NFS: Most Wanted (Xbox 360 Update)

Hot pursuit police action.

Being chased by the cops is certainly one of the game's highlights, with the convincing radio calls and increased pressure making for some exciting moments. The races are less successful due to the AI which seems to deliberately let you win in the early stages and later on is seemingly controlled by Terminator style obsessive drivers.

As far as the handling goes it's pretty good. Most Wanted is clearly no rival to Gran Turismo 4, yet at the same time there's a convincing sense of weight to the cars. The handling is a little over the top, you don't often really need to use the brake, but it's a more nuanced handling model than you'd first think. A very welcome option is the ability to change the car set up from the pause menu without visiting a garage - this is great when starting a race and making changes based on the event ahead.

The city, which unlocks in stages, offers a very large play area with plenty of variety. It is a shame though that we don't get to travel the globe a little more as we did in the Need for Speed games of old. The freeway system is vastly improved over Underground, that game had a nightmare on/off ramp system that made it very hard to often find a way onto the freeways.

Graphically the game is strong, if a little understated. The deliberately muted pallete is something of an acquired taste and seems less flashy than Underground 2's neon-lit city. But the effects are good, with detailed car models and strong textures. Clearly the Xbox version looks a lot better than the PlayStation 2 version, however the PC version is the prettiest of the bunch. I'll be posting a separate review of the Xbox 360 version next week.

One aspect of the visual you really can't ignore are the over-the-top cut-scenes. It's a return to the FMV games of old as real live action from actors is blended with visuals from the game. The acting and script is perhaps the worst seen in a game, it's hard to know if this is deliberate or just something dumbed down to chav level, whatever the case you won't want to skip these scenes - they're comedy gold.

So on the whole we have a pretty good game but I'm knocking off a mark for two rather large omissions from the game. There are no replays in the game, a real shame, as the police chases would be ideal material for sitting back and watching your glorious Smokey and the Bandit style adventures. Secondly the multiplayer options are limited to race modes and there are no pursuit modes. It would have been great if we could play as the cops in online games but this hasn't been included.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is the best game in the series for a few years, blending some of the good ideas from Underground with the more traditional elements of the series as a whole. It's very likely we'll see a more refined sequel, but for now I can recommend Most Wanted to arcade racing fans who seek excitement beyond mere circuit races. Need for Speed still has quite some way to go to return to the brilliance of the last Hot Pursuit game, but there is definitely some light at the end of the tunnel.

The Xbox 360 version is clearly the pick of the bunch. The graphics are extremely detailed, and apart from the occasional hiccup, the frame rate remains smooth. The lighting is particularly impressive in this version, with High Dynamic Range lighting (HFR) being used to create wonderful effects such as sunlight streaming through trees. Xbox 360 owners also get the bonus of a new graphical slider in the options to choose the time of day. However there are still no replays in this version. Despite that Need for Speed Most Wanted is one of the highlights of the Xbox 360 launch. Highly recommended.