Gamers that have been around the block might remember the more traditional side of Electronic Art’s Need For Speed franchise. While it started out as a run-from-the-cops racer, the last two installments in the series have taken it down a completely different road. Both Need For Speed: Underground and Underground 2 ditched the original theme that started it all in favor for underground, nighttime street racing, no doubt inspired by the film The Fast & Furious. Both titles featured tight control, addicting gameplay, pretty visuals and more customizable options than a fast food restaurant. Indeed, Burger King says you can have it your way, but when EA says it, they truly mean it.

While we loved the Underground spin-offs, we’d be lying if we didn’t say we didn’t miss the cop-chasing aspect of the original Need For Speed games. Our readers can then understand why we were as excited as we were when Electronic Arts revealed that the next chapter in the series, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, would return the franchise to its roots.

Features

• Traditional cop chasing NFS meets customizable, underground street racing NFS Underground
  
• Over 30 different vehicles, including makes from BMW, Ford and Chevy
  
• Over 25 different songs from today’s most popular groups
  
• Customize your car both inside and outside to create the coolest race machine on the road
  
• Many gameplay modes include time-based races, sprint races, time trap races, drag races and much more
  
• Coming to GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 at the end of November
  

Do You Have The Need For Speed?
The latest game in the Need For Speed series features everything that made the series so popular in the first place – fast cars, girls, music, pretty graphics and even a story, though it’s the most basic thing about the game. Like just about any other racer out there, in Most Wanted gamers play as a character that’s looking to break into the world of street racing. The main character is set on beating all the hot-shot racers that populate his new city, but his nemesis stands in his way – the town sheriff, who is now cracking down on illegal street racing. Throughout the title, gamers will be treated to a number of FVMs (full-motion videos) that push this storyline forward.

There are a number of modes that make up Most Wanted, however, there are essentially two kinds of races in the game: straight races and pursuit races. The names of these kinds of races are pretty self explanatory. Straight races consist of both sprints; racing from one end of street to another, and drag racing; fast-paced racing in which players speed down a straight track trying to be the first to pass the finish line.



Most Wanted
Those that have played any racing game should easily understand that sprint races work almost identically to a lap system, only instead of completing laps, players simply make it from one end of the track to the other. The difference between these kinds of races and drag races, though they sound similar, is pretty large. In drag races, a huge emphasis is placed on switching between gears, which ultimately is the deciding factor in how fast players move and if they win or not. Since these races take place on linear courses – with absolutely no turns – it’d be pretty easy simply steering down a straight path, but with a relatively satisfying transmission system, things should be pretty fulfilling.

This transmission system scores and rewards players on how well they can change gears. Using a five grade system – too early, too short, good, perfect and too late – the game makes sure that switching gears in drag races isn’t a walk in the park.