Criterion's Most Wanted

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Criterion's Most Wanted

June 03, 2012

(187) Comments

Hey – we’re back. And we think you’re going to love this.

We’re bringing you our take on our favorite Need for Speed game ever: Most Wanted.

We loved the original. It had amazing cars, a massive, open city and epic cop chases. But most of all, it had an amazing premise: become the Most Wanted. So, that’s what you’re getting.

And because it’s us, you know what else we’re bringing to the party: great handling, cutting-edge online and the latest Autolog™, putting your friends at the heart of the game.

We love games full of freedom and choice. In Most Wanted, you can drive anywhere, switch cars anytime, meet your friends and explore the city to discover new gameplay. In fact, you’ll see the idea of freedom and choice running through every aspect of this game.

Autolog™ records everything you do and broadcasts out your best scores, record times, fastest speeds and biggest chases as challenges for your friends. Autolog™ also calls out your friends’ records as you drive the city, hitting jumps, racing each road, blasting through speed cameras…pretty much everything. If there’s something to do, there’s someone to beat.

You earn Need for Speed Points and rank up for everything you do in the game. Outdrive your friends to move up the list and be Most Wanted. 

Online play’s focused on intense competition, team games, massive variety, persistent scoring, deep ranking and endless rewards and upgrades.

Offline, the game’s about you and the law. The city’s patrolled by tough, aggressive cops that’ll do anything to bust you, but it’s also filled with great opportunities to shake them. Hide out and use Cool Downs or floor it and hit jumps, shortcuts or terrain the cops can’t handle.

Knowledge of the city will give you the edge.

Our biggest fans will spot Burnout Paradise’ DNA flowing through the game. Seamlessly join your friends and they’ll appear in the city. Fire up a multiplayer session and the Gameplay Director will automatically cue up a playlist of race events and challenges.

Vote with your car to define the playlist.

Pick your position at race starts and fight for to keep it. Finish ahead of the pack, and you can turn around drive back into the race. It’s fun to see if you can take out your rivals before they reach the line. The sight of two rivals barreling towards the line after a long, close race getting taken down by the race winner is pretty hilarious. It’s driving as you’ve never seen it.

There are no lobbies, so between events, you’re free to keep driving, switch cars, explore the city, vote the next event or get revenge on your rivals by smashing them off the road. It’s usually the latter.

If you know Hot Pursuit or the Burnout series, you know the Criterion way:

Our driving’s about insane speed, spectacular crashes, amazing action and huge drifts, all set in an open world built for races, chases and choice.

You’ll get to drive the wildest selection of cars yet, and our all-new handling model is deep, physical and fun, and it lets us showcase the personality of each and every car.

We’re out in October on PS3, 360 and PC, and you can also play on Vita and iOS.

Buy Now, and well see you and your friends online then.

Criterion Games, June 2012.

187 people have commented. Add yours now!

I've been playing the new Most Wanted at a friends and heres w my opinion........ The game needs a rear view mirror to see whats coming up behind. How else are you suppose to know who or what is about to try and take you out? You aren't always able to easily program the "look behind" control or even use it while in a race or being chased. Mirrors are an actual part of a car. They are even shown as being there. Why can't they be used? Mirrors for me in Hot Pursuit are an absolute necessity and I find myself constantly looking for it during races and pursuits in this game. Lack of a rear view mirror is a BIG disadvantage against the "know everything" computer player. And speaking of the "know everything" computer......... Why is it that during a pursuit, the cops always know where you are as long as they are inside that "pursuit radius" or whatever it's called? Even when there is no line of sight OR them having seen you get to a hiding spot. All they have to do is get close and they instantly know where you are. I've had several occasions where I ALMOST had the pursuit ended, from a heat level of 4 and up down to 1, and the searching cop came close, with me hiding in a cubby area of a building, no line of sight whatsoever, and next thing you know, they are after me again. It gets very frustrating trying to evade a pursuit like that. At one point, I had just completed a most wanted race, and in trying to evade the cops, FROM THE SAME RACE, unlocked the next most wanted race. As a result, I had TWO most wanted races unlocked just trying to improve a car that might be able to beat the FIRST one I unlocked. Which brings me to my next thing. Like in Hot Pursuit, you should lose all progress(Speed Points) made in a race when you restart. I've unlocked two most wanted races just trying to win a race to put nitros in my car. With no real track layout, it takes time to learn the proper route, or with no rear view mirror, or if you get "taken down" by an opponent you didn't even know was coming behind you, about 95% of people,like me, are going to restart the race. ESPECIALLY if you just got the game. Wheres the satisfaction in "progressing" up the most wanted list(opening up all the races) when you unlock all of the drivers just trying to learn how to drive or just trying to win a basic mod like nitros? I think you should also lose any Speed Points you earned during a chase when you are busted. I haven't tried it yet, but what is to stop someone from unlocking all the most wanted drivers, and then only racing the number one driver? Is that REALLY following the "STORY" of the game? To ADVANCE up the most wanted ladder. Shoot, make the game more interesting, penalize by TAKING AWAY speed points and RELOCKING most wanted drivers for excessive restarts.
Now for the things I LIKE about the game. Driving is a little more realistic. I Like the skidding and need to have to try and CONTROL the skid when taking turns too fast. I like the Open World and the "find it to drive it" concept. The ability to change cars during a chase is nice, but it should give more of a benefit then it does. Like allow an instant escape if you aren't seen by cops doing it. Learned that the hard way. Went from a nice fast car that I was able to drive pretty well to a lousy car with no mods whatsoever and again, a cop came within that radius, and the chase was on again. Didn't last long after that.
There may be a lot of good points to the game, but the lack of mirror, hood cam, losing speed points on restarts and, oh yeah, no type of track layout except for the mini-map to follow during a race makes me still unsure if I want to buy this game for myself. That track layout thing.... you should at least put a line or something on the road to follow to each checkpoint. Not necessarily the "arrow walls" . Missing turns should be a result of getting hit, not misjudging the CORRECT path to the next checkpoint. I've had to restart numerous times because it looked like the next checkpoint was down a certain road when it was actually down the one before or after it.

Submitted by SumthnWckd (PC) on Fri, 2013-03-22 18:53.

Adding random weather would be kinda nice too

Submitted by SumthnWckd (PC) on Sat, 2013-03-30 03:43.

how can i download and install the older need for speed most wanted without CD ?

Submitted by SmaSheR on Sun, 2012-12-23 04:10.

I am buying the game now. If I can not customize cars and race in career mode then it sucks and I can not get my money back... I like pink slip and customize cars. I only have offline since internet suck at my house and I have play need for speed underground 1 & 2, Carbon, Most Wanted, and prostreet but if this 2012 Most Wanted is same as Hot pursuit then it suck since I only like customize cars. No customize cars then I will rated this game 1 out of 5 but with customize then it is 4.5 out of 5 because you can only have some cars.

Submitted by MSG_Ninja (PS3) on Sun, 2012-12-02 22:13.

this is a great game, but need for speed has been disappointing after undercover; really underground 2 to be honest,(with the exception of prostreet and the shifts). every since underground 2 they've been failing to deliver.

Submitted by pbear4w on Mon, 2012-11-19 23:43.

this is a great game, but need for speed has been disappointing after undercover; really underground 2 to be honest,(with the exception of prostreet and the shifts). every since underground 2 they've been failing to deliver.

Submitted by pbear4w on Mon, 2012-11-19 23:43.

i have got over 30 hours of gameplay into this game i couldn't be more satisfied with the game. i just love the game in every way, i knew i was going to like this game alot, but criterion you have gave me more then what i expected and i couldn't be any happier :)

Submitted by ToKKeNbL00dMoNe... on Mon, 2012-11-05 06:52.

I lieke potato chips

Submitted by R0NALD MCDONLD ... on Mon, 2012-12-17 21:34.

Does anyone know if Most Wanted 2012 is going to have force feedback capability for steering wheels?

Submitted by FGC-WOOHOO (PC) on Sun, 2012-10-07 15:23.

This game looks awesome, but like ive heard Customization is and has always been the best part of the Need for Speed series, and seeing a bunch of other cars that look exactly like yours is not interesting, i watched and saw this game was "for the future" but the past was incredibly great too. Add customization - it will get a lot better results

Submitted by TheUnholyTerror (PC) on Thu, 2012-10-04 16:54.