Fly in my eyE

Review: Need for Speed Most Wanted (Xbox360)

So NFS:MW is a decent racing game. So far I've defeated 4 people on the list, won a few cars, and have 2 in my garage and have had quite a few police chases. I have not played it online.

The graphics are pretty easy on the eyes, and I imagine in high def they must really shine, BUT, lets get serious for a moment here, there's some pretty serious hiccups and frame rate issues. And this is at TV resolution. I wonder if the problems multiply at 720p? Seems its not just me as even Gamespot takes issue with this.

Also, while a very pretty game, it's missing some key elements that it's current generation colleagues pull off just fine. For example, in Midnight Club 3, the open city theme is handled with much more detail and realism. NFS:MW has no pedestrians, and very little (almost non-existent in some cases) non-player traffic. Also, while MC3 uses a beam of light marker system to let you know where the next check-point is (and thus leaving it up to you the driver which path to take), NFS:MW just closes off all the possible paths you can take to give you a linear race. Its a bit unrealistic to assume that underground street racers have giant bullet proof plexiglass walls with flashing arrows to prevent anyone from straying off course during a race.

The cars do look very shiny, especially when you unlock the custom paint jobs... but again, points go to the old gen classics. Where is my right thumbstick operated camera? I want to see what my car looks like outside of the garage. Did anyone on this project even play MC3? It really is a better game. Sure the cars aren't as shiny, but really, what's better in NFS:MW other than cars that reflect their environments slightly more than last year?

7/10 on it's own, 6/10 considering it costs an extra $10 to roll with a next-gen disc.

posted by Agent 1138 @ 12:17 PM