With the addition of the new DLC this game rocks even more! the Movie Heroes pack should have included both K.I.T
Whats up Ladies and Gents? Okay so dig this, this is my very first blog about anything so I'm about to pop my cherry with this one! (Is it gonna hurt???) So besides my band's music (insert shameless plug here: https://www.facebook.com/TheHellFyreClub?ref=hl
my other love is gadgets/tech and video games. As of the moment I am gaming on a Playstation 3 console and my PC. (Nothing against XBOX 360, I just dont have one. YET. Muah MUAAAAHHH)
So most of my blogs will be along those lines. Although I can't promise you that I won't rant every now and again about other things.
Anyway, enough said, let's get to it.
It's like this: I had a real itch for a racing game since I played Midnight Club: LA Complete Edition, like , five times back to back. (Beat it, delete saved game, rinse and repeat).
I always make it a point to check reviews on games before I buy them and I tend to lean towards the consumer reviews rather than the corporate or "professional" reviews (lest I become a mindless drone spending my money on yet another barf-tastic waste of my hard earned coin - cough *C.O.D. *cough)
The [consumer] reviews on Need For Speed: Most Wanted - A Criterion Game were a mixed bag of nuts to say the least. Some appreciate the new direction that Criterion had taken, while others found it to be a copy/paste game reminiscent of Burnout:Paradise.
For my take on the game, I'll break it down into six parts that I personally take into consideration: Graphics (the look of the game)
Gameplay
Sound Design
Connectivity (multiplayer)
Replayability
Bugs (ARRRGH)
Graphics - NFS: Most Wanted, is a gorgeous game. I feel it really puts the specs of the PS3 system to use and capitalizes on its capabilities. I'm not really into studying frame rate and all that so if your looking for that info, you'll have to just SHUT UP! All I know is, the game doesn't lag or get choppy at all no matter how many cars are involved in a single pile up. The action just keeps coming baby!The city of Fairhaven is quite deep and diverse. Ther are plenty of areas to explore while you move about looking for new cars to drive.
Gameplay - Now this IS where I found it to be really reminiscent of Burnout: Paradise. What with all the takedowns and points for such. (Basically your'e rewarded for driving like a lunatic. Which is cool since you don't do so in real life. Well at least I don't. I can't speak for some of you noobs out there.) The lack of customization on your cars though (Even color choice is sparse. No BLACK?? WTF??) is an acquired taste, seeing that we racers were spoiled with the NFS:Underground series, NFS:Most Wanted 2005 and the Midnight Club series. Now this shouldn't turn you off completely to NFS: MW - Criterion, I'm just saying that it takes getting used to. I look at it like a digital version of a RC Car hobby. Instead of spending a grip of money on a car, time on building it, crying when it gets run over in the street, you can play this game. The controls and physics of how the cars handle and drive is pretty spot on. Its very satisfying drifting your Lexus LFA 235 feet around a downhill curve or launching your Shelby Cobra 175 feet off of a ramp.
Sound Design - The cars in this game sound awsome as well. The roar of an Aston Martin Vanquish while ripping through a tunnel is just superb. It makes you feel as though you are actually standing on the actual go pedal! The crashes sound so satisfying as you ram into another car to earn those extra speed points. The soundtrack is pretty good also. I actually found myself enjoying it for awhile what with its mix of rock , pop and hip hop. Until it started to get repetitive and I chose to turn the soundtrack down and just listen to the cacophony of racing noises. You also can choose to play your own playlists that you have stored in your PS3 system.
Connectivity - This is probably the best area of the game for me. While the single player campaign is cool ( you race until you beat all of the Most Wanted list) The online multiplayer is great. This is where Criterion really took advantage of the PS3's (and XBOX's) current generation. It's almost as if there are two games in one as your online career is so different than your single player career, including cars and upgrades) Creating your own races (speedlists as the game calls them ) is the best way to play the game in my opinion and then challenging your friends to beat your race list.
Replayability - As far as single player, I've beaten it already (one week) so I'm not really into replaying it. You can, if you want to be at the top of the list of your speedwall. Again I choose multiplayer every time I load the game up. Multiplayer brings the replayability factor up to a 9 out of 10 for me. Not a perfect score because with the amount of people playing this game online…I DOUBT that you will ever be at the number 1 spot so that eliminates the ability to ever truely beat the game.
Bugs (ARRRGH) - As I said earlier I already finished the single player mode and brought down all ten of the Most Wanted douches and unlocked and upgraded most of the cars in that mode. I was well into multiplayer and unlocking my favorites in that arena when lo and behold…..I loaded my game to find that all my saves were wiped. As in from zero, I had to start again. If not for the awsomeness and beauty of NFS:MW, I would've taken it straight back to the store. But I figured what he hell, I'll just play multiplayer from here on out. (That has not happened since that one occurrence so thank the gaming gods.)
My Verdict - Need For Speed : Most Wanted - A Criterion Game, is a worthy addition to the NFS legacy and is WELL WORTH the price of gas to drive the licensed cars in the beautiful digital city of Fairhaven. However, if the NFS brand (and Criterion) want to keep (and bring back the ones lost) its core fan base, they better dang well bring back customization! Who cares about a story in a racing game… customization is the key. I doubt the next Midnight Club will be without it. (If it is, I call B******T! and predict a low quarter for Rockstar on that)
Note: With the addition of the new DLC this game rocks even more!
Although I will note that the Movie Heroes pack should have included both K.I.T.T.s (both the 80's classic Trans Am and the 2011 Mustang KR) from Knight Rider as well as the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard...but I guess that would be the TV Heroes pack huh? LOL
Well that's it people. My Game Review/Blog hymen has been well busted! I hope it was good for you as it was for me!
You want to challenge my driving skills chump?
Here's my PSN ID: THCNLTS7
BRING IT!
Cy Da Mavericc
1!