Burnout: Most Wanted
Having played a lot of Burnout Paradise, and a good chunk of Criterion's previous take on Need for Speed (2010's well-received Hot Pursuit), I had no doubt that Most Wanted would be quality. However, with all the pre-release talk of open world racing, billboards, online challenges and the like, it sounded like the next Need for Speed would be more of a Burnout, and I can (happily) report that this is in no doubt the case. As a mate called it, it's 'Burnout Paradise with cops'. There are more differences than that (no stunt runs, showtime or junk yards are the big ones), but there's no doubt that EA has decided to move a good chunk of Burnout Paradise's gameplay over to the Need for Speed franchise.
This is no bad thing. I'd rate Burnout Paradise as the best arcade racer this generation, and arguably (once the nostalgia-tinted glasses are removed) of all time. As was the case in BP, in NFS:MW you drive around looking for races and other events, hold down R2 and L2 to spin your wheels to get them going, build up nitrous by driving in an aggressive manner (into incoming traffic, taking down opponents and so on), you smash through billboards and security gates, and it can be good fun just driving around in your latest set of wheels, listening to the excellent soundtrack, or your own tunes (the game supports custom playlists from your HDD).
The driving is excellent - handling felt like a cross between the weightier approach of NFS:HP and the lighter feel of the cars in Burnout Paradise, and was easy to adjust to. Because of the heavier feel of the handling, it's not quite as easy to quickly drift around tight corners as it was in BP, but this isn't an issue as the map is designed appropriately, with less sharp turns and more open roads.
The single-player AI is also well balanced (although not always terribly bright), and the only gameplay frustrations are those that are unavoidable in an open-world design - namely that you can be leading in a race, but then round the final corner and crash into traffic. This is just part of the game design though, and the upside is that there are also numerous moments where you'll slide between traffic to avoid police, or nudge one of your opponents into an oncoming vehicle to take them down.
I Fought the Law and the Law Won
The biggest difference to those that didn't focus on stunt runs or showtime in BP is the introduction of the cops, and I'm yet to be convinced they add a whole lot to the game. The police in Fairview (where the game is set) are no slouches, and get involved in hunting down the player through specific events, or whenever they see them speeding, and they're not too shabby at keeping up with you, particularly once there's a few of them on your tail. They rarely, however, threaten to catch you outright, and this can lead to seemingly endless car chases that seem to lead nowhere. On more than one occasion in my five or so hours with the game, I just pulled over and let the cops nab me after a few minutes of being chased, because it was getting a bit dull. It's by no means a dealbreaker, and the chases can be fun on occasion, but I'm yet to be convinced that the game needs or is better for them.
Socially Connected
The back of the game case boasts that Need for Speed: Most Wanted is 'The Most Socially Connected Racing Game Ever', and it wouldn't be far wrong. Almost everything you do in the single-player game is tallied up against your friends, as long as you're connected to Autolog. It will tell you how much longer your mate's jump was through each billboard, what time they've got on each race, their fastest time past each speed camera, and so on. It makes for healthy rivalries, and is displayed in a way that blends naturally with the gameplay. I'm not sure if it's completely robust technically, as my game has dropped out of Autolog on occasion, but it's easy enough to reconnect if you miss the stream of score comparisons.
The game also has a robust multiplayer mode. It is possible to either jump into a public game, or create a friends game (with the possibility of making it invite-only), and get into events. Events in online games are handled through 'Speedlists', a selection of five events, from Challenges, Time trials, Races, Team races and I'm sure a few more things I'm yet to discover. You can let the game give you a random speedlist, or you can create custom speedlists prior to setting the game up, and race specific events in a specific order, with the game tallying the results of each event and the combined results of all five. It makes for varied and compelling online games.
Feel the Need
It's only the first few hours in, but the quality of the core driving and racing gameplay, the number and range of events (the game tells me I've completed around 20% of the single-player events in about four hours of single-player gameplay) and the fun to be had online make Need for Speed: Most Wanted easy to recommend. It's not perfect, but the wrinkles are easy to overlook, while the enjoyment is hard to miss. Watch Good Game for a review once we've had more time with the title.
Community
There’s a bit of interest in Need for Speed: Most Wanted in the GG community – join the conversation here. We'll also be hopefully setting up some game Multiplayer nights and maybe a competition - watch this space
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