Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005 video game)

Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Developer(s)	EA Black Box EA Redwood Shores
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Composer(s)	Paul Linford
Series	Need for Speed
Engine	EAGL 3
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, (5-1-0 only) Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Xbox 360
Release date(s)	Nintendo DS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube & Game Boy Advance EU November 11, 2005 (DS) NA 20051115November 15, 2005 EU 20051125November 25, 2005 AUS November 25, 2005 (PS2) JP 20051222December 22, 2005 Xbox 360 NA 20051122November 22, 2005 EU 20051202December 2, 2005 JP 20051210December 10, 2005 PlayStation 3 (emulated Playstation 2 version via PlayStation Store) EU May 22, 2012[1]
Genre(s)	Racing, Open world
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Distribution	CD, DVD, GameCube Game Disc, Game Boy Advance cartridge, Nintendo DS Game Card

Need for Speed: Most Wanted (commonly abbreviated to as NFS: MW or just Most Wanted) is a racing video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It is the ninth installment in the Need for Speed series. The game features street racing-oriented game play, with certain customization options from the Need for Speed: Underground series. The game is succeeded by Need for Speed: Carbon, which serves as a sequel to Most Wanted.

Most Wanted has been released for Nintendo DS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance and is the first Need for Speed game released for the seventh generation console, the Xbox 360, as one of the system's launch titles. Another version of Most Wanted, titled Need for Speed: Most Wanted: 5–1–0 has been released for the PlayStation Portable. In May 2012, the PlayStation 2 version was released on the online virtual market, PlayStation Store, for the PlayStation 3. On June 1, 2012, a reboot of the game, also called Need for Speed: Most Wanted, was announced by the British developing team Criterion Games and was released on October 30, 2012.

Gameplay

Most Wanted is like other Need for Speed games, where the player selects one car and races against a time limit or other racers to reach a destination. Police chases have once again been integrated into certain racing sessions, in which the police employ vehicles and tactics to stop the player's car and arrest the player, like Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, and Need for Speed: Carbon. As players take control of faster cars and increasingly rely on nitrous oxide speed boosts, the oxide meter now refills automatically for the first time since its introduction in Underground, and driving sequences become fast-paced and intense similar to the Burnout series.

Three distinct regions are offered in the city of Rockport, along with cycling weather. Racing events take place between sunrise and sunset, unlike in the Underground where the events took place at night. A Grand Theft Auto-like Free Roam mode is provided as in Need for Speed: Underground 2, but is still limited to Career mode, as well as pursuit-based events in other modes.

Brand promotion from Underground 2 still continues strongly, with Old Spice and the presence of Burger King restaurants, Castrol oil, Axe Unlimited and Edge shaving gel. The Cingular logo is still visible in the game's wireless communication system. Performance, body and visual parts that can be bought in the game are also from real life companies. However, Best Buy stores did not return from Underground 2.

Modes

The game provides players with three game modes. The Quick Race mode allows the player to select a car and an event and immediately start racing. The available cars and events are unlocked as the player progresses through the storyline in the Career mode. Achieving goals by winning races and performing a number of actions, dubbed "Milestones", during police pursuits, as well as a minimum Bounty are needed to advance in the storyline and race against any of the mode's 15 Blacklist racers. In the Xbox 360 version, the player is awarded with achievements each time a Blacklist opponent is defeated. Career mode introduces a new feature – the ability to win a Blacklist opponent's car ("pink slip"), bonus functions, extra cash or car parts and decors, after defeating the opponent in question. These come in the form of six markers – the rival's pink slip (which is concealed as a bonus marker), two bonus function markers, and three custom backroom parts markers of which there is a body part, visual upgrade, and performance marker ("Junkman Marker") that the player can select – of which the player can choose only two. New cars and parts are also unlocked as the player progresses through Career mode by beating Blacklist racers.

In addition to the Quick Race and Career modes, there is also a "Challenge Series" mode involving 69 progressively difficult challenges where players are required to successfully complete Tollbooth races and pursuit challenges, such as tagging a number of police cars. The pre-tuned cars used in each Challenge is fixed, ranging from mostly Career cars with poor handling to traffic vehicles such as a dump truck or police cars. Additional bonus cars may be unlocked as the player progresses through Challenge mode.

In terms of actual variations of races, Most Wanted inherits several racing modes prevalent in its Underground predecessors. The game's four existing modes: Circuit races, point-to-point Sprint races, lap knockout races and Drag races, remain largely unchanged since the first iteration of Underground, while Drifting, Street X, Underground Racing League tournaments and Outrun racing are removed. Meanwhile, Most Wanted sees the introduction of two new racing variations, which places emphasis on speed. The first mode is known as "Tollbooth," where a player races alone to designated checkpoints along a point-to-point route before time runs out; the more time a player has as they reach a toll booth, the more time they have to arrive at the next one. The second mode, dubbed "Speedtrap", sees racers competing with each other to get the highest accumulated speed record at multiple traffic cameras. At a speed trap/traffic camera, players accelerate their car to aim for the highest possible speed. Accumulated speed is reduced over a period of time after an opponent crosses the finish line first.

Pursuit system

The player's car Porsche Carrera GT is in pursuit by several undercover state police cars and a police helicopter in Free Roam mode. This screen-shot also depicts the use of simulated HDRR on the sunny sky and surface lighting.

Most Wanted features pursuit evasion in the game for the first time in the series since Hot Pursuit 2. In Career mode, police pursuits may occur during a race or during free roaming through the city, depending on the frequency of the police units in the area and traffic offenses players have committed. The player can initiate a pursuit immediately from the game's safe house or menu by choosing an unfinished Milestone or a Bounty challenge. Pursuits can also be initiated by selecting an appropriate Challenge in the Challenge Series mode. Traffic offenses committed by the player are known in game as Infractions. These include speeding, excessive speeding, reckless driving, driving off roadway, damage to property, hit and run, ramming a police unit, and resisting arrest.

The system is significantly more complex than its previous Hot Pursuit incarnations. The manner in which the police handle a player is now determined by the "heat level" of the player's current car. Heat levels, which increase with the length of a police pursuit and the amount of damage caused by the player during the pursuit, add a twist to the pursuit. The higher the car's heat level, the more aggressive the police units are against the player, employing additional tactics and tools, such as roadblocks, spike strips, police helicopters and heavier and faster police cars such as police SUV's.

In Career mode, pursuits are integrated into the game in such a way that it is necessary to participate in pursuit in order to be able to challenge Blacklist racers. The player must complete Milestones which involve committing at least a specified amount of traffic offenses or pursuit lengths during a pursuit, and collecting an amount of Bounty, a form of credit accumulated as players continue to evade the police or damage police units. A car's heat level may be reduced by changing the physical appearance of a car by changing body parts or paint color, or by using another purchased car with a lower heat level to race in the streets. If a car is not being used by the player its heat level will slowly lower over time. Rap sheets, with records such as the player's infractions, cost to state, deployed tactics and pursuit lengths, are also available for viewing by hacking into police records.

Players are provided with several additional features which are useful during pursuits. The Speedbreaker, provided within the driving interface, slows down time similar to bullet time and momentarily adds weight to the player's car allowing it to become more difficult for other vehicles to push around, and induces a drift. This allows the player a limited amount of time to quickly maneuver the car out of difficult situations, or assess an escape route through a road block or spike strip blockade. Another feature in Most Wanted are Pursuit Breakers, road-side objects which are designed to collapse when a player uses their car to knock down its support, either damaging or disabling following police cars (which can be visually seen in many cases). In one example, if a player smashes through a gas station, the roof of the station falls potentially crushing police units following them.

Pursuits in the game are split into two main parts. The first part, which is the actual pursuit itself, occurs when the player is being actively chased by police. The second part, known as the "Cooldown" mode, occurs when the police have lost sight of the player and are conducting a search for him/her. During this period of time, the pursuit and its corresponding timer are temporarily paused and a Cooldown bar is enabled, which will slowly fill up as time passes. Once the bar fills up completely, the player is considered to have successfully evaded the pursuit. Conversely, if a police unit spots the player, the pursuit resumes. To evade the pursuit, it is necessary to enter Cooldown mode first. This is accomplished by getting a certain distance away from the police or by disabling police units. Cooldown spots, areas in the world usually not seen from the street or helicopters, can be used to hide from pursuers and aid in the player's escape. If the player finds a hiding spot and stops they will spend significantly less time in Cooldown mode.

Multiplayer

Online multiplayer was available on Xbox 360, Xbox, PC and PlayStation Portable. Up to 4 players can participate in an online race and can race in 4 game modes including circuit, sprint, lap knockout and speed trap. Furthermore, there is the option to enable Performance Matching in an online race. When performance matching is enabled, all cars in the race are automatically upgraded to match the performance (i.e. top speed, handling, etc.) of the fastest car in that particular race. However, as soon as the race is over, all modifications made to the cars by performance matching are removed. The online multiplayer lobby was shut down on August 1, 2011.^[2]

Cars

There are a wide range of cars available for the main Career mode of the game. Cars such as the Fiat Punto, Audi TT and Cadillac CTS are only seen in Most Wanted and tuners return from Underground 2 (e.g. Toyota Supra, Mazda RX-7 and Mazda RX-8) but SUVs do not return except as non-playable police vehicles. Exotics like the Lotus Elise, Lamborghinis, Porsches make their first appearance since Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 and classic muscle cars featured in the Black Edition (e.g. Chevrolet Camaro) are new to the series. As the game progresses, better and faster cars are unlocked and races get faster and more intense as the player makes his/her way through the game. Cars must either be purchased at car lots or won by getting the pink slip to a Blacklist Racer's car, as detailed in the Modes section. Cars can be purchased at car lots in stock condition with no enhancement whatsoever. Not all of them are available or affordable for purchase at the beginning stages of Career mode and must be unlocked by defeating a certain Blacklist member. While the game features police cars, Most Wanted does not allow players to play as a pursuing police in chases. However, players may drive several police cars in Challenge mode, but are solely used in checkpoint races and police pursuits, where the police are still pursuing the player.

As in the preceding Underground installments, the performance and physical appearance of the player's car can be extensively modified, but options for exterior and interior modifications have been significantly reduced to only the essentials. The customization of side mirrors, lights, exhausts and individual body kit pieces were dropped from body customization. However, instead of individual body kit pieces, up to 5 whole body kits can be chosen, some of which widen the car's stance. The "Car Specialties" customization (including neon, nitrous purge, hydraulics, spinners, doors, split hoods, and trunk audio) have been completely eliminated with the exception of window tint and custom gauges. Paint customization is limited to the main body color (with mirror, exhaust, spoiler, roof scoop, and brake color options gone). Unlike the Underground games, visual customization is used to lower the car's "heat level", instead of increasing the car's "visual rating". Additionally, players are allowed to assume a sleeper appearance (leaving the exterior of the car unmodified or barely modified) for cars without penalty in Most Wanted.

Plot

The player, driving a BMW M3 GTR, arrives in Rockport City. He is intercepted by Mia Townsend, a local girl driving a Mazda RX-8. They race to the city center, where a police Corvette C6 pulls over, and Mia escapes. Sgt. Nathan Cross and his colleague step out of the car, and Cross informs the player that street racing in Rockport is finished and that he is certain that many parts on his car are not road-legal, and orders him out of the car. However, just then, a dispatcher informs of a high-speed chase in the vicinity, and Cross is forced to let him go. However, Cross warns him that he will catch him next time, and scratches the car door with his key before leaving the scene. Few days later, the player is cornered by a local named Ronnie McCrea, driving a yellow Toyota Supra MK IV, who challenges the player to a race. After beating Ronnie, he leads the player to a yard on the docks, where several racers hang out. There, the player meets the group's leader, Razor Callahan, for whom Ronnie works. Razor mocks the player, but Mia arrives and defends him, stating that Razor's Ford Mustang GT is not as powerful as the player's car. Razor refuses to race the player, since he is #15 on the Blacklist, a list of 15 most powerful racers in Rockport. Instead, Razor bets 10.000$ against the player and has Toru "Bull" Sato, his top crew member, race him in his Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. However, the player manages to win the race too and wins 20.000$. Gaining reputation, the player meets with a local racer named Rog, who drives a black-red Pontiac GTO, and challenges him to a race along with several locals. However, the player manages to beat Rog, who states that he likes his racing style and to watch out with the Blacklist before moving on. Just then, Razor arrives and challenges the player to a race, informing him that when a Blacklist racer is racing another, the bet is in pink slips. The player accepts and arrives the next day, and battles racer. The race is intense, especially when Rockport PD intercepts them, but they escape. Just then, Mia calls the player, stating that there is something wrong with the player's car and that he left a huge oil slick on the starting line. As expected, the player's car breaks down and stops. Razor mocks the player as a tow truck carries his car away. Just then, the Rockport PD arrives on the scene and the others escape. Cross arrives on the scene with his unit, and, due to being found on the spot with street racers, is arrested. His colleague mockingly asks where is his "fancy ride", but Cross states that it's unimportant, and that "he won't need it where he is going." 6 months later, the player is released due to a lack of evidence, and is greeted by Mia. She states that Razor, knowing he would lose, sabotaged his car before the race. He then used his car to beat other Blacklist drivers and to become #1 on the Blacklist. Mia informs him that she set him up with a safe house in Rosewood county, and drives him to a car lot, where the player chooses his first car. Afterwards, Mia introduces him to the Blacklist; list of 15 most powerful Rockport drivers, and also, Bull and Ronnie took #2 and #3 spot as part of Razor's crew so he could be safe from other racers. The player is also contacted by Rog, who also gives him a few tips and informs him about several Blacklist racers and the Rockport PD activities. Soon after, Mia also gives him a special PDA which contains a "Rap Sheet", a list of pursuits and milestones, as well as bounties on other Blacklist racers including the player itself. As the player progresses, he starts racing in Rockport itself and Camden Beach as well as Rosewood. He soon starts to get taunting phone messages from Razor, but Rog informs him that Razor is paranoid about the player's progress and is trying his best in order to stop him, such as bribing and other racers into cooperation to take down the player. Cross also contacts the player, taunting him as well and promising him that he will arrest him sometime, and Mia informs him that Cross has a special forces police unit consisting of Corvettes and to watch out for them. After defeating a #13 racer, Vic, who was one of Razor's goons, Razor becomes more worried. But, as the player advances, both Rog and Mia grow suspicious on each other, with Rog being suspicious of Mia's bets on the player, stating that she is harboring a secret, and Mia being concerned about Rog's snooping. Soon after, the player advances into top 4, and manages to beat both Ronnie and Bull, leaving only Razor to defeat. After gaining enough milestones and reputation, Razor finally challenges the player again on a series of races across Rockport. However, the player wins them all, leaving Razor defeated and humiliated. However, Razor, a dirty player, refuses to relinquish his #1 spot, as well as the BMW, to player, telling him that he will have to "take them". However, Mia arrives and snatches the keys away from Razor, telling him it's over. A furious Razor, refusing to admit defeat, tries to snatch the keys back, but Mia tackles him on the ground and points a police badge to the others, revealing she is a cop, as Rog suspected it. Just then, Rockport PD arrives on the scene and Mia throws the keys to the player, urging him to run. Cross arrives, and Mia informs him that the player got away as Razor is arrested, and she walks away from him. Cross, furious about this loss, orders every single police unit in the city after the player. The player, running away, is swarmed by the gigantic numbers of police units, including Cross himself, who calls him and urges for him to surrender, stating that it will be taken into consideration for having the rest of the Blacklist arrested. However, the player refuses to give up and continues on. As the pursuit progresses, the player gets a call from Mia, who apologizes to the player for not being honest with him. She informs him that he cannot hide in any of his safe houses as Cross knows about them, and tells him that there is an uncompleted bridge that leads out of Rockport. The player obliges and drives there, evading a huge number of Cross's unit in progress. Arriving at the bridge, he speeds up and jumps over it, landing on the other side, and Cross is forced to stop on the other side. The player then escapes Rockport City. After failing to arrest the player, Cross opens up his PDA and adds the player to the National Wanted list.

Development and release

Promotional screenshot of Rockport's fall foliage of Most Wanted for the Xbox 360 with Porsche 911 Turbo S.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted 'Black Edition', a collector's edition of Most Wanted, was released in celebration of the Need for Speed series' 10th anniversary and in conjunction with the release of Most Wanted. The Black Edition features additional races, bonus cars and other additional content. The Black Edition also comes with a special feature DVD that contains interviews and videos about the game. The Black Edition was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in the United States and Australia;^[3] only the PlayStation 2 version of Black Edition was released additionally for Europe.^[3][4]

The cutscenes in the game are live-action videos shot with real actors and set pieces, and CGI effects are added to car exteriors and environments for extra visual flair. The videos are presented in a significantly different style from the Underground series, and this presentation of cut scenes is used again in Carbon and Undercover.

The depiction between all of the versions graphics-wise is not the same especially on portable versions. The Microsoft Windows version varies by hardware and can look better compared to the console versions. The recommended hardware or above has a similar frame rate to the Xbox 360 version. The game makes heavy use of the HDRR and motion blur effects to give a more realistic feel.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5–1–0 is a PlayStation Portable port of Most Wanted, released on the same day as its console and personal computer counterparts. Similar to Most Wanted, Most Wanted 5–1–0 features a similar Blacklist 15 listing and Career Mode, with the addition of "Tuner Takedown", a "Be the Cop" mode not featured on Most Wanted. Most Wanted 5–1–0 lacks many elements of its other console and PC counterparts, like cut scenes, a storyline and a free roam mode, and contains minor differences (including listing the real name of a Blacklist racer rather than his/her nickname). The title of the game is based on the numerals "5–1–0", which is the police code for street racing.

Most Wanted, like the Underground series, avoids the use of major vehicle damage on all racing models, with only scratched paint and heavily cracked windscreens comprising the whole of the racers' damage modeling. Police cars, however, are subject to extreme physical body damages. They can be immobilized if they flip over or have been heavily damaged by "pursuit breakers" and/or the player's car. EA ceased support to the Windows version of the game very early in its life cycle. The latest patch for the Windows version (1.3) was released on December 6, 2005.^[5]

Soundtrack

As in other Electronic Arts Need for Speed games, Most Wanted's soundtrack comprises a licensed selection of underground hip-hop, metalcore, and electronica music.^[7] Additionally, Paul Linford provided interactive scores for police pursuit sessions.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings (X360) 83.05%[8] (Xbox) 82.59%[9] (PS2) 81.56%[10] (PC) 81.50%[11] (GC) 79.36%[12] (GBA) 67.33%[13] (NDS) 46.89%[14] Metacritic (X360) 83/100[15] (Xbox) 83/100[16] (PS2) 82/100[17] (PC) 82/100[18] (GC) 80/100[19] (NDS) 45/100[20] Review scores Publication Score 1UP.com A-[21] Game Informer 8.5/10[22] Game Revolution B+[23] GameSpot 8.4/10[24] GameSpy [25] IGN 8.5/10[26]

Need for Speed: Most Wanted was met with positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Xbox 360 version 83.05% and 83/100,^[8][15] the Xbox version 82.59% and 83/100,^[9][16] the PlayStation 2 version 81.56% and 82/100,^[10][17] the PC version 81.50% and 82/100^[11][18] and the GameCube version 79.36% and 80/100.^[12][19] While the Game Boy Advance version was met with mixed reviews with a score of 67.33%^[13] and the Nintendo DS version was met with negative reviews with a score of 46.89% and 45/100.^[14][20] GameSpot gave the game an 8.4 out of 10, praising the game for its "sharp graphics" and "outstanding sound effects", but criticized the AI for being "too easy at first, but too hard later on".^[24] Need For Speed: Most Wanted was a commercial success; it sold nearly six million copies worldwide.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005) is often referred to as the best game in the Need for Speed video game series by many fans, with some even calling it the best racing video game ever made, mostly due to it's addictive gameplay, extensive replay value and highly praised soundtrack.

IGN gave it an 8.5 out of 10 "great" rating, praising almost every element of the game. Praise was given to the map design, described as "a crazily chromed out, sepia-tone landscape of industrial structures", car modeling, saying "The car models are especially sleek looking too", the car line up and the return of exotics. Particularly strong praise was given to the police system, saying "The cops are never that smart, but they continually grow in aggressiveness and numbers." and "they add that very necessary component of challenge, annoyance, and heat that makes this game so fun". Praise even went to the cut scenes and their casting, which usually falls victim to critics, saying "this mixture of animated, highly colored FMV characters and stylized backgrounds is both imaginative and refreshing".^[26]

Reboot

On April 18, 2012, South Africa-based online retailer BTGames, the retailer that listed the existence of Jak and Daxter Collection, listed both Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2 and Dead Space 3 for pre-order, hinting that a possible sequel is in the works.^[27] The Most Wanted reboot was officially confirmed on June 1, 2012 on the official website and Facebook fan page. EA presented the game at their E3 live press conference on June 4, 2012.

There have been a large number of fans of the original Need for Speed: Most Wanted that have criticised the updated 2012 version of the game calling it a "disgrace" to the original's legacy, with some calling the 2012 reboot "unneeded and unnecessary".

References

External links

• Official website
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted at the Internet Movie Database