While some (including myself) may question EA's decision in naming this "Most Wanted", one cannot deny that Criterion (as usual) produced a stellar, addicting racing game. Sure, it's not the same as 2005's Most Wanted, but it's still a fun, gorgeous, fantastic racing game, easily one of the best of the year.

Do yourself a favor and buy Need for Speed: Most Wanted right now. Criterion's last reboot of the popular Hot Pursuit series left many fans wanting, including myself. This new entry also by Criterion lends its hand to another famous entry from like 7 years ago. This is the best entry in the Need for Speed series in a very long time and is one of the best arcade racers ever made. Just like Hot Pursuit there is no story and the only goal you have is to reach the top of the Most Wanted list. How do you do that? Well, it's entirely up to you. There is often so much to do that it is mind boggling. You move up the Most Wanted list by earning speed points which you get by drifting, driving in oncoming traffic, near misses, air time, completing races, and of course pursuits. The only one of these you can't do free roam is the race and if you don't want to tackle races you don't necessarily have to. It is strongly encouraged though and every race can give you upgrades to your cars. Did I mention how many cars there are? because there are over 100 and once you find them in the world they are unlocked and you can switch at any time. Each car has their own set of challenges to complete. The entire game encourages competition with your friends via leaderboards too. Who has the fastest time on a race? on a speed camera? who has the highest jump for a billboard? You're job is to knock your friends off that list and conquer the leaderboard yourself. The new iteration of Most Wanted should be a most wanted title and is some of the most fun I've had with an arcade racer. Period.… Expand

Whether you enjoy this game is totally down to your expectations, as Need for Speed fans seem to love it while I and other Burnout fans find this average at best. I'm never comfortable with open world racers though Burnout Paradise was the exception to the rule, this however just is too average. The handling is a cross between arcade and well a bad simulator, after a while you do get used to it but things get worse as all the cars virtually handle the same which gives little incentive to try new cars. Races are exciting but poorly structured, and the mini map is no help at all. Most races you have to remember the routes to take, which can get frustrating. The environment feels lifeless but look great, and online seems really devoid of excitement. I strongly urge Criterion to restore the Burnout series with a proper Burnout structured game, ditch this open world nonsense!… Expand

unbelievable game, the game Need for Speed game ever released. It got a 9 instead of 10 due to lack of dual screen mode. The best NFS game ever released, love it

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If this game was as good as any previous NFS title on the 360 or any of the previous Burnout games on the 360 it would get a lot better user scores. As it is it deserves its user scores but not its critic scores. I always say graphics only deserve a bad score if they distract you and the graphics here distracted me and it has been a long time since I have said that. Most Wanted cars are plain and without characters. The game is without character. Its like they took bits from Burnout Paradise and bits from the original Most Wanted and said - how can we use these bits to make the worst racing game on the 360. In no way recommended.… Expand

Load of crap, constant pauses, car feels likes its floating on the road no feeling of control. Burnout paradise was pure genius this is pure junk, looks good but fails in just about every other way, avoid.

Cuando la locura al volante y la velocidad extrema se hacen querer

EA lleva haciendo saltar a la comba entre desarrolladora y desarrolladora a una de las sagas de conducción arcade más emblemática del mundo gamer y parece que al final ha dado en el clavo con la mejor: Criterion Games.

Tiene gracia que un estudio que trabaja para EA y que realiza otra saga de conducción arcade, Burnournout, sea la encargada de hacer renacer de las cenizas cual ave Fenix a un Need for Speed que parecía haberse salido de la carretera.

El resultado hay que reconocer es una obra maestra del mundo quema llantas donde no hay un momento de respiro gracias a su nuevo sistema llamado “Easy Drive” con el cual tendremos acceso a todas las carreras, los coches, el tuning y demás opciones a un par de golpes de la cruceta del mando, todo un acierto.

http://www.elgamer.es/need-for-speed-most-wanted-analisis/… Expand

No no no no..... Good? It is beautiful, and it has a great concept for multiplayer Bad? everything else. Is this the first multiplayer game that you cant even choose the color of your car? The cars feel so fake, the engine noise can't be right, and the steering feels so lagged out and arcade that the cars don't even feel real. I loved the first Most wanted, one of my favorite racing games, but this game just had me wanting to play the original instead. Critereon... Sorry but please make another burnout....… Expand

This is such a disappointment, and to call this game Most Wanted is blasphemy. The original is one of the best racing games ever, but this game just feels like a mess. Burnout Paradise was a great game, but I didn't play that game when I felt like playing Need For Speed, so perhaps they should have just called this game something else. Honestly, Forza Horizon feels more like the old Most Wanted to me than this game does. The cars in this new MW feel limp and sound weird, the customization options from the original MW are gone and now you get parts from winning races instead of buying them when you earned enough money. It all just feels streamlined the wrong way, as though EA tried to trim out things that weren't fun but ended up trimming some of the bast parts of racing games.… Expand

This is how Criterion think Need for Speed could and should be. I must say they have definitely freshen up the entire series with revolution in gameplay and a tribute to one of the best racing game ever, Most Wanted.
This might not be the Most Wanted sequel you have been expecting for a long time, but this is really a masterpiece. A open-world that worth exploring, customization on-the-fly. Even without the customization system it's still a really great NFS.
Criterion, you're the man.… Expand

Oh Criterion,what have you done.. By rights,this should be a good game,but its been almost completely ruined by a rudimentary yet astonishingly bad design decision!.. Hence the score,but if this critical flaw gets corrected,i will review my score & review. For now,I'll start with this oversight before i get to the game & its positives..

What on earth were Criterion thinking when they failed to implement a normal,staple in-car view?! Yes,thats right,the game has no normal,usable in car cam! & by that i mean bonnet cam or even an equivalent height view.. The game offers a frankly pathetic 'choice' of 2 views only.These views are either a behind car view or an EXTREMELY low bumber in-car view?! The bumper cam is so low,that you would be forgiven for thinking that you have been shrunk & are driving in an extremely tiny but extremely fast go kart or Sinclair C5 or something.. This view is so low,that its unusable,feeling way too fast for skill to be a factor & very limited visibility due to your limited perspective.Who drives a car,hanging off the front of their bonnet with their heads literally an inch off the ground!? I don't like to use & don't use either of those views when i play racing games.The in-car bumper cam is so bad,that i use the behind car cam,which i hate using & never use.THATS how bad the in-car cam is.. I resent being forced to use a view i hate,because of the lack of any usable alternatives.Shocking!!... I literally can't quite believe it,its a travesty to not have a bonnet cam or equivalent height in car view in a racing game,& really struggle to think of any other game thats done this.They are alienating a great many potential gamers with this glaring omission in the game & i can't believe i haven't seen any critic reviews that have picked up on this..

Ok,onto the positives.. The game looks great with some nice graphical effects.The free roaming city(Its great to see there's actually a reason to free roam,unlike their Hot Pursuit a couple of years back)looks great,& they have created a bustling environment,with plenty going on & places to race & go when being chased by the police.The engine sounds are absolutely superb,& definitely improve the feel of the game in itself.The police chases are good fun & theres a fairly decent choice of cars for this type of game & the handling thankfully isn't over arcadey like Hot Pursuit was,though if i'm honest,would have still preferred more realistic,technical handling(this is not a Burnout title after all).As it is though,it plays more like the later Burnout games than Need for Speed,in fact i would say this is more a Burnout game with the Need for Speed name slapped on it.Is it too much to ask for my Need for Speed games to be like,well,Need for Speed?..
There's plenty of races designed for each individual car,as well as the titular most wanted racers you have to take down,one at a time during the course of the game.Autolog is well implemented too.Sometimes the game feels a bit hollow & soulless,pumping music into your ears while the game makes crashes at every opportunity(whether you want to or not),which Criterion seem obsessed with,along with over the top jumps that a car just wouldn't survive in real life & rubber band racing.. Other racers seem obsessed with smashing into you too,which is annoying when you just want to race.I wish there was an option to turn other cars aggression off,& therefore the rubber band 'racing' feel to it all. I feel like i'm having to play the game how they want me to play it,rather than how i want to play it,especially with the lack of view choices forcing me to use the behind car cam which only exacerbates the imprecise handling as you constantly swerve from side to side..Not good. Having a normal in-car cam could help with precision,if only it had such a view.........

So,to summarize,the game had a lot of potential,& there is fun there to be had,but only if you like your out of car or very low bumber cam views. If your one of the many people that don't use those views like me,then you'll be cursing the game while your playing it,because you have not been catered for & blatently ignored,& your resenting being forced to use a view you don't want to use,when you should be enjoying the game..
What a waste & such a shame.. Maybe they will patch a proper view in,in which case,as i say will re think my review,but i wont hold my breath..
I resentfully give this game a 5,because without a usable view,this game is almost unplayable to me..… Expand

I was looking very forward to this game. I bought it the day it came out, and have already sold it after becoming the number 1 'most wanted'. What a disappointment. Great graphics, and detail. Awesome transitions into the races, but the fun pretty much stopped there. The races were just repetitive after the first 4 or 5 cars. The 'most wanted' races lacked any depth or story, and anything that made it exciting to get the new car. A HUGE world, and only a handful of races. I missed the knockout races, the drift races, the speed camera races. A 9 for my anticipation... but a sad 4 for my experience.… Expand

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

I really wanted to enjoy this game - I thought that, since its' predecessor (and supposed inspiration) was so much fun, that this can in no way be a disappointment. Let me start off by saying that this is not NFS, this is not Most wWanted's sequel - this is just burnout with no story and licensed cars.

There is no semblance of a plot to be had here; the basis of the whole game is to find random cars scattered about the whole map, evade cops and compete in races - doing the latter two nets you points, which contribute to your most wanted score; once you get to a certain point, you race a most wanted car then, "shut it down", or in other words, crash it to obtain the car, after which, you just rinse and repeat until you're number 1. That's it. You do get an intro scene for each race (that you can skip), so that is kind of a plus - but I can't understand why criterion didn't add some type of plot - it doesn't need to be complicated, just something to add motivation to the game.

One thing that you can't skip however are the crash scenes. The horrible crash scenes. Every single time you crash your car, either from scraping a concrete fence or by going through a police blockade, you will be treated to a 5 second un-skippable replay of your crash. This is only compounded by the sluggish handling in the game - it takes around 3 seconds from the time you use your analog stick, to the time it actually takes for the car to turn! It feels like i'm driving a brick with melted butter for wheels.

The use of car modifications does make the handling more manageable and the crash scenes less frequent, but these design choices are still rather infuriating - and only furthering my frustration with the game is it's horrible "rubber-banding" Slender-man style AI; no matter how far you are ahead of your opponent, he will catch up and outrun you, and if you crash (especially in the beginning of the game), then you're almost guaranteed to lose. With that said, there are some good things about this game.

Namely the aforementioned car mods, and the graphics. The frame-rate is incredibly smooth, the lighting is great and there is absolutely no pop in. I think that's partly due to how empty Fair-haven feels: there are no pedestrians and barely any civilian cars - in fact, I would say that one out every 10 or so cars is highway patrol! There is also a greatly diminished sense of speed, you could be driving 120mph (193km) and feel like it's 40ish - some type of motion blur could help that, but really, that's only a minor gripe.

The soundtrack is pretty good; it has a good mix of rock, grunge, break-beat, dub-step and Drum and Bass. It is a little on the short side though, and it would be cooler if I could pick my own stations, a la GTA and Sleeping Dogs. I would link to a couple songs, but amazon doesn't allow it, so Google it...

Tl;dr

I found this game rather disappointing, the handling, crash scenes, lack of story and empty environment are all serious issues (which can of course be solved with an inevitable sequel), but the graphics, car mods and police chases are all definite pluses.

Graphics: - 9.7 Other than a few less then stellar textures (stop the car and look at the canyons), the graphics are gorgeous.

Sound: 9 - Great soundtrack, but a little on the short side.

Presentation: - 5 No story whatsoever, but it does have a slick look.

Game-play: 5 - The car handling needs to be improved, and the crash scenes are inexcusable.

Replay Value: 6 - Multiplayer, and collectibles extend the game somewhat, but it's still on the short side.

Side note - I actually wrote a better and more cohesive review, but my computer crashed and I lost it! Then I proceeded to get writer's block, so ya; fun stuff...… Expand

Spectacular. This game was sensational EA got hit once again recreating a classic. The passing system for instant repair was very good and practical cars around the scene was also found to be an excellent idea. Ramps, persecutions, good gameplay, beautiful graphics and great; fun make this game be right purchase.

This game currently has a poor user score. After reading the reviews of this great game, it is obvious most users are to blame. This is a Criterion game, the makers of Burnout. NFS Most Wanted is essentially Burnout Paradise 2. I knew exactly what this meant and what this game was before it came out. I was not disappointed. More people should be embarrassed at themselves for not knowing what the hell they are talking about, giving false reviews, not doing their research and just being an amateur gamer in general.… Expand

When this game was revealed at E3 2012, I was excited. We haven't been given a outstandingly good NFS game in a few years and with the number of bad release in it's name (The Run, Hot pursuit, Pro street to name a few), I felt like the franchise was slowly dying. This game I thought would pick things back up. I could not have been more wrong.
With the title of "NFS Most Wanted" comes a great burden to take the name of what I feel was the last great NFS game released in 2005. Sadly, this game does not live up to expectations. There is literally NO story at all. simply do some races and then do one more. Rinse and repeat. The campaign mode can simply be beaten just by playing in the obviously focused online multiplayer. Granted, the online offers a lot of variation but that is not what a game needs. A game to be able to stand on single player which this game just does not. The multiplayer itself is extremely unfair to new players of this game as they can be instantly paired up with some players who have unlocked the higher tier cars, offering new players no enjoyment. All in all, this game is a disappointment and a possible seal in the NFS future.… Expand

Sin duda Criterion ha dado una vitalidad que NFS necesitaba... esta REIMAGINACIÓN de Most Wanted les ha quedado increíble!! quizás lo que se le puede reprochar es que el mapa es un poco pequeño, pero que va... el juego es fluido, entretenido y eso es lo importante... quizás falto algo de customización visual pero no rompe con el esquema de juego.... altamente recomendado… Expand

This game is brilliant yes it has need for speed on the cover but this is not need for speed but this is an overall great racing game. I have saw people say that the handling is poor although they are wrong that is the new type of handling in these racing games nowadays it just gets a little bit of getting used to. Also the graphics are brilliant I feel like I am immersed by this big gorgeous city where you can explore anywhere anytime. As with every game though there are a couple of problems like you can't buy and unlock the cars anymore you have to find them which does not give me as near as much satisfaction as unlocking them. Another point is that the most wanted leader board is just something there for you to look at when you take out the car and capture of the most wanted driver it feels good but moving up the leader board does not make you feel like it was enough of a challenge or immersing enough into the the story. There are no cutscenes meaning that you do not find out about the characters which means you get no motive to actually beat them on there are cutscenes they are gorgeous but they are just creating the car and introducing the track nothing more nothing less. Overall I think this game is absolutely brilliant and any serious racer or a person who wants to get into racing games this is indeed a must buy I will just say I want a need for speed like underground 2 which I think personally was the best.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Y la blackList? que paso con la historia?? el garage las tiendas, la customizacion, las partes destruibles para huir de la policia los efectos de pintura y todo lo que se esperaba del Most Wanted original??? Es una basura, otro NFS the run en que pasas por una gasolinera y no podes tener el color de tu auto favorito sino al azar, sin vinilos, etc prefiero 1000 veces el forza horizon, ese si parece mas NFS most wanted con las carreras callejeras y todo lo demas como rivales customizacion, historia etc… Expand

As a massive NFS fan this was a huge let down. While it looks nice, its just so boring. The game has no soul and by the midway point I found I was playing it just to sell on and say I'd done it. Avoid this and go buy Forza Horizon, that has everything in it that this game should have had. Namely, its fun to play. Also, the decision to name this Most Wanted is a disgrace. The original had everything you'd want from an arcade racer, this has nothing in comparison. I can't can't help but laugh at this being labelled 'Need for Speed: Most Wanted - A Criterion Game', if I was Criterion I'd be ashamed to put my name to such a weak effort, not including it in the title. Very poor.… Expand

I really liked burnout paradise so it wasnt to my surprise that i really liked this game. I have no idea what the other need for speed games are like so i see this game purely for what it is And that is pure fun! My only gripe is most of the music isnt to my taste and i would rather input my own. Also i hear two songs being played at the same time sometimes which is annoying that must be a glitch which should be patched. I would like to see more scenic routes aswel Its also a shame theres no real punishment getting caught by the po po. I think there should be some kind of fine like having your car impounded and having to earn it back.… Expand

I was very excited for this game as the original most wanted and criterion's hot pursuit were my two favorite NFS titles, unfortunately this game was a big letdown. In general the game is gorgeous to look at and all the cars handle well with variety in looks and stats. I found it quite fun to roam around in the single player looking for new cars, jumps, and fences to knock down. However these fun distractions cannot cover the problems exist in both the single player and multiplayer. In single player almost all of the cars are open to you right from the start, you simple have to find where they are parked in the world. This provides a great motivator to get out and explore the open world that criterion has created. However there are no general races in the world. Each car is given 5 races it can compete in. These 5 races provide upgrades for the car when beaten. Upgrades include things such as a lightweight chassis to increase acceleration and top speed or off-road tires to increase handling off-road at the expense of acceleration and top speed. So once all unlocks have been obtained the player can customize the ride to suit the race they are in. However each car can only race in those 5 races. Once you… Expand

Really disappointed. Only 2 camera angles, hard to see checkpoints, stupid crash animations. NFS The Run was better than this! I have played every single NFS title, it's obvious EA are paying for high reviews because I have no idea how the game is scoring so well critically, whilst the customers are unhappy with this product.

Poorly executed game that lacks the original Most Wanted's theme. The charm that the previous Need for Speed games like Most Wanted and Carbon is completely gone from the game. Lack of creativity by making the player drive around the city and randomly winning races for absolutely no reason whatsoever. This is not the Need for Speed game that we have been waiting years for..

If you don't already own a NFS game, then you should get this. This game is mighty fine. I have not played many NFS games, and this game made me very happy that I bought it. Great graphics, awesome gameplay and free mode. No need to unlock cars (thank god). Flaws is the hard system of controls to use and some boring multiplayer modes. Overall, a good game. It's like Forza had sex with GTA.

it's a dumb down burnout paradise the music get's old fast it should not be called Need for Speed: Most Wanted it's burnout paradise 2 the Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2005 is way better they did not do well by it

Playing two racing games simultaneously could be considered a poor idea but I think it allowed me to hone in what exactly it is that I enjoy in racing games. With that said, please forgive me if my review feels like I'm pointing out what was different from Forza Horizion. First off, this game is a lot fun to just mess around in and Criterion did a great job of creating a gritty city that feels alive and dangerous. Driving around Fairhaven is filled with close calls and action-movie worthy crashes. But in that lies a huge problem, crashing was way to easy. The driving felt clunky to the point where cars didn't really turn how you expect them to (read: everything felt very unpredictable) and they felt really sticky; however, if you needed to make a 90-degree turn at 150mph, no problem, just grab the brake and drift it out. It seemed like the driving system didn't really have itself together and as such you would find yourself crashing into things constantly throughout races and that was the source of difficulty. Through this drive-crash-repeat gameplay style it exposed another huge issue I had with the game: rubber banding AI. I know Forza Horizon had it to but it was so poorly implemented here I was in awe quite a lot. There were points that I would crash multiple times per lap yet I was still able to catch right up to the AI. Conversely, I would "takedown" a competitor and I would gain a good bit of ground only to see their icon on the map fly up at what could only be 300+mph and then slow down as soon as it got close to me. As a result everything was a close race and it felt like you were never really rewarded for driving a solid race, but only a good last 30 seconds. So given the flaws above I still found myself really enjoying the game. It didn't have the variety I would have liked in races as you find yourself doing the exact same race 5 times with different cars. One thing I think Criterion did a great job tapping into is allowing the player to drive all the cases (minus the 10 Most Wanted) right out of the gate at no cost to them. While I think currency in racing games makes sense, it would be great if this concept was replicated in other games, or maybe releasing a class of cars at each stage or something to that effect. So if it wasn't obvious by now I think this was the lesser of the two racing games from 2012, but was still a lot of fun to play and so much so that I think I'll get back into the NFS franchise after a hiatus since Pro Street. I've heard the online is really good so maybe I'll give that a shot but I get aggravated very easily by people messing around online rather than actually trying to play.… Expand