Going into a racing game we may know what we’re going to receive as there’s only so much you can do within those confines. Besides offering fast cars, a couple of different events, and maybe a themed race like a timed event what else can you do in a racing game? Well as they’ve done so in the past the talented folks over at Criterion Games are altering the racing game landscape with their latest example being Need For Speed: Most Wanted.
I managed to get some hands-on time with NFS: Most Wanted at E3 this year and it was one of the rare games in which I didn’t want to leave the demo station - it was that damn good. A bit similar to what Criterion did in NFS: Hot Pursuit, Most Wanted is a reboot more or less which puts social racing to the forefront with some rather intense action that’s completely in the control of the gamer.
Such action is evident in this new trailer for the game which shows that it’s definitely possible to evade the Cops once you’ve officially reached Most Wanted status. Dodging the Police may not be hard when a few squad cars are chasing you, but when there are ten cars deep what are you supposed to do? Well doing a little car swapping mid chase along with some useful breaking could result in evading the law to race another day.
Most Wanted may still look similar to Criterion’s version of Hot Pursuit, but from what I played at E3 this year Most Wanted is way more addicting. The mix of stunt and precision racing is far more balanced and feels more natural within the urban settings that are present. That along with the group racing events that combine stunt events with skill based one could result in one of the best racing experiences released this generation.
There is a bit of bad news pertaining to NFS: Most Wanted as the PlayStation Vita version has been delayed into Spring 2013. Revealed at Gamescom last month, the Vita version of Most Wanted is said to be impressive visually as it’s a near 1:1 match of what’s on the PS3. Reasoning as to why the Vita version has been bumped into next year wasn’t given, but I assume Criterion needs some additional time as they’re handling the port themselves instead of farming it out to another studio.
