Need for Speed Most Wanted E3 2005 Preshow Report

During the MTV premiere event for the Xbox 360, one of the games shown was the next installment in Electronic Arts' Need for Speed franchise, titled Need for Speed Most Wanted. As the name vaguely implies, the game will feature some high-speed police chases, in addition to the series' now-signature street racing antics. Though we got to see less than 30 seconds of the game in action, what we saw revealed a bit about the cars, the theme, and the gameplay, not to mention the impressive graphics the Xbox 360 is apparently capable of.

The demo clip showed a tricked-out BMW trading paint with a rival vehicle...in dusty, broad daylight. The recent Need for Speed Underground titles have featured nighttime racing, so Most Wanted immediately looks different. There's sort of a grainy, cinematic look to the action, and the level of details in the cars and urban environments is quite striking--seems like you can see every crack in the pavement.

The action picks up as the Beamer slips right underneath a big rig passing in perpendicular traffic...a dramatic near-miss. Apparently stunned by this show of skill, the red rival car spins out. The coast is clear for the heroic BMW--until a couple of cop cars show up and cut it off, sirens wailing. End of story.

The Need for Speed titles are known for featuring tons of licensed cars and modes of play, and the more-recent entries have been chock-full of multiplayer offerings as well. Need for Speed Most Wanted will certainly follow suit. We're excited by this entry's new look and are eager to see how the rest of it shapes up. We'll have more information on it for you just as soon as we dig it up.