Criterion brought Need for Speed back into the limelight with their 2010 hit Hot Pursuit. After a lacklustre performance (yet, somehow Stevivor.com’s 2011 Game of the Year as voted by our readers) by last year’s The Run, it appears that the studio’s been given the same job by EA once again. Is Need for Speed: Most Wanted going to save the faltering franchise?
Yes. Hell yes.
Criterion, also of Burnout franchise fame, know how to make a driving game. This time around, Most Wanted lets you explore an open world to find different and engaging ways off pissing off the cops and becoming the “most wanted” driver out of all our friends. If it sounds a bit like Burnout in places, that’s because it’s pretty damn close to it. And that’s not a bad thing.
In order to help you achieve your “most wanted” goal, Criterion is relying upon the second generation of their AutoLog system. AutoLog is seamlessly integrated into the title; as you break through a security gate, for example, you’ll have a Speedwall update flash up on your interface. You’ll be able to see who screamed down that stretch of road the fastest, and Criterion’s hoping that’ll edge you on to try to do better.
I had a chance to see hands-off single player and took part in a hands-on mulitiplayer session consisting of four separate modes. The first was an all out race to the finish of an in-city course, with points being delivered for winning and for totalling other competitor’s cars. Once that mode was over, the game made you drive to the next rally point in the city for the next challenge, and so on.
One of the challenges was simple; who can get the most air off of a ridiculously large ramp? Criterion’s said they’ve put a brand new handling system in the game which allows for some amazingly big jumps. I backed my Porsche up and hit nitro at just the right time before the ramp to get some height and distance. And loved every second of it.
I then took part in a group race, and lastly, a speed section where you try to get the highest speed on a straight stretch of road.
Car fanatics might love the sound of this game already, but most of the multiplayer fun came from the fact that non-race challenges can be attempted as many times as you’d like during a set period of time. The previewers playing figured out very quickly that if you posted the highest score in an event, it made more sense using the remaining time to try to sabotage the attempts of your friends. It made for some truly great moments.
Now, I’m not a car person, so I can’t really comment on drift physics or the like, but what I do know is that Criterion just demoed a car game to me that I truly enjoyed. As I tend to avoid car games, that’s saying something.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted hits consoles in Australia 2 November.
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