Arcade car games don’t seem that popular nowadays, so what is your opinion on this series?

Some food for thought (not mine)

It’s hard to believe the OG NFS Most Wanted is 19 years old. To this day, I don’t think there has been a better car game. In fact, I’d even claim it’s the best car game ever, but that would be too dramatic, so let’s just leave it at best in the franchise for now. I think a lot of people would agree with me though, and I mean a lot.

A little explanation for that title: If you’re a Need For Speed fan, chances are you support one of the following opinions:

1. Underground 1/2 is the best NFS.
2. Most Wanted is the best NFS.

Now, let’s see how Underground 1/2 is objectively better compared to MW:

• Customization is more extensive

The end. That’s literally it. MW on the other hand has:

• Better graphics, physics, etc…it’s just more polished in every way, which is to be expected from any game sequel, or at least it used to be.
• Police pursuits (more on that later).

I could of course say a lot more, but I don’t want to cross the blurry line of subjectivity, so let’s leave it at that. Most Wanted is simply a better made game, with an extra added mechanic: Police Pursuits.

Honestly, you could have an entire post just for the pursuits alone. Arguably what made the game as legendary as it is, at least partially. I don’t know if I’ve ever played another game that features police as good as this one. And its beauty is in its simplicity as much as it is in its execution. There are levels to how “serious” a chase can be, called “heat”. There is a counter and as long as you run from the police, it keeps counting. Get chased long enough and the heat level rises. Every time that happens, the police get more aggressive and use different methods to stop you. And it’s just done beautifully. It starts out easy, and you get cocky. Maybe you feel like challenging them. The heat rises, but you keep having fun. Eventually, you feel like it’s time to bail, and that’s when you realise that you have been played. Now they won’t let you leave. The difficulty really sneaks up on you, even though it’s absolutely linear and predictable in its progression. It can be fun, annoying, stressful, hard, in all the good ways.

That alone is enough to lift MW above any of the Undergrounds. And I’ve said virtually nothing about the rest of the game. I’m going to get into the subjective stuff now. The map is frigging awesome. You start out in what looks like the countryside, with its beautiful forested highways and what look like higher income areas. Then, as you progress further through the story and unlock more areas, you turn towards a more…dystopian look, for lack of a better word. Brown, filthy, rusty industrial areas, with garbage and graffiti. I mean look at this. This is a perfect image to give you a great idea of what this game is all about. Grunge, decadence, dystopia. You don’t get the neon lights of Underground 1/2 here, as cool as they are. And the whole thing is absolutely elevated by its metal/rap mix soundtrack, one that would be called “grimdark” today, but would also be instantly recognizable by any fan of the game. This is another way MW excels over the predecessors in my opinion. And that is the vibe. The atmosphere. I know people love the night from Underground, but in my opinion, MW offers a far more cohesive, far more complete package, and not just when it comes to aesthetics.

I feel like the whole experience is streamlined beautifully. Each thing flows into the next. The story is simple, yet it has stakes. At the same time, it plays into the game’s Blacklist mechanic, which has you competing with members of the “blacklist”, in order to climb up the ladder. But you have to challenge these drivers first, by completing milestones. That’s how the game basically “forces” you to experience all it has to offer. No shortcuts here, you have to work to get to the top and earn back what’s arguably the single most iconic car ever to be put in a video game: The BMW M3 GTR. The absolute legend, the unicorn. A car so iconic, they’re still milking it 20 years later, to remind you of the long past glory days of the franchise.

Yes, I am fanboying. I mean, this was THE GAME when it was new, especially for car people. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that it is, to this day, my benchmark for car games. Seriously, it holds up, graphics look good to this day (if you don’t focus on the backgrounds), driving physics are arcade-y, but still grounded enough to make you feel like a hero, even though they’re not even close to being realistic. This game has the mojo and the franchise has been in steady decline ever since. There were some highlights of course. Carbon was a good attempt at a sequel, but rushed, it even brought back the customization from Underground…or most of it at least. Shift tried to do something. Then there was the 2015 reboot, which is easily in my Top 3 Need For Speeds, plagued by issues as it may be, some tiny, others not so much. And ever since then…crap.

What happened to Need For Speed? When did they lose the recipe? At some point, they went back to doing classic NFS, no customization, no story, not even the option to buy cars, nothing, just races to get to the finish line first. They just can’t seem to get it right anymore. I still go back to the original MW every now and then and I can’t help but appreciate how perfect it is, within reason. Everything in that game is what it needs to be, and every thing works with each other to create a great well-oiled machine that just does what’s it’s meant to do. I don’t understand why newer games can’t get it right. I thought the aforementioned NFS 2015 was an honestly GREAT attempt, but some of the decisions made for that game baffle me. But I can forgive virtually everything about it…except for one thing. Always online? Really? I can only hope that they patch the game before they inevitably take down the servers. Anyway, I digress.

Need for Speed used to be THE franchise for car games, and now it’s but a shadow of its former self, if not a joke. I guess it still sells though, which is why they’re still pushing the games out. I just wish we could once again reach those same highs from -sigh- 20 years ago. It really is incredible that it’s been that long.

Play Need For Speed: Most Wanted if you haven’t, it’s great.