and I certainly don’t care about Vin Diesel. To say I’m outside this game’s core audience

would be an understatement, and yet...I couldn’t stop playing the damn thing. Every race had

me at the edge of my seat, every police pursuit made my knuckles go white...every stupid dubstep

track had me “bwow bwow-ing” louder than an engine spewing pure, unadulterated badass

straight into the ozone layer.

Want to know how good this game is? It made me wish my car had nitrous oxide.

And I don’t even know what that is.

Yeah, Need For Speed: Most Wanted is a racing game, but it’s also the video game equivalent

of a developer strutting around in a robe while drinking liquidized gold and smacking

b*tches with rare comic books. The point is the team over at Criterion has gotten to the

point where they’re just showing off. They’re like Ric Flair circa 1987. Styling, profiling

and making everyone else just plain look bad.

Wooo!!!

That was actually the first word in the press release.

Dead serious.

So if you follow Need For Speed, you know Most Wanted was originally released in 2005.

It may seem odd for a game that’s only seven years old to be rebooted, but hey, Criterion

does what they please. And they have created something truly special in the process. This

is an exceptionally beautiful, seamless and...empowering racer.

And really, that all starts with the setting. You’re a newcomer to the city of Fairhaven,

where street racing is dominated by a group called the Most Wanted. If you want in, you

have to prove yourself...not only by conquering the Most Wanted, but by conquering the city

itself. The place is so massive and sprawling, it’s almost overwhelming...but it also feels

alive. In fact, the city kind of becomes the game’s primary character.

Like this alluring villain you can never escape.

Fairhaven sure looks good, too. In fact, the game is just stunning. There’s so much visual

polish and detail, you almost hate speeding by without stopping to enjoy the scenery.

And one of the best things about Most Wanted is that there are no loading times in Fairhaven.

So the entire city is one seamless, completely open world.

It really is this ultimate urban playground for car racing.

And speaking of the cars, you’ll be happy to know they’re pretty slick, too. The game

includes more than 40 vehicles, and they’re all yours...provided you find them. They’re

scattered throughout the city, and with a quick press of a button, they’re yours to

race, paint, upgrade...and destroy. They all handle differently, but generally speaking,

the game’s driving mechanics are absolutely top-notch. It’s a blast to drive them.

In fact, this entire game is a blast to play. The freedom you’re afforded combined with

the focus on connectivity and the sheer amount of stuff to do...make it really addictive.

It’s so easy to get lost in Fairhaven and play for hours, racing rivals and getting

under the cops’ skin. I’m no vagrant street racer, but even I enjoyed my stay.

In Need For Speed: Most Wanted.