During our meeting with EA we got to play the new Need for Speed game, Need For Speed: Most Wanted. The room was packed with only 8 PCs and also standing room. We got in early and got a PC and were able to play it. The game was shown off the day before, during the EA conference, so the company skipped the trailer and went straight to game play.
They first showed us the map and how you can see the locations for challenges and events. Then they let us do the hands on. The game started with a meeting point. All 8 of us would then drive to the point and then the objective would begin. The first was a race and I finished 2nd in it. The crashes were fun and the slow motion was amazing felt a lot like Burnout. The second objective was how far each car could make a jump. This was a very fun experience. There could be strategy in this. After 2 tries, I could see I was not going to win, so I parked my car on the ramp hopefully to slow down other cars, and this worked as I caused others to crash out of the event. Oh and this type of strategy is allowed on purpose to make the various competitions more unpredictable. Then the third was a speed check point. The fastest car would win. At this point we all had some time to get use to the controls. And there was not as much hitting each car during this. However once again the top person the first pass, passed the speed camera could start wrecking out the other players to prevent them from bettering their speeds.
The game also looked really good, fromt eh water and puddles on the ground to the vehicle damage, to the mud spray you’ll see on the side of your car. The game was just choke ful of eye candy.
Overall I was very pleased with this title. They are trying to get you to only play this racing title. Which I think if they can keep adding stuff then this is possible. During the meeting they said the more somebody plays a game, the more friends they make in the game. The overall open world and persistent contests reminded me of Need for Speed Online. This title is headed in the right direction and will be fun for racers who want to really tear up the city with their friends.
