Metascore
72 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 21
  2. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. With solid and exciting gameplay, great graphics and sound, and a fully functional online mode, PSP gamers can’t expect much more.
  2. 90
    I can't help but admire the beauty and power crammed into this game. Aside from a few minor online quibbles, you'd be hard pressed to find a better, enjoyable racing game to dig into this holiday season.
  3. Sure the police AI can be highly questionable, the visuals are pretty blah as is the sound, but on the track, 5-1-0 is a good time on the go, and is a marked improvement from "Rivals."
  4. Everything in this iteration has been improved, and the addition of five-oh in your rear-view adds a degree of drama. [Holiday 2005, p.98]
  5. One of the improvements over Rivals is tighter feel in control, and the visual style takes a turn for the better. [Dec 2005, p.74]
  6. A great all-round package with a definite edge over the PS2 version. And how often do we get to say that? [PSW]
  7. 75
    A solid, nicely paced portable racing game with one frustrating design element that is a major part of its overall design, unfortunately. The cops are there to punish you for performing well, which is precisely opposite of what games have taught us throughout history.
  8. The races are graphically astounding and the online play is a great addition, but given the lack of gameplay modes, repetition is bound to set in.
  9. 75
    Most Wanted isn’t as much of an upgrade upon "Need for Speed Underground Rivals" as we had hoped it would be. One of the biggest upgrades to the game is the police races, and they just become annoying.
  10. It just fails to capture the urgency of the console version to a degree that I wish they'd left the cop angle out entirely. [Jan 2006, p.157]
  11. A game with ridiculous physics, hard-to-master controls and a repetitious event scheme.
  12. The big draw for Need for Speed Most Wanted is the return of the cops, and while that aspect of the game works great on the console and PC where you can actually lose them with skillful driving, Most Wanted 5-1-0 on the PSP bashes you over the head with unrelenting cop chases that suck nearly all the fun right out of the game.
  13. Racers such as Burnout Legends, Ridge Racer, and Midnight Club (other than the load times) are much better games, so there’s not much of a reason to pick up Most Wanted, though it’s not a bad game.
  14. It controls decently, has some good tracks, and looks and sounds like you'd hope a PSP racer would. The problem is that its main selling point -- the police dynamic -- is as much a negative as it is a positive, leaving it without a real means of distinguishing itself.
  15. Most Wanted 5-1-0 has most of what's needed to make a good PSP racing game, but it lacks the biggest one of all: excitement.
  16. Need For Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0 has to be the sorriest excuse for a racing game that EA has ever released. With the PSP's capabilities, they could have done so much more, and made it a much better game.
  17. This makes illegal street racing a grim, unenjoyable affair. Your money's better spent on Ridge, TOCA or Burnout...to name a few. [Christmas 2005, p.106]
  18. 60
    There's nothing wrong with Most Wanted, exactly, but neither is there anything to make it stand out from the many good racers already available for the PSP.
  19. What's basically an upgraded "Rivals" doesn't stand up to recent racers like "Burnout Legends." [Jan 2006, p.105]
  20. The pace of the game does start slow for the first few racers on the blacklist, but once you start to win races and are able to upgrade your ride, the game quickly ramps up the speed and difficulty and provides for some fantastic racing action. That is, until the cops arrive and ruin all the fun, literally.
  21. Oddly, Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0 would have been a better game if they had just left the police back at the donut shop. The combination of badly integrated cops, too few cars, and trammeled car physics keep this game off our most wanted list.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 5 out of 14
  1. Honestly, Most Wanted is the best racing game you can find in the PSP, and they're few and far between. You'd be doing yourself a favour to buy a game that's already old and likely on sale. Great for travelling and what not, quick fix. Full Review »
  2. anounceanounce
    3
    The game sucks
    As specialy the physics engine
    when you hit a wall at a 20 degre angle and want to steer away you go 90 degre against the wal
    l which sucks

    also the police spawns right in front of your car and stops you in a race FUCK THAT

    when you have a fucking bad car you automaticly lose
    but when you have a car that is 10 times better than there car you somhow get better and are able to win from you

    i just give it a 3 because it has nice graphics but nothing more
    Full Review »
  3. JaXJ.
    10
    An awesome racer, tuned to the top. Some things annoy me sometimes, like the cops unbelievable skill of keeping up with you always and the thing that after about 80% of the races you just can't win any more. But for anyone who thinks that Ridge Racer's 360-degree-drifting-style is unreal, this is a definite buy. Full Review »