... game is just empty and boring, you have one big (great however) city where you have nothing to do except for changing cars and driving simple circuit races against dumbest boring cops and nameless NPCs... Yo Dawg! Criterion heard you like driving, so they put only a driving in your driving NFS game so you can drive while you drive and do nothing else! No story! No cut-scenes! No style! No customization and tuning! No challenging races! No tension! No adequate physics! No different good controls for different cars! ! No memorable soundtrack! No rich gameplay features! No goals! No sense of wining the race! No awards for winning! No motivation to play! Only a pure empty city where you have nothing to do except for driving through billboards with EA, DICE, Bioware, Visceral game and Criterion logos, and changing cars that have only a cosmetic difference.
    Despite this game feels like a Burnout Paradise 2, it missing a lot of Paradise features and insane speeds, so its not even good as Burnout! Pure marketing FAIL! This game have nothing to be called MOST WANTED, its a LEAST WANTED NFS game (just like recent Hot Pursuit remake)! After playing i realized that crappy Undercover (which was initially called Most Wanted 2) was not so crappy and was actually better than this Most Wanted 3 aka 2012 (or actually MW 4, because Carbon was real MW2 and Undercover was actually MW3). Damn it, half of cars dont even have NITRO! Can you imagine it? Gameplay is somehow close to level of rusty NFS 1-3 which is very simple and empty comparing to what we saw in NFS and Midnight Club and Test drive in recent years.
    Dont buy this game and ask for refund if you did!
    4 of 10 only!    … Expand
  73. nafalem
    Oct 31, 2012
    4
    This game should be called BURNOUT MOST WANTED. Yes! This is all same like in Burnout Paradise. The only difference is the police, and nice graphics..
  74. Bloodthirsty
    Nov 3, 2012
    4
    Not great but average NFS.....i was expecting more than dis.....the gameplay sucked especially with the cops... imean what the hell i am at 240km/h and the cops still can keep up with me...dis iz not compared to even real life.......and the cop evading system WOW...i cant xplain how much worse it is no persuit breaker no hide spots,no way to shake the cops of any way......Only thing i like about dis game iz the graphics nothing else.....and i also wished there was a story line....at least i think NFS hot persuit 2010 was better.... oops srry best than all.....NFS most wanted 2005 iz the second best for me.....… Expand
  75. Shrutesh
    Nov 9, 2012
    4
    Ok so I have genuinely tried to like this game... but cant play more now (3 hours in total).. summarizing

    THE GOOD: A big world, decent graphics, high poly cars, clearly some effort made for the PC version (AO, HD textures, etc)

    THE BAD: HANDLING: Its totally not fun, you will be ramming into stuff every 30 sec or so; and unlike other arcade racers, here every ram is a 3 second crash     cam; feels like the game is constantly penalizing you for traffic/obstacles you just can't avoid.

    NO CUSTOMIZATION: No need to buy cars or customize them, basically means there isn't a purpose to your racing, in fact you cant even choose the color of your car. RACE STRUCTURE: You can only play 5 races with each car. You like the Ford GT? Well you can free roam in it, or replay those 5 races, gawd so many options!

    NOT A SINGLE PLAYER GAME: Bottomline, this is not a single player game; just the fact that the game can be played in SP doesn't make it one. It should have been advertised as such.

    CONCLUSION: This is neither Burnout nor NFS, something in between that just doesn't make the grade. Buy only if you are a MP player and don't care about SP.

    Sadly for me this is the death of a beloved series, its been all downhill from U2/Most Wanted; and NFS just doesn't have a soul left anymore.    … Expand
  76. smarteck
    Oct 31, 2012
    4
    ///
    I really loved the original Most Wanted, I tried this and it was a "huge" disappointment. Is terrible, it should not be called Most Wanted, has nothing to Most Wanted, is terrible, all is a business maneuver to fool the people, someone should prohibit this kind of practice.
    In summary:
    - If you like Burnout Paradise, buy this.
    - If you liked the "original" Most Want    ed, DO NOT BUY THIS,You will see it as a fraud

    :/
    //////    … Expand
  77. Jintoss
    Nov 7, 2012
    4
    Gorgeous, poorly thought out, and badly optimized for PC. Cars handle like they are driving flat out even at low speeds. Success in the 'speed run' (maintain average speed) are purely determined by lucky traffic conditions. 'Quick Drive' mechanic allows you to switch upgrades (basically various perks for cars, not really upgrades) but requires you to drive to each event - seriously questionable logic here. Menus load painfully slow and aren't skippable - you will wait 10 seconds after each race attempt at the same menu animations; it will feel like torture. You will have to drive very defensively, as once you've committed to a turn, a random car coming out of a turn will ruin your day.

    Some interesting design concepts, but in the end don't compliment each other. The result is a gorgeous, uninteresting, and frustrating mess that you wish was more fun.    … Expand
  78. souravb26
    Nov 1, 2012
    4
    I agree with most of the user reviews here...really disappointing game for me...first of all there is no fluidity in the game..it runs slow even on lowest resolutions and settings, which makes the game unplayable...EA needs to fix this soon....i can play BF3 and MOH :War fighter at high settings without any problem but this is just unplayable... next, about the game play, well, it sux even more...no story, no varied game types and the most irritating one are the crashes... No matter how well u drive, u r bound 2 crash from minute to minute n no, m not a rookie in driving games, have been playing them for years and well dis is the worst i have played so far i think...the game should have been renamed need for crash...i have beaten d first guy in the road to being the most wanted and well, m fed up....can not tolerate this game any more...… Expand
  79. fureisenjin
    Nov 2, 2012
    4
    This game is not a Need for Speed game. It should be called Burnout Paradise 2.
    The graphics and music are top notch but needs optimization.
    Gameplay is among the things that in my opinion is killing the game, the devs seems to be confused by either making it an arcade or a simulation game.
    U crash too much and it is ridiculous how even the slightest 'touch' can cause a massive crash.
    The cops are among the most aggressive ever to be seen in a game. But that is not a +.… Expand
  80. Cougarific
    Nov 12, 2012
    4
    The original NFS: MW is one of my all-time favorite racing games - this is nothing like the original. As others say, it's a mashup of Burnout Paradise and Hot Pursuit - with nothing in common with the original except the title. There are no challenges beyond racing (Speed Cameras are implemented totally differently), no environmental destruction to be used to throw off cops, no story, no reason to climb the ladder because most cars are available to you from the start (and the ones you "win" are far from worth it). Gamers giving this good reviews clearly never played the original or a fans of Criterion's other games (which I am not). I really was hoping for a clean re-do of NFS: MW with all the features that made the original amazing still intact. Far from it. Very disappointed - should have re-installed Hot Pursuit instead.… Expand
  81. tlove21
    Nov 14, 2012
    4
    Do not believe the 102 people who reviewed this positive. they are probably used to crashing into walls and feeling OK with it. Actual NFS fans who prefer to not hit a wall or traffic will agree this is not a NFS game. I have been playing NFS from Porsche unleashed days. Criterion made this game into an arcade crap, the handling sucks NFS Hot Pursuit handling was much better but also not perfect. In my honest opinion Shift 2 is the last great release of NFS and that one is confined to a track and simulation driving. Driving shouldn't be about who can hit the wall hardest. The franchise is DEAD after this. I will never buy another game from EA 's NFS franchise until Criterion is fired for this horrible mistake.… Expand
  82. MeLnUgA
    Nov 19, 2012
    4
    Nothing interesting in this game waste of time, cheap copy of burnout paradise, if you like arcade go play nfs world, there are not story like in nfs The Run, This game is poorly optimized for PC, a straight port, constant fps drops make the game unplayable. The car handling is too "heavy", the camera choices are horrible. All in all, wasted money.
  83. theoperator69
    Nov 30, 2012
    4
    Are you freaking kidding me EA? No customization? Crashing every two seconds? repetitive game-play? shortest/easiest story-mode of all time with no story? Ok well there's still pursuits to have endless fun...just kidding, no penalty for getting busted and escaping the cops is so easy, I have to cruise at 50 MPH to get to level six, which is still pretty Goddard easy. You can't just make a reboot with absolutely none of the original game features, false advertising. return/pirate this game and buy 2005 most wanted instead.… Expand
  84. mastergene
    Apr 27, 2013
    4
    a game with hes pro's and con's you cant complain about the graphics but other than that even on a high end pc you cant get this game running smooth which makes EA effort to take our money minimal and the crashes yea they ruined the game for me its horrible so yea not even worth its 50€ not even 30 in my eyes for the horrible port play the game in another way if ya can but not wortrth its money is EA did only filling there purses and not the fan base… Expand
  85. garion1
    Nov 5, 2012
    3
    This should have remained "A Criterion Game" (no Electronic Arts involvement) and should have been called Burnout Paradise 2. Besides absolutely stunning graphics, the game lacks everything a true NFS fan got excited about when they saw that NFS Most Wanted was coming. It is downright misleading and dishonest. The NFS franchise has just got worse by the title. Most of my gripes have been mentioned in other reviews already. I'm so disappointed!… Expand
  86. ss4real
    Nov 1, 2012
    3
    This is more a Burnout game than a Need for Speed game. Bad vehicle handling. A terrible upgrade system. New cars are just given to you yet there's only 5 races per car...that you can only attempt with THAT car! The crash cam is annoying and ruins the intense chases that made the original Most Wanted so fun. Don't buy this game.
  87. hapklaar
    Nov 4, 2012
    3
    Another one of these 13 in a dozen racegames. Multiplayer is nothing more than a frenzy where everybody tries to hit eachother. No nice ladder system which could at least keep you occupied for some hours. If you buy this game, be prepared to be bored after one day of playing. Too bad most developers seem to be going for the easy console money and stop developing games which really bring something new (or even old and proven!) to tyhe table to make a game interesting.… Expand
  88. mrkartofel1
    Nov 17, 2012
    3
    One of the worst high-budget game I've ever played.The races are totally frustrating, the cars don't want to turn (or turn only slightly). The graphic and audio is fine, but the soundtrack doesn't. In Burnout Paradise soundtrack was great (rock/metal), in this Need for Speed is **** (only 'cool DJ's', Skrillex). I don't play multiplayer, because I don't like play online, so I can't review it.
  89. H1TMAN930927
    Nov 2, 2012
    3
    When ii hear that need for speed was going to be redone, i was excited and hoped the game was amazing. After Pirating the game out of fear that it would be a money waister, my fears were proven correct. This game is note a successful redo of the last most wanted, getting new cars are as easy as driving around and saying "oh look a bugatti veyron......MINE!" no financial buy car trade car system, all these retarded points things, i mean you start off in a porche 911. theres no progression like the classic need for speed games when u have a **** car and progress to a nicer one threw wining pink slips or buying new cars, theres only 2 camera views(no in-car view) and the handling is just terrible, if you want to know what its like, duct tape a hippo to your roof and try drive, as well as there is no Manual transmission, need for speed franchise is on a downhill, and they are become the same as the Call of duty franchise in this regard, they need to pull something out of there asses to make this franchise a gem as it once was. I feel sorry for people who actually went out and bought the game, and ill say this again.... THIS IS WHY WE PIRATE, TO COMPENSATE FOR GAME DEVELOPERS TRYING TO SELL US ****TY WORTHLESS GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!… Expand
  90. MadButter
    Oct 30, 2012
    3
    Poorly optimized and boring unless you want to play multi player which is fun. Just like Giant Bomb said in their review, it's like a Burnout Paradise 2. I always liked the idea of unlocking new cars by winning races or achieving something and I'm really disappointed that they took it away. You won't fell connected to any of those cars that you can drive. Also, getting that crash cam every time you even scratch a vehicle from traffic is really annoying (also being unable to skip it).

    If you want to buy this game and play with your friends on multi player - wait for it to get optimized. If you're looking for a single player experience - don't touch it    … Expand
  91. suthnara
    Mar 21, 2013
    3
    What can I sat that hasn't been already said. Worst Need For Speed game? Yep it wins that title quiet easily. All cars handle like buses, sloshing left and right and NO MANUAL transmission!! The multiplayer is useless. I never had any clue as to what I was supposed to do. To improve this game some should make a patch or mod to improve the handling of the car and please include manual transmission. Only good thing about the game is the beautiful graphics.… Expand
  92. Redeemer989
    Nov 5, 2012
    3
    Look, I gave up playing this. After all that struggle on single player, I couldn't get used to it anymore due to the crash cam and the gameplay mechanics. So, I'm decreasing my scoring to 3.
  93. Audius
    Nov 2, 2012
    3
    Honestly the lead designer behind this game needs to face some repercussions, because games repeatedly being released this poorly for such a 'major' title is getting old. The title should read Burnout: With Cops, or if they were so adamant about it containing the Need for Speed title it should've read Need for Speed: Least Wanted. There is absolutely NOTHING innovative about this game. This game is the product of cross-breeding between two titles, containing the worst possible genes and deformities between the two. There is absolutely no story-line, you're kind-of just thrown in a bright colored open-world. What to do now? Want to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo but don't feel like doing any work to get it? Great, just go find it on the mini-map and hop in it! Want to customize it? Sorry, those features were overlooked. Want to change the color to your favorite color? No worries! Drive through the magic repair shop where your car is instantly repaired and your car is randomly given a color. Don't like the color? No problem, just reverse through the repair shop and repeat until you get the color you want! Now, aside from the horrendous customization options, the handling in this game is among some of the worst racing games to date. The steering feels extremely clunky, heavy, and delayed. Say you try to avoid a car in front of you by slamming your throttle to the left, then try to correct yourself after you've avoided the car, you'll usually end up slamming into the wall to your left before your car even begins to acknowledge the fact that you corrected yourself. This NORMALLY wouldn't be that much of an issue in a NFS title, but Criterion felt they had to add in their ridiculous "slow-mo crash cam" every time you so much as bump into something. In which case you'll be forced to watch your car flop about, and in some cases watch your car sit motionless after a pathetic accident. This is the kind of stuff that belongs on Arcade machines where you don't expect to be playing the same game for more than a couple repetitions. If you're not a fan of the Burnout series, save yourself the headache and frustration afterwards and avoid purchasing this horrendous title. Don't take my word for it if you don't believe me. Try it yourself either by purchasing or via trackers. I'm pretty sure you'll come to a similar conclusion. If you want to play a similar title that's free-to-play without the terrible design choices by Criterion, try out Need for Speed World, as it is at least 10x better than this steaming load.… Expand
  94. the_kracken
    Oct 30, 2012
    3
    I was hoping for a story game like the first one. What I got was a crappy knockoff that tossed everything cool about the first one and replaced it with garbage. There is no work to get the best cars. They are just given to you to pick up off the street. There is no sense of accomplishment or any story at all. It is just simply cool cars driving around in a city avoiding cops. The only thing nice about the game are the decent graphics. Thanks for another half-assed typical EA release.… Expand
  95. rentonB
    Oct 30, 2012
    3
    This is the worst Need for Speed game i have ever played, i was like "uh" first 30 minutes and i dont wanna come back to this game, its so boring. Even Undercover was much better.
  96. J0k3r4255
    Oct 30, 2012
    3
    srsly a waste of money doesn't reminde me of a nfs at all and i waited for it for this long .srlsy guys first the run now this nfs games were good till nfs run .no story,no tuning,i am totaly disappointed.graphics srsly i have a 8gb pc with a i7 and i still get laggy and the grapchics are similair to nfs hp 2010.then comes the steering drivin in a car any car need to turn i press a turning button a little and i see myself smashing in to a wall tried using a wheel no changes.srsly game looks like it is not complete.i'm chosing older nfs games i recomend that too… Expand
  97. Della195
    Oct 30, 2012
    3
    3 since game looks awesome, sound is great, and I liked the cars inside it, the rest 0
    First of all, pointless single player just race around get points beat some rivals get their cars, that's it.
    Secondly, AWFUL seriously AWFUL handling, adding the fact of the input lag the cars drive like bricks there is rarely occasions where you can drive trough lots of traffic, eventually you will c    rash with something on your way.
    Race breaking AI: they crash you whenever they get the chance and make you get smoked against walls or anything, with the addition of the annoying crash cam they added that makes you loose all your positions, it's almost impossible to win a race in medium without 5 or 6 retries.
    Terribly annoying police: Have you ever seen a Ford Crown Victoria Police car go 280+km/h? If you did not here you can see it, not only they can break the speed of sound but they are tanks literally they will smash you down no matter how hard you try to avoid them, on police chases it's not a problem but on races where you managed to get past around 7 cars that are on now your tail police cars ramming at you and totaling your car its seriously deserves a rage time.
    Race line: I just red IGN's review saying the closed racing line is annoying, how is that possible? I find far more annoying having to go trough checkpoints without the chance of using shortcuts or using a parallel road I mean if you are going to do an open racing game without barriers on the road they should at least let you take secondary roads or use shortcuts but no, you have to follow the racing line and make no mistakes because you will have to turn 180° and head on back to the annoying checkpoint you missed.
    Small map: Overall map is the size of a Most Wanted 2005 district nuff said.
    0% Unlocks: You can unlock and drive a Lamborghini Aventador, Bugatti Veyron SS, Koenigsegg Agera R, by just finding them and spending 0$, just pointless and boring I remember when I used to play games like Most Wanted, and seeing the SLR McLaren that was unlocked after beating the 3rd blacklist racer and I was like : "Damn I gonna have to work a lot to get that awesome car." Now that feeling is unexistent.
    No customization: I played HP 2 from 2002 and yes there was no customization but at least you could choose the color from your car, now you get a random color everytime you go trough the shop. In the end this is a game for a very very casual player who have never played a really good NFS title and only wants to race dumbly with his friends.

    PD: Thank god I got a pirated version of it, I was going to try it and then buy now I won't waste my cash.
    I recommend to PC players to torrent it, don't waste your 60$/50    … Expand
  98. sensuxx
    Oct 31, 2012
    3
    to start we are not talking about most wanted, but a burnout 2, the graphics are very beautiful, magnificent bumps, never before seen in a racing game, but so and so.
    gameplay hard, totally complicated, cars pass in jobs and regenerate, customization weak, which does not add anything to the car, dry game with no excitement
  99. FreeMan4096
    Nov 1, 2012
    3
    Notice how every 10 out of 10 user review here contains "Citerion" in first sencence. It's called Fanboysm :) The Game is aweful, not worth even ilegal download. it's absolut insult to gamers who like racing games or ever loved NFSs. I don't know how they ended up naming it Most Wanted when there is nothing in common with original game. whole desing is stupid. it starts with awkward intro where game tries to excuse poor gameplay mechanics and lack of trully exciting futures. the game might be average 5 out of 10 on consoles but its much worse on PC as it's yet another offence to PC gamers, bringing us port that was writen during weekend.… Expand
  100. Cylon
    Nov 2, 2012
    3
    A discrace for the NFS series, I can't believe this. This is a horrible pc port, what a slap in the face to the pc users. It's like Dark Souls! Not only the fps drops, random crashes and bugs, the controls are so bad as well. Why do they release a port like this in this state? It boggles my mind. The gameplay of this game is quite good though, especially the multiplayer which has a whole lot of variety in it. One thing I don't get is why between events everyone keeps crashing into other cars. As a result you'll be watching so many crash screens in a short amount of time, it's insane. I want a button that makes me neutral between events, I just want to enjoy driving around! Sigh. Fifty bucks wasted, AGAIN.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Nov 30, 2012
    60
    Just pick one of the beautiful cars, hop in and drive. But do not want anything else. NFS: Most Wanted is average fun for all car lovers. [Dec 2012]
  2. CD-Action
    Nov 29, 2012
    70
    Most Wanted works best when you treat it like mobile games – switch it on for 15 minutes, do a random race with a random car and then turn it off. It's a good arcade racing title closely resembling Burnout: Paradise but it's not exceptional. [CD-Action 13/2012, p.52]
  3. Worth Playing
    Nov 25, 2012
    92
    Most Wanted's biggest strength is that it feels like a cohesive whole, rather than some amalgamation of a reboot tacked on to another game's engine. The gameplay emphasizes as little downtime as possible, which is a good thing as it's an absolute blast whether or not cops are involved. It's not a reboot as much as it is a reimagining of the original game, taking the bits that worked and wrapping them in a completely new package. Surprisingly enough, it does so in a way that works, and the new Most Wanted ranks up there with the original.
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