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Need for Speed Most Wanted

EMAIL PRINT pc

7.2 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 79 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: EA Canada

Genre(s): Racing, Driving

Players: Multi

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: November 15, 2005

Summary

Combining the thrill of illicit street racing and tuner customization with the intensity of strategic police pursuits that rivals any Hollywood-style chase scene, Need for Speed Most Wanted challenges players to become the most notorious and elusive street racer. Players instantly feel the thrill of the ride as they hit the streets in an open world environment where drivers can tune their cars to compete against any class of vehicles or use their wits to out-fox the law to satisfy their need for speed. Need for Speed Most Wanted delivers a unique, fast-paced and gripping ride in the racing genre as players build up their Rap Sheet and street cred to move their way up the Black List to become the most wanted racer on the streets. Players go head-to-head with the top drivers on the scene as well as strategically evade more than half dozen cops at any one time. Also included are a dynamic open world, new gameplay and customization as well as tuners, supercars, muscles and sports cars. [Electronic Arts]

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: Need for Speed Underground Need for Speed Underground 2 Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Stuff

Making a name for youself by climbing the game's Black List, aka series of bad-ass mo-fos you must beat, is good fun.

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ActionTrip

It's safe to say that NFS: Most Wanted is perfectly balanced between real-life steering and physics and arcade-style handling.

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Computer Gaming World

Does Most Wanted feed my adrenaline addiction from start to finish? No - repetition, while unavoidable in a game ilke this, ultimately does in the game's ability to raise your blood pressure. But while it lasts...damn, it's good. [Feb 2006, p.80]

The New York Times

Wanted's story won't win any awards, and the game would still be tremendous fun without it, but it gives your racing added significance.

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PC Gamer

A superb arcade racer that's a feature or two away from greatness. [Feb 2006, p.88]

IGN

The stylistic presentation and graphic sensibilities are impressive, and they're complemented by excellent engine sound effects and smart cop chatter.

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1UP

The nod back to the cop chase mechanics of the Hot Pursuit games is certainly welcome, plus it's interesting to see that the vaunted "open" gameplay of the last two games has been dialed down by a more forcibly linear structure to keep things interesting.

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GameSpot

Great fun, from its hysterical cutscenes to its extremely tense police chases.

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Computer Games Online RO

A must have for Need for Speed fans. For the rest, it’s an interesting arcade racing game, thanks to its spectacular police car chasses and outstanding graphics.

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PC Gameworld

Fantastic gameplay variety, and stunning graphics make this a worthwhile investment if you own a high-end PC.

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Pelit (Finland)

A decent enough racing experience. The police chases are excellent fun, but where is the proper civilian traffic? [Dec 2005]

Gamer 2.0

Most Wanted brings the police back in force, and the game benefits greatly from it.

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GameSpy

Pulse-pounding car chases, lighting-fast races, and a beautifully crafted game world.

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Sydney Morning Herald

The addition of smart and relentless police pursuers has reinvigorated this popular driving series.

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AceGamez

The graphics are the best of any racing game bar none. The world is open in its architecture and you can drive anywhere, so you make your own destiny!

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Play.tm

The only thing stopping it achieving a better score are the aforementioned niggles coupled with some below par AI. Their computer-controlled abilities switch from laughably amateur to 'one mistake and its race over' Terminator-style brutality in a matter of moments which seems more than a little unfair.

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Computer Games Magazine

While Most Wanted occasionally shows signs of screwing up the balance and flying off the road, it generally rights itself before it spins out of control. [Mar 2006, p.64]

Boomtown

It’s solid with good visuals and enjoyable racing, but it does nothing new.

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games(TM)

It’s a nice, clean package that delivers enough hi-octane chases and enjoyment to warrant a purchase. [Christmas 2005, p.121]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 79 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Petar P gave it an8:
Most Wanted brings you the most action-packed street racing ever! Full of cops that are always on your trail and that darn Sgt. Cross! MW brings sleek graphics and the gameplay is excellent. You can roam in an open world and speed like mad. The tracks are great. There are some tricky ones which need a little strategy but that's a good part of the game. The selection of cars is wonderful. From your average Fiat Punto to a supercharged Porsche 911 Turbo! The blacklist is an exotic part of the game. 15 street racing maniacs to take down, top on the list being Razor - some dude who hijacked your BMW M3 GTR. The feel of speed is also magnificent. You can reach over 220 MPH while free roaming. The tollbooth races are also well done. The whole feel of racing against time... The only thing is how tracks can get repetitive and the police... VERY frustrating once you get to Razor... or Bull (sort of). But once you get to Razor, trust me, the police are gonna become extremely aggressive. I gave up on beating MW because of it. I only have one damn milestone left but I can't complete it due to police difficulty.

Anson G. gave it a9:
What is there u dont like this game? All the racing scenes are cool. Well i have finished all the carreer and challenge race. At least the programmers has added the police pursuit, thanks to that spectular. Its very fun if u are in chase by police but i prefer the most difficult. Well, as for tuning shop u can buy the performance in order to upgrade and parts to customize your car series. As for car shop, u can buy car u like, the choice is yours. So if enjoy the NFS series, u wont have any problem but playing this game. Trust me, u be glad if u did.

Anson G. gave it a9:
What is there you don't like this game? All the racing scenes are cool. Well I have finished all the career and challenge race. At least the programmers has added the police pursuit, thanks to that spectular. Its very fun if u are in chase by police but i prefer the most difficult. Well, as for tuning shop u can buy the performance in order to upgrade and parts to customize your car series. As for car shop, u can buy car u like, the choice is yours. So if enjoy the NFS series, u wont have any problem but playing this game. Trust me, u be glad if u did.

Murtaza M. gave it a10:
Hey I have a lot to praise bout this game this is a mind-blowing game and actually it is better than any other games I've ever played in this game the most exciting thing ever is the cop chase n remember I've already finished the whole game including completion of the blacklist,the challenger series including the special black edition challenge more than that I've even played nfs carbon but this one seems to be better than that one yeah. My most favorite thing in the game is ramming the road-block and spike-strip cars cutting corners and everything.this game has everything a racing game needs none of a game neither any GTA game is better than this one this game took me a month to finish.

Michael L. gave it an8:
An extremely well-made car (notice I did not call it racing) game. Although the races can be fun at times, they're usually too drawn out. The real attraction is the cop chases which are just a blast. You can disable the cop cars by ramming them hard enough (your car is indestructible) and dodging spike strips and helicopters is very exciting. Cool effects like the slow-mo are unnecessary but welcome nonetheless. The Black List is repetitive like heck, but makes for a lengthy career mode. The choice of cars is great and customization is very deep although I did not play NFS Underground. All in all, I was VERY pleasantly surprised by this game and played all the way to the top of the Black List along with several 25-minute plus police chases which are simply exhilirating. Fantastic game. Download the demo and then proceed to purchase.

John Q. gave it a10:
This game is one of my personal favorites. The high speed police chases, the blacklist racers, and those phycho pathic taxi drivers that always seem to screw up a race for me >:( . A very good game... Most people say you can't disable the high speed blur thing, but you can. I forget how but its disabled for me and i can play fine.

Dean O. gave it a6:
This is a good game, but has a few flaws. I just bought the game last month (Black Edition of course) driving fast in any car getting chased by the cops in excellent until you get to the high heat level especially 5 or 6, then it's hard to get rid of the cops behind you. I hate the drag racing, I get very fustrated, I get so pissed off with it I stop playing the game. The blurr when going at 200mph can be a pain in the neck, when there's a vehicle in front of you at that second. The game that I got crashes on me at least 5 to 7 times when playing it. I download the patch for it, doesnt work. The game graphic's are choppy and also freezes on me. It must be this game only, because I also got nfsu2 don't have a problem with that one, only this one. I can't turn the graphic's up on high because the games frame rate will go to a halt(won't work), so I had to keep it at low levels. I do like the big airs that are in the game. Mostly down by the docks, there great. But the overall game I give it a 6.

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Need for Speed Most Wanted

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