Need for Speed Most Wanted Review – Do you dare to be the Most Wanted in town?

Our rating:

By: Electronic Arts

Version #: 1.0.0

Date Released: 2012-10-30

Developer: Electronic Arts

Price: 6.99

User Rating:

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Well, who is excited? I know I am! Need for Speed Most Wanted has been my favorite of all NFS titles on PC and now, its on my iPad (of course, it’s supported on iPhone and iPod touch as well) There is no need of introduction here, but for those who haven’t heard of it, it is the ultimate racing game to satisfy your Need For Speed.

First things first, the interface has shifted to a more classic and elegant style from the complex highly animated menus in the past. Most of the screen is occupied by the map of FairHaven and the bottom shows a white menu bar. In addition to Maps, the Garage, Driver Details, the Most Wanted Hit List, Shopping Cart and Settings, can be accessed from here.

The Map shows your ware-house of new rides and the sites of various racing events. Tapping a location will show all your previous as well as new racing events; you can either replay an old event for earning cash or continue to a new event. The garage shows all available rides, sorted according to type – SUV, Everyday, Muscle, Sports, GT and Exotic. The Driver Details menu shows your achievements and also unattained Milestones (objectives like take down 20 cops, drift a mile etc). I guess, you know the Most Wanted Hit List of the FairHaven PD, and the ultimate aim of this game is to hit the #1 spot.

And now, to the things that matter – the racing gameplay! In one word, its awesome. The controls are super responsive and the graphic environment is spectacular. The various events include Races with 5 opponents, solo split-time Checkpoints and one-on-one Sprints with hit list drivers. Even after playing for some time, I didn’t come across any lap races or knock out races and I am not sure if they will come by as the game progress. Will keep you updated!

Before a race, you can choose a ride from the available ones or purchase a new one. Unlike the PC game and most other mobile games, many high end rides are available at a low price and can be accessed early in the game. You can also buy extras like reinforced tyres, extra strength chassis, better nitrous etc before hitting the pedals.

The race donot start from halt rather they continue from free run and then, there’s no stopping. The controls can be toggled between accelerometer and touch; but the touch controls aren’t exactly as we would expect and I struggled a bit to get used. Other controls are  left tap for brake and right tap at turns for stylish drifts. Yes, there is traffic on the road and they can get to you if you are not careful enough. Cops interfere in all games no matter what, and are of course biased. They tend to wreck rather than block.

And, as the developers say, for the first time on mobile devices, vehicles take damage from hits (and I am not sure I like that). From what I have seen, damages don’t affect your vehicles performance and also it is really difficult to get 100% damage and get wrecked. (So I guess, I can live with it) Various stats like Damages, Drift distance, Jump distance etc gets represented at the tail lights, which is really impressive.

Along the race track, you can take down cops or opponents by crashing them and get a nitrous refill and special points as reward. When the race is over, you are awarded the medal and cash according to your performance and also SP for completing milestones (if any). These SP are required to unlock various races, rides and hit list members.

So far so good but, there is more. I have already told about the less impressive touch controls and damages to vehicles. Another major drawback is that the extras for your ride are temporary and has to be purchased again and again before each race. Even if you want to retry a level, re-purchase is required. This is not a deal-breaker though, as adequate cash will mostly be available in your bank. But if you are short of cash, you will have to replay some events or use the in-app purchase to fill your purse.

After playing with this newbie for about 4 hours, I am surely impressed but don’t think it is worth the 7 bucks. We have seen many similar high quality games, devoid of IA purchases with lesser tags. This app would have been a must have, if it was for $4.99 but if you are a hard core NFS fan and cannot suppress your racing instincts, go for it and you will not be disappointed.