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

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 468 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 145 out of 468
  2. Mixed: 63 out of 468
  3. Negative: 260 out of 468

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  1. 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.
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. razgriz10000
    Oct 30, 2012
    1
    Horrible. I give it a 1 because the graphics are good. Other than that the game is absolute crap. There's no feeling of leveling up. You are handed everything. No buying anything. No customization. Stupid camera angles. The cars feel like you're driving 20 ton dump trucks with cheese for wheels. You can't even pick between an automatic or a manual transmission anymore. The run was a bad blow to NFS. This game has killed the series for me. Time to go back to midnight club where I can at least have some fun and have a personalized car and stuff.… Expand
  6. polko-m
    Oct 30, 2012
    0
    this is half done game without any story and challenge, where every car is avaliable from the begining without any motivation to play and unlock anything. As criterion said for people which does not have time to play few hours to unlock something, with forced multiplayer against signgleplayer where is nothing to do... If they can imagine there are player which want to play singleplayer and I don't want to put my face to each banner in the game… Expand
  7. 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.
  8. 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
  9. racergsxr1
    Oct 30, 2012
    2
    This game is more "Burnout" than it is "Need For Speed". Criterion has made great games over the years but they need to stick with their "Crash N Bash" formula with Burnout and not dump it on the NFS series. This game is such a disappointment. Criterion took out all the things that made Most Wanted great and added in a bunch of things that didn't. No more manual transmission, next to no customization, no storyline other than "There's ten people who are the best racers in the city. Beat them and I'll give you a cookie". I don't think I even saw a change camera option. What the hell happened? And the so called "Find it, Drive it"? What the hell is that? What happened to doing races for money and using the cash to buy cars and parts? That's a proven formula and everyone knows that, why take it away and replace it with something as stupid as driving around looking for exotic cars that are (for whatever reason) sitting around a city? I'm glad they brought back free roam instead of "drive on a long curvy road with high-speed corners". But at such a cost! This game isn't even Need for Speed anymore. It's like Burnout Paradise City with Frostbite 2 and a different name. It's not even as great as Paradise City, it's like a hybrid that takes all the worst case scenarios EA and Criterion could made each game into (but didn't thankfully) and combines them all into one fustercluck of unrecognizable programming. If you're looking for a fun, freeroaming, street-racing game, try NFS Underground 2 or if you also want great graphics, try NFS Undercover.… Expand
  10. 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
  11. rentbox
    Nov 2, 2012
    2
    New NFS! GREAT! Right? Typically when you see a massive number of negative user reviews, people are just complaining to complain right?

    So lets break this latest NFS down. It runs - check. You can drive different cars - check. There are cops, races, and other side mission like things to do - check. The graphics are decent (more on this later) and you have teh dubstep soundtrack!     If you've played NFS before EA turned into a completely soulless company, there were some fun moments. You could get past the small flaws and cheater AI that were part of the experience because the core game was fun. Now looking back at every NFS since PU, we have a complete and total failure to produce a game that is even worth playing. This latest entry is full of the same crap and somehow, people keep buying it. Do you want to dominate a race and then lose in the last tenth of a second because the AI magically caught back up? Do you want to drive cars that handle without a bit consistently? Do you think a sandbox racing game should just be a check list of races? After an hour of attempting not to be infuriated by this game, I lost, and decided that I would rather stab myself repeatedly rather than carry on. The PC version is an obvious port, and poorly optimized. You want particle effects? WE'LL GIVE YOU SO MANY EFFECTS THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THE RACE! You want to complete that billboard challenge? We'll make sure a the "randomly" generated traffic t-bones you. So what does this boil down to? EA Games beating a long dead series because for some reason, people keep buying these steaming piles of crap games. Save your money, or better yet, find a copy of the first NFS : Hot Pursuit and Porsche Unleashed.… Expand
  12. 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
  13. masiao
    Oct 30, 2012
    2
    This is the Worst Need for Speed Most Graphics ever Made, It's pure graphics, game play sucks, handling sucks, no **** view, just 2 bump and chase, physics are beyond arcade, cops have X ray vision, you can destroy your car 100 times and it's still working, no wheels no nothing, no clutch, no h shift, purely automatic arcade crap, no customization, all cars are free to use, no story, it's A Criterion Game. Welcome to the Need for Speed Most Burnout.… Expand
  14. GPReS
    Oct 31, 2012
    0
    I always hated trolling, and this game is nothing but trolling from Criterion...
    1) Most Wanted? Seriously??? Do they ever played MW by BlackBox? Obviously not, otherwise the game would not be such facepalm...
    2) NFS??? Seriously? I see nothing but very bad replica of Burnout: Paradise City...
    3) Graphics sucks on HD screens as NFS:HP2010 earlier, seems that Criterion is still has no ar    ms to develop smth worthful
    4) Controls - fuuuuuuuu!!!!
    This is the the 1st game I give such a low score. The way not to go Criterion... But better - get your arms off NFS title, go develop next BRNT...    … Expand
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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.
  18. Pandoron
    Oct 31, 2012
    2
    Sorry to say that but this game is a 1 millionth variant of the same thing. Completely unrealistic demonstration of these cars (except the exterior optics). Only two camera positions. Upgrade system is a joke. Gameplay is rather boring. We had these games even 20 years ago with higher quality levels regarding gameplay. If you want to have fun with driving nice and fast cars you should consider buying NFS: Shift 1/2 or something similar. This stuff is just boring and repetitive like hell.

    Also again it is annoying to see who the "Critic Reviews" get influenced by the payment of the publisher because I cannot imagine that the reviews are that high without any bribery. Once more you can realize that magazine reviews are not reliable at all.    … Expand
  19. Palenoire
    Nov 1, 2012
    0
    Game made so angry that I published my review not on PC page but on PS3 page by mistake.
    This is crap! Horrible! Why cars are uncontrollable? Why game is lagging on high settings while Skyrim/Battlefield 3 run absolutely normally on my PC? Why music sucks (again)? Why game slows down time every 5 seconds like an online lag? How many freaking hours do I need to hold down "turn left" button     for my car to actually turn left? And when she turns left... oh boy... nothing can stop her from causing total devastation in spinning 360 freaking degrees!!! Once you gently, for half of the second tap Space it sends you car flying like a tornado! Screw this game, don't buy it, download it from trackers if you are curious- yeah, i said that.… Expand
  20. 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!
  21. 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
  22. 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.
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. 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
  26. Donads
    Nov 1, 2012
    2
    I don't understand those guys at EA, I really don't. Why don't they ask what the costumers WANT to play? Why do they keep ruining game series that I loved years ago? I've stopped playing NFS on NFS: Shift (which I really didn't like), but when I first watched the first video of NFS:MW(2012), I was really excited about it, I thought "Hey, they're coming back for MW!". But I was wrong, completely wrong. First of all, you can't skip the intro when you start a new game. So, after waiting for that completely boring intro, there were the tutorials, totally annoying, and then, when I finally get to play it, It's nothing but Burnout Paradise (which I really like) with less colourful graphics, and a completely boring gameplay. I just hope they don't release a new NFS: Underground and ruin it like they did with MW. Please, if you're going to make a ridiculously bad game, don't name it as a game fans used to like years ago.… Expand
  27. 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
  28. 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
  29. ancientgamer2k
    Oct 31, 2012
    2
    As others said, it's very sad how far the Need for speed series has fallen. Kudos to Criterion for trying to showcase frostbite 2, but a giant minus for killing another NFS title. To summarize: The good: nice graphics, good sense of speed, burnout-type sense of speed/action, free roaming
    The bad: the handling model is very poor since for some reason, they made all the cars handle the sam    e (very minor variations between RWD, AWD and FWD); all cars feel like they weigh way too much, AI super speed-banding (ie. AI gets accelerated so that they can keep up with you) in both police chases as well as races, useless progression model (got bored within 30 minutes tbh), useless unlock model (again, no real feeling of progression) and absolutely pointless single-player. I`m sorry, but with such poor design choices, this is ``just another failed NFS title`` in my book. Sorry Criterion, I`ll give you a 2 for the graphics and because you made the original Burnout series, otherwise 0 for EA.… Expand
  30. DeeZaster
    Nov 1, 2012
    2
    This game is one of the worst driving games in the series of NFS racing with super cheesy adverts. To start with the adverts, all the billboards you smash through are labelled with EA bought companies like DICE, BIOWARE etc... and this is far from a NFS title, its a Burnout title and I want my money back this game is just horrid. First while your driving your constantly blinded by the super whiteout sun 25% of the time and even using the calibration, its subpar after calibration is still used for brightness and contrast, this is unacceptable. Second is the lag with controllers. Your usually hitting a lot of things because the car continues to turn even after you've readjusted your stick on your controller, it just seems to still steer for a second after a lot, not always but a lot which makes driving unpredictable. Having no customization options just sucks, whatever happened to need for speed underground where you could soop up your ride the way you wanted, with the parts you wanted and even the style. Did you know there is NO MANUAL TRANSMISSION?!?! This joke of a game you just drive through a gas station and your ride is instantly fixed and colour changed, COME ON can you get any more mickey mouse job of making a game than this? The graphics are decent, nothing spectacular but this game is a MAJOR rush job and just quickly put together with social features nobody uses. The cop chases usually last for an hour because they constantly are on your tail and so many keep respawning, its a joke. I've been parked by the side of the road my first time in the game, no heat on me, while I was setting up the settings and got back to game and BOOM a cop just busted me, this was f**ked! The other annoying thing about this game is while your driving and hitting objects its like a cop's cherries are flashing behind you each time you hit an object, its very distracting and not sure why they are flashing white and blue when you hit any object like a light pole.

    SERIOUS GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK! After these few hours I seriously can't take it no more, this game is in the trash. This game isn't even better than the RUN (the last NFS game) when it first game out and that is VERY BAD. I really miss the games last the old most wanted where it had a story, if this game even had a story it would be something to play for, in its current state I don't ever want to play this game again.

    This game only gets a HURTING 2/10, I gave it 1 extra point cuz I didn't crash to desktop once at least. Never again am I going to PreOrder a NFS title.    … Expand
  31. 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.
  32. 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.
  33. 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.… Collapse
  34. 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..
  35. 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
  36. 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.
  37. 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
  38. Datherion94
    Oct 31, 2012
    0
    This game is as 'kryator' mentioned, a straight port making it unplayable. The car handling is completely HORRIBLE. Car implosions (i.e crashes) are unrealistic, all vehicles are way to fragile. Crash a single time in any race, etc.. and you lose. The handling really needs to be looked over, because making it completely impossible to complete a mission such as 'The Getaway'. Worthless cop cars just mashes into you from nowhere and along with the actual fact that ALL of the policecars catches up with you no matter what (they can just FLY past you from being far behind).. Criterion Game and EA really needs to re-work this. WAAAASTED money, no doubt. I'm truly dissapointed. Last time I will even look at NFS games.… Expand
  39. 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
  40. BadAssBoss
    Nov 8, 2012
    1
    this massage to all "critics"
    u don't understand what u doing. this is NOT an AAA game! this is usless trash. it's not even the game!
    - controls not responsive, - 2 stupid cameras, physics? there is no NOTHING in this trash to call it even simple arcade. games for ipad in our days have more deep gameplay and setting... than this.
    this is pathetic parody on NFS. critics give this trash 8    !!!! U encourage EA and Criterion make this trash NEXT YEAR? or u just sellouts?… Expand
  41. 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
  42. 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
  43. Bejito81
    Nov 1, 2012
    1
    Firstly, it looks great, graphic to max, 60fps, then you drive a little and for no real reason, fps drops, I put everything to minimum, then same again, 60fps and for no reason drops again (to like 30fps) (nor gpu nor cpu are at 100%)

    Secondly, and basically it is even worse than stuttering graphics (well 30fps is playable), commands lag, everyone (well most of us) play with analog devi    ces (like xbox 360 pad), but the game basically doesn't care, the more you want to turn the longer you press, and the car only react a second after your input, it is barely impossible to pass by another car at the last second, so if you chose bad lane before doing a turn, you'll be in the ass of another car

    So I love burnout paradise, but this game is not even as good as BP was so, it is a big NO to EA, after the FIFAs on Vita, now this, if they want the players to stop buying their games, they can just stop making them, we don't need this crap

    They need to patch it, quick and good    … Expand
  44. GravSpec
    Nov 1, 2012
    0
    This game is just a way less fun version of Burnout: Paradise. Among my complaints are: horrible handling, lack of camera options, and the horribly artsy and lengthy cut-scenes prior to each race. The only thing I enjoyed about this game is some of the soundtrack. I highly suggest just renting this if you want to play it. Do not waste money on this.
  45. Jaha
    Nov 2, 2012
    0
    This must be one of the worst racing games I ever played. First of all, the pc version has massive fps drops and is pretty much unplayable. There is also a delay when you turn which makes it impossible to keep the car on the road. The car handling is also terrible and I bet Super Mario Karts have better car handling. It really feels like you driving a boat. Also every time when you start the game you have to watch a stupid intro for about 3 minutes, you can… Expand
  46. WarEnsemble
    Nov 2, 2012
    0
    This is not Most Wanted, It's really like Need for Speed: Burnout. Really, feels like playing Burnout games with Need for Speed brand on it.

    And its poorly optimized for PC.
  47. 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
  48. 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
  49. 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
  50. makeros
    Nov 2, 2012
    3
    I have to say that, I do not wish that any future racing games takes this game as an example. There is no fun, the controls are ok BUT it is not FUN! You crash all the time and it screws your race. Also if you drive really well, you have that amazing rubber band effect!! In the year 2012 you`d think that EA sports might have the capability to make an realistic Ai!!
  51. 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
  52. Xxovich
    Nov 3, 2012
    0
    Worst racing game ever.Steering forces you to drift since its impossible to just do a decent turn and even you did drift you would end up crashing which get you in a 5 second crash cutscene everytime (that annoys the hell out of me) even if its just a side crash which you did on purpose to get your car straight.The physics aren't right at all , you could end up rolling 10 times from a slow tbone by a police car but you would get a straight jump if you'd hit a ramp with just 2 wheels.Optimization is crap , it gives 20-40 fps in the city and 50 in some areas on my system which gives a stable 60 on any game including BF3.There is no real progression , story or anything , yes you have to work your way through the list if you want a bugatti or a koenigsegg but you can find all the cars around the map except the most wanted ones.I was really excited about this game , I pre-ordered it , couldn't sleep the day before it's release... I was shocked to see what a piece of crap this was. Customization is my favourite thing in racing games and a racing game without customization is not worth to play in my opinion , NFS was the last title for me to expect that situation. I mean WHAT THE HELL?? At least let me choose the paint!? It does let you choose paint in multiplayer but that requires you to do extremely long tasks for a selection between 5 colors.I couldn't believe the crap I was playing so I kept playing for 4 days , I waited for a patch to solve the steering and fps problem , I became the number 1 most wanted in singleplayer (which is the end of the storyline , If you could call that a storyline) and played a few hours on multiplayer.I gave this game too many chances and it failed me every time. I would give it a 0.5 for the good selection of cars but there's no such score in the chart so I give it a 0 and promise not to buy another NFS title made by criterion.… Expand
  53. devillightning1
    Nov 4, 2012
    0
    Ok lets just say that I am running a gaming rig that I considered to be high end :GTX 680 Lightning, i5 2500k 4.7GHz 8GB Vengeance RAM. So with these hardware, you would think it shouldn't be a problem running this game right? WRONG. This game's first obvious flaw is its terrible optimization. Even when you have a HIGH END GPU you would still be running at around 40-50FPS dropping down to about 30 FPS in the tunnels, something is obviously very wrong here, and forget about overclocking your GPU since the GPU usage barely reach 80% it wouldn't help at all. 2nd flaw is the cars handling. All the cars in this game felt like you are driving a brick, it felt so heavy and it hard to turn around. Another problem is that since EA is advertising this game as a reboot to the Most Wanted IP, you would think that this game would include everything that the original Most Wanted did so well, a good storyline, some insane customization, pursuit breakers, speedbreaker and more, but NO. Instead, they threw out everything that made the original Most Wanted so memorable and threw in everything that came from Burnout Paradise, smashing billboards, instant repair cars, takedowns blahblah, and Burnout Paradise still runs better and plays better than this game...And also the cheating AI, the cops even though you are driving at 300KM/H they would still catch up to you no problem and the roadblocks are seriously almost impossible to go through when they are using SUVs although in the original Most Wanted you can pass through SUV by ramming the rear, and now spike stripes have a blinking yellow light to warn you and after you entered cooldown mode, for some unknown reason when you take a shortcut, the cops will still follow you into the shortcuts, SERIOUSLY, DID YOUR CAR HAVE SOME SORT OF MAGNETIC TRACKING DEVICE???!!!!...And also since all cars are already unlocked in the beginning, the sense of leveling up and improving is gone since in the original game you would have to defeat certain Blacklist drivers to unlock cars. car parts, performance upgrades and more. Simply put, this game is very disappointing and a waste of money. The name Most Wanted is just for advertising and nothing inside is even related to the original game, except the most wanted list, but in the original its called the BLACKLIST, not the MOST WANTED LIST ZZZ, even Burnout Paradise is much better compared to this… Expand
  54. 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
  55. 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
  56. pawwilon
    Nov 18, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
  57. 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
  58. 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
  59. 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
  60. 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
  61. 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
  62. 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...
  63. czaczaczar
    Nov 5, 2012
    0
    I personally prefer the NFS: Most Wanted 2012 ported on Android & iOS because it has in-game currency & it doesn't suck! When I first heard of this game, I thought, "Wow! My favorite game from the NFS series will be remade. Sgt. Cross, the hot chick named Mia & the Blacklist are coming back." My hopes has been ruined. This game is just a combination of NFS: Undercover (which I really hated) & Burnout Paradise (which I really liked). It has no manual transmission, poor handling, bumper cam & chase cam only, the city is very small, no car customizations & modifications, no currency, no story, cheating AI (SUVs that can catch up with supercars), & most of all, there's no distinct character milieu like in the original Most Wanted. Flashy graphics doesn't always mean a good game. It's not worth the money. This game should be boycotted. EA better not touch NFS: High Stakes next.… Expand
  64. 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
  65. 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
  66. 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
  67. 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
  68. PloppySon
    Nov 5, 2012
    0
    Rushed out to buy this as I had the old Most Wanted (which I really enjoyed). This game is Burnout Paradise 2 not Most Wanted! That's my quick review :D PROS: Nice GFX, runs well on my PC - AMD quad 3.4ghz, GTX470 8gig 1333mhz corsair ram, WIN7 64bit. Free roaming. Nice sound FX for cars, engines, creaking chassis etc. Great fun for Burnout fans. CONS: Music is crap, load of dubstep junk.
    No **** cam or hood/bonnet cam.
    No gears for wheel owners eg G25/G27
    Loading screens between race retry/restart.
    No Story mode you just get thrown in and left to it.

    I have mixed feelings about this game, overall I like it but there seems to be a lot of things missing and some really stupid design choices - External Camera or Bumper Camera which means you get to see the world as if your face is stapled to the road, I don't like external cams and the absence of a bonnet/hood cam or a **** cam has FAIL written all over it.

    You don't feel like you are a real person trying to be most wanted as there is no story and the game sort of feels a bit empty and pointless.

    This game is NOT Most Wanted, as others have said (even before release) it is Burnout Paradise 2. If like me you loved BP then you will like this, even though cars are given to you just by driving past key spots around the map you have to win races for the specific car to earn its upgrade which is ok for an arcade racer but takes the sense of achievement out of the game.

    I'll give this an 8 because it IS A GOOD GAME, but yet again EA have released another NFS that is not NFS it's Burnout with the Police chasing you.

    Sorry if this review is mixed up but I'm still trying to work out why this is called NFS:Most Wanted and not Burnout - Yes I said it again!    … Expand
  69. 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
  70. 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
  71. 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
  72. 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
  73. Boeteloez
    Nov 4, 2012
    2
    I still got Most Wanted from 2005 laying around in the attic somewhere. I might as well just played that game again, because this 2012 version is just one big copy past with some updated consolegraphic. Some how it runs like crap on pc (another greate EA port i guess) and the game is way to easy, especially if you played games like GT, forza or Grid. Need4speed is not the same good old game it was 5 to10 years back. It feels like a total ripp-off, because they basically are selling us the same game from 7 years back. However, If you are the type of gamer that does NOT like the brake button and want to hit every corner doing about 280, this is your game! A 12 year old kid should have fun with this, a real gamer who likes a challenge should skip this waste of game. Thank god for the 8 days refund option. Second game from EA I decided to return and change for another game.… Expand
  74. wtfmen
    Nov 4, 2012
    0
    This is the supposed to be a similar game to the original Need for Speed Most Wanted, but it lacks a lot of the most important aspects. There is no car customization, no manual transmission, no in game currency, and the worst part of all is that you can't own a car! Who thought it would be a good idea to remove one of the best parts of the original NFS MW, owning and customizing a garage full of cars? The driving mechanics are mediocre. It feels like they were made for "fun" but it makes driving more repetitive. Another extremely annoying thing about this game is the stupid slow mo- zoom out camera that happens when you crash. I just want to keep driving not waste time looking at my stupid crash without being able to go anywhere.… Expand
  75. 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
  76. AR87ACE
    Nov 3, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First off, i just want to say that i knew this was coming... another need for speed title,another bad racing game added to the long list! This game is a huge disappointment for almost any nfs fan out there... and i`m talking about the ones who played the whole series from the first installment, who know that after nfs hot pursuit, the series slowly died. The only reason why i`m giving this game a 5/10 is that it has great graphics ,great sounds/music, but these things can`t make up for the bad and unrealistic handling of the cars, the stupid crashes with traffic cars, stupid a.i, stupid cops, fps drops, pop-ups that appear on screen in front of you that block the whole view and so on... And above all, this game is dumbed down hard (that easydrive system is s**t) it has only 2 camera views, a pretty small map, no garage, no shops, no customization, no story and no purpose at all. Overall this is bad experience and i suggest you buy something else

    PS: In my opinion nfs hp 2010 was better than this one, this shows once again that history repeats itself, by that i mean: what happened to ea is happening to criterion, but much earlier (next game will be even worse,if there will be a next one)    … Expand
  77. 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
  78. Method320
    Nov 3, 2012
    3
    Criterion's recent work on the Need for Speed series has been moderately refreshing. Hot Pursuit was definitely a nice addition to the series. That's where it ended. Most Wanted is nothing more than a sequel to Burnout Paradise. While Burnout Paradise was certainly a fun game, Most Wanted doesn't do much new for the NFS franchise and this game has no place in the series. Need for Speed games have always had a place for customization, Burnout games have not. All need for speed games had a garage you could choose your car from, and customize it with more than just the paint job (Save for Criterion's previous Hot Pursuit)

    While the game itself certainly has some fun elements to it, the glaring downsides to this title easily outweigh the positives. Yes, it looks pretty, that's more or less all it has going for it.    … Expand
  79. 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
  80. 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
  81. hansgoed
    Nov 5, 2012
    0
    I really wanted to like this game. NFSMW is my favourite NFS game and I hoped they had improved the graphics, added some race modes, given it a new story and be done with it. Unfortunately they took Burnout, named it Need for Speed and added a little something weird and the result is something that feels like crap, isn't fun and isn't inviting you to play on to reach the goal. It would have been acceptable if they didn't take the NFS name to sell this garbage.… Expand
  82. Redphyve
    Nov 7, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What to say? I think the phrase "some polish and no spit" seems to sum it up for me. No storyline.
    No continuity.
    No sense of immersion. Here is car. Drive car. Win race. Get chased. Ad nauseum. Ad infinitum.

    The graphics may be pretty and detailed for a console, but for a high-end pc like mine? It's no challenge. FPS locked at 60. Sometimes dipping into the high 50's. It looks like the washed- out console port it is. It's pretty awful is more like it. Adjusting options in-game is a joke. it just looks worse.

    And then lets get to the game-play. I'm not going to crtitique the car-handling much. Let's just say its much of a muchness with very little feel or difference between the cars. An Evoque is an Aventador. Just slower. But the AI? It varies from "Oh my God that was brilliant!" to "WTF??? Did that cop just run into the road-block head-on?" "Umm...I turn left and a cop APPEARS FROM NOWHERE right in front of me on an empty road?" And the last Most Wanted chase they must have figured that its not going to be much of a challenge as the slightest touch from the Koeniggsegg Agera sends your impact-protected and chassis-reinforced Lamborghini Aventador skidding wildly out of control while a perfectly executed hit on the rear 3/4 panel of the Agera barely moves it. And in one bewilderingly inexplicable moment, I deflect the Agera up an off-ramp to only see it appear seconds later in FRONT of me! How did it go up the off-ramp, 180-degree turn, back down, another 180 and then catch me doing over 280kph? Really. That's piss-poor and lazy-ass programming.

    Multi-player? Still to make up my mind on that but so far NOT IMPRESSED. But I won't let me initial impressions are of a chaotic confusing mess that with some effort you can get going and do...stuff.

    Anyway: to sum up. Pretty disappointing for PC-gamers, as usual EA and Criterion have kicked the pc-users in the teeth again delivering a console game for the pc. Up next are the lack of updates, lack of DLC and general support for the platform that single-handedly kept EA "In the game.    … Expand
  83. neozora
    Nov 13, 2012
    3
    Race without manual transmission? What is that? Have any of the developers ever driven a car? It's pathetic. Crappy game with crappy gameplay. Great graphics though, but that's the minimum they could do it. I'm happy I played before buying, it would be a complete waste of money. Not recommended
  84. 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.
  85. 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
  86. 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
  87. StrikerFIN
    Nov 6, 2012
    1
    Loved the original Most Wanted (not because of the plot, but because of gameplay), came in with high hopes, but left unsatisfied. I would agree on the comments about bad optimization and low frame rates. I have a high end PC, and games like Battlefield 3 work without any problems on max settings. NFS: Most Wanted however, doesn't. There is constant frame rate issues. Also I can't drive with manual gears, only automatic. The cool slow motion replays during jumps and roadblocks, which I loved in the original Most Wanted, are gone. No police helicopter anymore even on highest heat level, don't know why they left that out. As everyone knows by now, all of the cars are unlocked right away. This doesn't bother me, but the "Easydrive" system in which you can upgrade your car while driving isn't that functional. You can't really steer and navigate the menus in the same time, so you're gonna have to stop the car anyway. All in all, I'm pretty disappointed.… Expand
  88. 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
  89. 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
  90. RECON-UK
    Dec 23, 2012
    2
    For those of you wanting my opinion, see my video over on YouTube.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJnK52lom_E&feature=youtu.be

    My review is in the description, with video proof.
  91. 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
  92. 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.… Expand
  93. 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.
  94. arthur666
    Nov 17, 2012
    0
    i dont understand this game. i cant control car and hitting every other cars and that annoying CRASH word come up. its makes me mad. its makes me crazy. there is NO possible way the play this game. miss old nfs games...
  95. 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
  96. 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
  97. 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
  98. 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
  99. 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
  100. 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
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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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