Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) is an upcoming title in Electronic Arts' Need for Speed franchise and is currently being developed by Criterion Games.
The title is a re-imagining of the original Need for Speed: Most Wanted released in 2005 except will be designed from Criterion's perspective of the original title. It will be running on Criterion's modified Chameleon game engine[2].
Information for the title was leaked on the internet the week of May 20th, 2012. The title is expected to be fully unveiled at EA's E3 press conference on June 4th, 2012. A promotional image was released on June 1st, 2012 via the Official Need for Speed Facebook account prior to the E3 unveiling.
The image contains a few vehicles such as the BMW M3 E92, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Charger SRT-8 Police Interceptor and 2011 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor. The police vehicles appear with official jurrisdiction markings relating to Fairhaven City.
A trailer was shown during Electronic Art's E3 conference including several additional vehicles such as the Porsche 911 Carrera S (991).
At this point, it’s safe to assume EA’s given Criterion full control over whatever Burnout game it wants to make, so long as it’s called Need for Speed. Most Wanted, which reimagines the 2005 title of the same name, is the spiritual successor to Burnout Paradise, and it’s anything but shy about it.
Come on. The license plates of two multiplayer cars read "Burnout" and "Paradise," for crying out loud.
You’ll get props for smashing signs and fences. Events occur naturally as you explore the open world. Drifting and drafting around the open world earns you points. Sweet jumps are everywhere.
Bombing down the road at 100mph and leaping over the freeway naturally attracts the law, and giving cops the slip is half the fun of Most Wanted. The other half is, of course, smashing their cars into walls, off bridges, and into oblivion. Vehicles in Most Wanted feel heavy, sound powerful, and hit like wrecking balls. Most Wanted encourages some serious car-on-car violence, even beyond the stuff Hot Pursuit enabled.
The larger spaces and exploration lets you line up devastating takedowns, whether you’re mid-race, sabotaging a jump competition, or just griefing pals rolling around your world. Players can explore the city on their own, group up for events, or smash each other’s Autolog records on the fly. Notoriety is the focus rather than fastest laps, although wins and accomplishments contribute to your Speed Points. As is the modern standard, seemingly everything adds to your total.
Most Wanted looks spectacular. Gorgeous stuff.
This is the logical step for both Criterion and Need for Speed. After all, Most Wanted as a concept was originally a twist on the classic Hot Pursuit formula. Criterion following its Hot Pursuit reimagining with another reinvention The Autolog enables passive competition by presenting others’ achievements all the time, which feeds directly into Most Wanted’s main theme: becoming the most wanted, of course.
No matter what the Need for Speed name means to you, Most Wanted is Burnout Paradise with police. It's about the chase, from police and against friends. It makes you want to break the law by becoming the most notorious driver on your friends' list. It's familiar, looks good, moves fast, and feels fantastic. Basically, Most Wanted is exactly what you want from an arcade racing game, crafted by one of the best developers on the planet, and it's building on one of the best foundations in the franchise's history.
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