Need for Speed needs no introduction. It’s been around forever, it was the introduction for a lot of gamers to the racing games genre. It’s introduced tons of gamers to being a crook trying a getaway, and at one point it introduced players to track racing.

Burnout, on the other hand is not very well known. They are chaotic games, where taking out your opponents is a much better way to win a race. They are fast, stupid and really good fun, though they are usually console exclusives.

Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012) is built by Criterion Games of Burnout fame. They made every game in the Burnout Family and were finally bought by EA after Burnout: Paradise, at which point they were put on Need For Speed Duty. It’s hard to miss a lot of Burnout Inspirations in this game.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is in an awkward place. It’s the heir to two thrones: Need for Speed and Burnout. Does it do either of its duties, does it do both, or does it fail at both. Let’s go find out.

Story:

The game is just a bunch of races defined by each car the player uses. It has no relation to the original Most Wanted.

So, all I can say is “NEXT!”

Graphics:

The game looks gorgeous even in the present day. The world is well built. The buildings though not overly impressive; look good at high speeds, which is what the Need for Speed games have been all about. Same goes for the traffic, it’s not highly detailed, but you are not going to notice it when you are doing a high speed dodge or face planting into them.

The high point of the graphics are the cars. They look great, they take scratches, the paint gets scratched, and the body shape changes when damaged, but what else would you expect from Need for Speed? This is worth mentioning, since some Need For Speed games don’t have any damage.

One last thing I would like to point out is, the artistic starts to some events which are just pure brilliant in their art form. See below:

Gameplay:

Let me say this now: This is no Need for Speed, this is more Burnout. The last game: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit was evenly balanced between Need For Speed and Burnout, but this one just says “Fuck Need For Speed!”. You don’t get the creature comforts of a Need for Speed game, like wrong turns being blocked off, room for error when you nudge traffic or a one button drift. Nope, this is Burnout; start to finish and while I have a few complaints, it is a fun game.

You acquire new cars by finding them in the world or taking them down after you beat them in a “Most Wanted” race. The main problem is that all the cars feel the same. To a large extent they react the same, but they do have their little differences. Once you get used to the drifting and the handbrake, there is very little new to learn for each car.

The cars are mad fast in the straights; the sense of speed is incredible once you pass 250 KMPH. They however don’t turn too easily. Turning on a whim is out of the question but that is probably why the drifts are so enjoyable. You feel like you need to master each car’s quirks and that makes you feel like a pro. Keeping up with Burnout tradition you can take down opponents in a race, which gives you an advantage. Sadly there is no pure take down event.

Most events are fun but some are just plain bad. The races are great, especially the sprint races. Losing the cop events are a highlight, but the circuit races and the time attacks are pathetic at best. It’s because of these game modes that Need For Speed: Most Wanted does not deserve a Burnout name either.

The world layout is not as well planned as it was in Burnout Paradise, but it does a decent job. There are interconnecting roads, jumps and back alleys that you can take, but most of the time they deprive you of your lead. The only time they really come in handy is when running from the cops.

Finally, the upgrades: You get primary upgrades by winning events. Once you have an upgrade, you can expand it by simply using it. I like this feature, and I think all future racing games should have this.
I just wish so many cars weren’t locked behind DLC.

Conclusion:

Pros	Cons
Overall good Graphics	Low quality on buildings and traffic
Lots of offroad points	Can be missleading
Good list of cars	Lots of cars locked behind DLC
Great car control	Cars feel same to an extent
Races and cop chases are fun	Time attack is annoying
Upgrade system is great	Some upgrades take too long

All in all, I would recommend Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012). It is worth it upto $15 or ₹700 for the base game plus 1 DLC. Problem is that most cars are locked behind DLC so it is worth second guessing the purchase.

Final Score: 7/10