Need for Speed: Most Wanted

 Xbox 360
User Score
5.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 298 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 118 out of 298
  2. Mixed: 65 out of 298
  3. Negative: 115 out of 298
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  1. Pepefromage
    Oct 30, 2012
    6
    The only need for speed that i loved is most wanted(the original). This one has no dna of the late game but is more for me a mod of burnout paradise. The visual is awesome but the gameplay is noticably different from the original. There is no spot tha you can use to destroy police car like construction site or fuel tank or the giant donut of a restaurant. You can ram into a car atThe only need for speed that i loved is most wanted(the original). This one has no dna of the late game but is more for me a mod of burnout paradise. The visual is awesome but the gameplay is noticably different from the original. There is no spot tha you can use to destroy police car like construction site or fuel tank or the giant donut of a restaurant. You can ram into a car at full speed while being chase and it does not even imobilise you . You just can continue the pursuit like nothing passed. Its so easy to beat that a four years old kidd would not have any trouble passing thru the whole game. If you have a young kidd it would be a good start for him. (after telling him not to behave like that in the future.) If u like burnout paradise and nice car and the graphics is more important for you than the gameplay,than this game is for you. If you like driving challenge or just plain fun of destroying police car than you can play the original need for speed most wanted like i did today.… Expand
  2. florgy
    Nov 29, 2012
    5
    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    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
  3. JMPS
    Nov 11, 2012
    5
    Its ... Good if your looking for a burnout game but if your looking for a need for speed game its crap. I was hoping for a good new need for speed game after the last crap game The Run.Nothing like old Most Wanted.
    PROS : Like Burnout , Good graphics , Great selection of cars , Cool map , Good music , You get good cars straight away , Finding cars is fun. CONS : Cant modify your    Its ... Good if your looking for a burnout game but if your looking for a need for speed game its crap. I was hoping for a good new need for speed game after the last crap game The Run.Nothing like old Most Wanted.
    PROS : Like Burnout , Good graphics , Great selection of cars , Cool map , Good music , You get good cars straight away , Finding cars is fun. CONS : Cant modify your car!!!Cant even choose the colour???, Crap story , Small map , No money involved , Nothing happens when you get caught by the cops , Crash cam gets really annoying after awhile. All and all the game is OK.    … Expand
  4. HelsBane
    Dec 6, 2012
    7
    As an avid player of the original Most Wanted, I had very high hopes for this game and while it didn't meet them all I think overall it turned out very well. The original was more challenging especially when it came to cop chases, which was one of my favorite aspects that I was disappointed to see "simplified". I was able to beat the game (All Most Wanted Drivers) without ever once beingAs an avid player of the original Most Wanted, I had very high hopes for this game and while it didn't meet them all I think overall it turned out very well. The original was more challenging especially when it came to cop chases, which was one of my favorite aspects that I was disappointed to see "simplified". I was able to beat the game (All Most Wanted Drivers) without ever once being caught by the cops a feat I would have considered near impossible on the original. With that said the rest of the game was pulled off with excellence, especially on merits such as graphics and enjoyment of driving. Unfortunately, as a lack of the depth of the police chases I see no replay value to the game and once I finished finding all of the cars (not jackspots still missing a couple of those) and reaching Most Wanted Rank 1 the game found its way to the shelf and I pulled the original back out which is much more fun to just play around in. I sad a lot of negative in the review but still rated it a 7, you may be wondering why. It is because despite it's shortcomings it is by far the best NFS/Burnout game to release since the original Most Wanted in 2005. It is also the best non-simulation racing game to release in about the same time frame. It is also the most fun I have had playing any racing game in years for about 10 hours, until you run out of variety and realize that it reaches a point where the difficulty flattens out and becomes too easy around Most Wanted rank 5.… Expand
  5. matroycem
    Jun 3, 2013
    5
    This is a very hard game to review. I have nothing Bad to say about the game but nothing good either. Having played the older version of this game and then having played the new version I can't say that the games felt overly different. Criterion have improved the handling models of the cars and the cars themselves look pretty good and accurate (The damage models are also pretty realistic).This is a very hard game to review. I have nothing Bad to say about the game but nothing good either. Having played the older version of this game and then having played the new version I can't say that the games felt overly different. Criterion have improved the handling models of the cars and the cars themselves look pretty good and accurate (The damage models are also pretty realistic). The issue I have is that the game is in no way gripping. All the cars have almost exactly the same events attached to them which get very repetitive. during the Most Wanted take downs the cars would drive into walls or down dead ends making it at times simple to take them out. AI card can drive over spike strips with no damage to tyres. I did not notice an onscreen clock which meant you could not predict day/night cycles and the camera angles are awful. they only allow you two options and neither are good. The behind car angle felt sloppy and you did not have an in car angle only a front bumper angle. It just sucked out the life of the game a bit. I will not say this game is unplayable and not worth a look into if you like racers in a similar vein (Split/Second, Blur, NFS Hot Pursuit etc) but as an arcade racer it just did not have enough to get my attention or enough to keep the enjoyment up.… Expand
  6. Death0fLove
    Nov 8, 2012
    6
    What can be said about Need For Speed: Most Wanted 2012? Well, it does not deserve the name it was given. Considering that this is a reboot and not a remake makes it a disappointment for me. I played the 2005 Most Wanted for hours on my PlayStation 2 and when I first heard about this reboot I knew it would most likely be a let-down. While the game itself is not too bad it still justWhat can be said about Need For Speed: Most Wanted 2012? Well, it does not deserve the name it was given. Considering that this is a reboot and not a remake makes it a disappointment for me. I played the 2005 Most Wanted for hours on my PlayStation 2 and when I first heard about this reboot I knew it would most likely be a let-down. While the game itself is not too bad it still just doesn't deserve to be called Most Wanted. If anything, its as if Criterion made a new Burnout game and they just decided to name it Most Wanted.… Expand
  7. SpartanEdge
    Nov 8, 2012
    5
    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    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
  8. DME
    Nov 3, 2012
    7
    It could of been spectacular. Unfortunately, this game lacks much polish. But, it's still a lot of fun. Cops are much more aggressive than the original Hot Pursuit. As a result, chases are very exciting. Spike strips, armored police cars, SWAT trucks, and road blocks are all present. Races are fast, intense, and challenging. There's plenty to do, the city is designed well, and graphicsIt could of been spectacular. Unfortunately, this game lacks much polish. But, it's still a lot of fun. Cops are much more aggressive than the original Hot Pursuit. As a result, chases are very exciting. Spike strips, armored police cars, SWAT trucks, and road blocks are all present. Races are fast, intense, and challenging. There's plenty to do, the city is designed well, and graphics look nice. Soundtrack is varied, with rap, rock, alternative, and electronic selections. The new EasyDrive menu allows for quick destination selections and vehicle modding. No, you cannot modify the look of your car, but you can modify it's performace (no fine tuning, though). As for the game's flaws... The mini-map is useful for evading pursuits, but it's just awful for navigation. I've ended up taking wrong turns plenty of times due to the fact that the routes I was supposed to take appeared on the mini-map too late. And if you take a wrong turn during a race, you're pretty much screwed and will have to restart. In cop chases, crashing doesn't end the chase (and it shouldn't), but respawning is so unpredictable. It can either screw you over or give you an unfair advantage. Sometimes you'll pick up right from the spot you crashed and sometimes you magically teleport far away from the group of cops that were chasing you. But here's my biggest complaint: Getting busted doesn't do anything. You can have an intense 30 minute pursuit and then finally get trapped, but it doesn't even matter. There's no consequences. You just respawn in another area and get to continue the game without any punishment. That's annoying. Players are better off letting the cops pull them over because the pursuit will end quicker and there's no punishment for it. Two other flaws are the game's limited views (third person and bumper only) and lack of manual transmission. Now, while these flaws seem heavy and game-breaking, they really aren't. I experience the same emotions with Most Wanted as I do with Call of Duty: I'm having a lot of fun playing, but at the same time I'm constantly criticizing it.… Expand
  9. Balrock
    Nov 4, 2012
    6
    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. HoweverI 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
  10. Lumanator
    Sep 14, 2014
    5
    This game removed half of the features I enjoyed from the original game. Even the spike reinflating wheels removes the challenge from the game. But it's still good either way
  11. ApocalypseBrown
    Nov 20, 2012
    5
    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 usedWhether 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
  12. DarrkHawk
    Nov 15, 2012
    7
    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    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
  13. guest1321
    Jan 15, 2013
    7
    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 thatPlaying 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
  14. Eggroll
    Jan 19, 2013
    7
    Though its not as good as the 2005 release of "Most Wanted", this game still gives it a run for its money. The presentation, game-play and overall feel of this game are great.
  15. huntibor
    Apr 3, 2013
    5
    This is a racing game, so the NFS series is the latest part of me did not meet your expectations. The Run is even better than that, because there were still cars can be controlled, but it could not. Unbreakable prevented cars, can be performed only in third place in racing. But what is nice to have an open-world game, and the graphics are nice and all parts of the city early in the gameThis is a racing game, so the NFS series is the latest part of me did not meet your expectations. The Run is even better than that, because there were still cars can be controlled, but it could not. Unbreakable prevented cars, can be performed only in third place in racing. But what is nice to have an open-world game, and the graphics are nice and all parts of the city early in the game has been acquired and car. But even so, the game is mediocre.… Expand
  16. azgoodaz
    Mar 18, 2013
    5
    Overall it was a rushed game and is not like the ORIGINAL Most Wanted game. They actually ruined the series and also letting ''Top Youtubers'' play it first so users can get a look at the game was a horrible mistake.
  17. M9ki
    Jun 20, 2013
    7
    When I played this game i'm like what the hell is this what is this....... its nothing like I expected,that company that made it doomed the whole game its not worth the buy wrong company made it so....
  18. colin8166
    Jul 15, 2013
    7
    An enjoyable game with great graphics. My problems with it are the lazy backround enviorments and multiplayer is not that great. Also not as many cars as i would have hoped.
  19. iddqd4
    Jan 20, 2018
    5
    Вторая попытка сделать эталонный NFS у CRITERION совсем не задалась.
  20. Chrisracer8903
    Dec 17, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game has many great features to like about it, yet there are drawbacks to each of them.

    First of all, the city of Fairhaven has great. The Seattle/ Pacific Northwest-themed location is a nice change from the constant southern-California theme we have seen in countless racing titles. The city is visually stunning, very lively-looking, and many hidden alleyways, parking structures, train tracks, and other areas not marked on the map that adds a lot of depth into the city and takes deep exploration to find every nook and cranny which I believe makes an excellent open-world to drive around. There is one pretty big issue I found with the city, despite the diversity of sprawling city streets, dense industrial and port areas, and open highways that leads to the rural farmlands, it is not well designed for police chases. It is very hard to escape from the police when free-roaming because the lack of alternate roads and intersections that provides less options to hide or change direction if you know police cars are coming down the same road. Many of the alleyways are useless for hiding as police cars will find you. I can't count how many times I was in the "cool down" stage of a chase and I was stuck going down one road with no alternate route to drive away from the police searching for me. Every time I was in cool down I had to "hope and pray" they weren't coming at me on the same road as it happened very, very often. This made pursuits fluctuate from exciting to annoying. Paradise City was a much better map for police chases (If you played online) and had countless alternate routes to escape that Fairhaven lacks in many areas of the map.

    The police chases in the game range from exciting to annoying (As stated above). I do like how the heat system works when you raise your heat and cool it down. It causes the police to often change their tactics and depending how the pursuit plays out, you can have a decent variety of police cars chasing you at once (Which is dynamic and also realistic), but the SWAT trucks are going a bit too far in my opinion. The way the police chases carry out in the city are not well suited for the way the city is designed (Again, as I mentioned earlier) and would have been better if the police were less frequent during free roam and less difficult to evade (spawning randomly everywhere)!

    The biggest chunk of this game is the career mode and I'll start with the good parts about it: it will take you a very, very long time to complete. The career mode is also the biggest problem in this game. The career mode's biggest drawback is the structure of it....and there isn't one. All the cars (Except the Most Wanted cars) are unlocked and just need to find them. I hate this "everything is open to you from the start" structure! I don't like everything handed to me, I like to earn them like in NFS Hot Pursuit or even Burnout Paradise. An even bigger problem with the career is that every car has their own events which every car has a heavy overlap of the same events which means racing the same race in a different car over and over and OVER again. It turns the career into a chore and the repetition has myself putting the controller down after awhile as if I am taking a break from doing college homework. This is why it took me about a year to "complete" this game, because every 2-3 times I repeated the same event and the AI difficulty made it ridiculous. The career mode is the most monotonous I have ever played in a racing game. I can't even hold onto my favorite cars to complete the career!

    I have nothing good to say about the upgrades, I found most of them useless (in my opinion), and had to earn them in every car repeating the events. I can't even select where to start with a car, I can only start where the car is located.

    The online does not have cop chases and everyone keeps crashing into each other so I never bothered again with online. Not as good as Burnout Paradise.

    The car selection is good and diverse, but not as large as NFS Hot Pursuit or other previous NFS titles. Why the heck did they remove the Hummer H1 from the previews? Car handlings are ok, but depends on the car.

    The soundtrack is pretty good, had a nice variety and found many favorites, but the lack of dramatic chase music that is very common in the past NFS titles was a big disappointment.

    Lastly, the DLC improved the game's car selection and the airport was a nice addition but the airport feels like it's incomplete, smash n' grab events are not fun and actually crash the game where it is literally impossible to complete the expanded career therefore the DLC actually broke the game and will forever be "incomplete" on my profile.

    Overall, this game has good quality with a city and car list to admire, but with the career mode being a chore, mixed feelings with the police chases, and the glitch with the DLC (Xbox 360 version), every feature has pros and cons.

    Score 7 (3 for the city, 3 for the cars, 1 for the cops).    … Expand
  21. Steeliosis
    Jun 5, 2014
    6
    This game is by no means perfect, but also not necessarily a bad game, either. It would be a lie if I said I didn't enjoy this game, even a little bit, because I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. Being a major Burnout fan, along with being an avid fan of NFS games, I thought that a NFS with similar mechanics to Burnout would be ideal. Of course, this game isn't really NFS at all, moreThis game is by no means perfect, but also not necessarily a bad game, either. It would be a lie if I said I didn't enjoy this game, even a little bit, because I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. Being a major Burnout fan, along with being an avid fan of NFS games, I thought that a NFS with similar mechanics to Burnout would be ideal. Of course, this game isn't really NFS at all, more like a weird spin off game. None of the mechanics or themes are similar to the older games of the franchise, and I can safely stand by those that believe this is a dirtying of the Most Wanted name.

    However, if we disregard the fact that they labelled this with such an absurd title, then we can finally enjoy what the game REALLY is. If Criterion set up their own franchise with an entirely different name, then I believe this game would not have crashed as hard as it did. I can't simply remove points because of a namesake; that's just ridiculous. Nobody was forced to buy this, and nobody was forced to akin this game to the original Most Wanted. People chose to do this because of the title, but simple research shows that this game is NOTHING like the original Most Wanted. So why complain? It was a cheap shot, but anyone with common sense would look beyond it. The game itself is fun; multiple vehicles with varying handling, each with their own set events to complete to unlock new performance modules. Every action is simple and intuitive via easydrive, though the world map is a little confusing, with no labeling of roads or districts, and is not even set in a satellite view to clearly display what lies where. This can get very confusing rather quickly for first time players, but overlooking this, it's not such a major problem.

    The pursuits aren't strictly riveting, and once you get used to them, they are simply too easy. After a while it gets a little tedious, and is really just a distraction.

    The races can be interesting, and they're is a host of several different event types; the basic sprint and circuit races, along with ambush events in which you must evade the police in as short a time as possible, and an event type where you must retain an optimal speed to keep your average speed as high as possible to achieve the gold medals. This variation is very welcome, and each event proves to be an interesting challenge.

    I'll admit that the game isn't a masterpiece, but it's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be. If I had the choice, I would rate it 6.5/10. However, since I can't, I'll give it a six just to appease those that feel a little cheated with this installment.    … Expand
  22. gamingisgreat
    Aug 19, 2016
    7
    NFS Most Wanted by Criterion is not a MW' 05 sequel.If you are hoping for that,you will hate this game.However,if you enjoyed Burnout Paradise or NFS Hot Pursuit,you will enjoy this game.

    The gameplay is pretty much Burnout Paradise with real cars and cops.The cars are responsive and fun to drive.The Jack Spot idea of unlocking cars is cool.My main problem with the game is that it is    NFS Most Wanted by Criterion is not a MW' 05 sequel.If you are hoping for that,you will hate this game.However,if you enjoyed Burnout Paradise or NFS Hot Pursuit,you will enjoy this game.

    The gameplay is pretty much Burnout Paradise with real cars and cops.The cars are responsive and fun to drive.The Jack Spot idea of unlocking cars is cool.My main problem with the game is that it is just far too easy.The AI Most Wanted Cars can barely keep pace with you.Not only that,you could easily finish this game in 5 or 6 hours.

    The graphics are gorgeous,and the game runs steadily at 30 fps.

    The sound design and soundtrack are pretty good.

    NFS Most Wanted is a good game when all is said and done.It plays well,and looks gorgeous.However,the game is too easy and short,and the car list is way too small at 41,holding it back as a result.    … Expand
  23. Dman_Gamer
    Mar 5, 2021
    7
    Pretty fun game, but not really a NFS Game. There’s basically no progression or customization. The car list is decent and the graphics are good, but this is not Most Wanted nor really even a need for speed game. Go play HP2010, Most Wanted 05, or some other need for speed game to get a true nfs experience.
  24. JJ2FAS4U
    Dec 28, 2021
    5
    Atmosphere: 5
    Enjoyment: 7
    Gameplay: 6
    Graphics: 7
    Music: 4
    Story: 2
    Total: 5.17

Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2012
31
#31 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2012
39
#39 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 49 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 49
  3. Negative: 0 out of 49
  1. GameCritics
    Jan 11, 2013
    60
    Need for Speed: Most Wanted is caught between two worlds. The game can't quite decide if it wants to be an arcade or a simulation racing game, and it takes a lot to get used to this in-between zone it occupies. That said, once the adjustment period is over, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had when it's not being frustrating.
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  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Dec 12, 2012
    85
    A technically sound and entertaining sandbox for arcade racers. The name should be Need for Burnout, though. [Dec 2012]
  3. Level7.nu
    Dec 4, 2012
    70
    An open world street racer set in an interesting city. There's a lot of things to do, but they get pretty repetitive after a while. The autolog for online competition is brilliant though.
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