Need for Speed: Most Wanted

Most Wanted also features a Challenge mode, which to be honest I never tried on either the PC or this 360 version as the Career mode is where all the solid gameplay is. Taken from the game manual

"The Challenge series hooks you up with a car, a specific challenge and is designed to test your driving and pursuit evasion abilities. The further you get into the challenge series, the harder things get."

 

Rubberband AI

Now let us get down to the AI in Most Wanted. I first played this title upon release on the PC platform, and I quickly realised that this had to be the most enjoyable title in the Need for Speed series I had played in ages. However, that was short lived. I had no idea that Most Wanted features the most hated type of AI that various racing games employ nowadays - Rubberband AI. No matter how fast you drive ahead of your opponent, he/she will always catch up and maintain a close distance to you, as if attached to your bumper by a rubberband so to speak. You could be travelling at close to 800mph and yet the second placed AI car will be right up alongside you! What is the point in even purchasing performance upgrades in the game when the AI can cheat and keep up with you no matter what the situation is? This alone destroys a gamers sense of progression.

When you first begin playing Most Wanted, you will not see any of this until you reach Blacklist 4 or so, and suddenly the AI kicks into high gear and begins to cheese you off. To test this out, I downloaded a trainer for the PC version after I completed the game. I had saved my game before I raced Razor, so I reloaded and raced him again, except the trainer had boosted my max speed to 750mph. As the race began, I took a huge lead with Razor 30seconds behind, but I then lost control as I approached a hairpin because I had glanced at the mini map. Why? Because I could see Razor approaching my position on the map at lightning speed! I put my foot down and hit nitrous as I blasted off in third gear but it was too late, he stormed past and ended up 20 odd seconds ahead of me! I restarted the race and tried again but lost, and then realised EA had implemented rubberband AI, something I had not seen in a racing game for quite a while. Apparently NFS: Underground 2 had it, but it was not noticeable at all when I played that game.

I should state that the 360 version has much more forgiving AI. I found the game moderately hard, but at no point was I left frustrated and angry and any of the AI for the blacklist racers. Rubberband AI is present here but not as extreme as the PC version. I managed to complete the 360 version without almost any complaints.

Another issue I had over the PC version of Most Wanted was the police AI. Mostly because the cop SUV’s would appear out of thin air in front of you during police chases and hit you so hard that your car would spin out of control and you’d be busted before you manage to stabilise the thing. I do not mind hard AI at all, but I seriously do detest cheating AI and EA can never get AI right in almost any title they produce. Even Fight Night on the 360 being such a superb title, has some crazy AI at times. Once again, the cop AI on the 360 version of Most Wanted is not as over the top as the PC version, but SUV’s still do appear out of thin air.

The Car Market

The list of cars in Most Wanted is quite stunning. The list includes vehicles from Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Aston Martin, Toyota, and Lamborghini to name a few. There isn’t any handling realism to any of these car models though, they do have handling differences as they should do but they mostly feel very alike so it is not hard to adjust from one car to another.

I started with a weak Chevy Cobalt and waited until I came across a blacklist racer with a decent car and then got the pink slip off him granting me an already tuned car. In my case, I ended up with the awesome Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III, which became my main ride for much of the game until Blacklist No.6, who was Hector Domingo. His ride was a souped up Lamborghini Gallardo and after defeating him, I managed to get the pink slip for his car. My main favourite became the Lamborghini Gallardo with its insane acceleration and sleek looks. There is a Lamborghini Murciélago present too but even though it has slightly better stats, my tuned Gallardo had better stats due to unique performance parts.

You can buy these cars from scratch if you wish, but you then have to purchase all the performance parts yourself, which ends up costing quite a bit of cash depending on how expensive your current car is. I found it better to save the game before challenging a blacklist racer, defeating him and then trying for a pink slip for his/her car. I almost always ended up getting their car this way.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5