Need For Speed: Most Wanted DLC Available December 18th

 

Looking for more in Need For Speed: Most Wanted? You won’t have to wait long. The first set of DLC for the game will be released on December 18th. Five cars will  be included in the DLC as well as dozens of new milestones and races.

The Ultimate Speed Pack DLC will include the McLaren F1 LM, Lamborghini Aventador, Pagani Zonda R, Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, and the Hennessey Venom GT.

The Ultimate Speed Pack will be available on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. Prices will be $9.99 on PC and PS3, and on Xbox Live for 800 Microsoft Points.

Will you be picking up Need For Speed’s first DLC pack?

Need For Speed: Most Wanted Review – Welcome Back

Need For Speed: Most Wanted
Criterion Games
EA

X360, PS3, PC – October 30, 2012

Welcome to Paradise City, well almost. Need For Speed: Most Wanted is Criterion Games second time at bat with the Need For Speed Franchise. Their first attempt was a great success with Hot Pursuit, and their second coming is a great addition to their résumé.

Need For Speed: Most Wanted is not so much a remake of the original that came out for the Xbox and Playstation 2 back in 2005, developed by Black Box Studios, but a fresh take on Criterion Games vision for the series. For those who are not familiar with Criterion Games’ history, they are most known for the successful “Burnout” series that had spanned from the Xbox and PS2 Era. Burnout Paradise was their last big release for current gen consoles and PC which many people have lost many hours driving around the city. Most Wanted is full of these influences which make a great experience this time around.

You start out as Number 10 on the “Most Wanted” list. Working your way to number 1 to be the Most Wanted in Fairhaven. In between your time taking down each Most Wanted car, you will be in some of the most desirable cars in the world, busting down billboard signs, smashing security fences, and being the fastest through speed cameras. One thing I am disappointed in, is the lack of actual story compared to the original Most Wanted. Yes, the FMV was cheesy, and Razor Callahan was a douche, but it added a layer to Most Wanted that you’re remembered for its cheesiness.

Autolog returns this time around and is better than ever. Everything you do is accounted for and you will receive notification on who is the fastest, who jumped the furthest through a billboard, or who found the most security gates of all your friends. This is great for free-roaming the city just to be the best at all you can do. One great feature with the billboards is the person who has the best jump through a billboard will have their avatar picture on the billboard itself. So hunting them down and blasting through them is that much better while smashing through your buddies face. Autolog will also recommend different events for you to do that will earn you more Speed Points (SP). SP is tallied up for doing races, shutting foes down, reaching milestones, plus tons more. Your position on the Most Wanted list correlates with the amount of SP you have. Once you reach the amount of SP needed for your next rival, a race will unlock for you to take on the car. Once you come first in the race, you will have to take down the car for it to be added to your available car list.

Most Wanted does away with the traditional unlocking of cars in a racer, and it’s a nice refresh. All cars are essentially “unlocked” from the time you start the game. The only cars you have to earn are on the Most Wanted list. Each car is hidden around the city and is just waiting for you to find and jack them. One downside to the car jacking is if you find a huge jump you want to to with a different car, you will go back to that cars original spot where you found it, thus making you have to drive all the way back to your jump spot. Once found, each car is added to your car list which is accessed through the “EasyDrive” menu. This is a slick way to do anything from change your marker to the next race you want to do, switch vehicles, change upgrades, or race the next Most Wanted. EasyDrive is used with the D-pad on the controller; the game doesn’t pause so you’re still driving. This causes a problem because now your hands are off the wheel while you are changing an upgrade in the middle of a race, so prepare to crash hard. If you happen to be playing on the X360 you do have another option. Kinect. It’s actually quite a great companion to have while in the middle of a race. There are shortcuts to use to so all you have to do is talk to your Kinect while driving and things will be done even quicker than using the D-Pad. This is very useful when trying to shave off seconds to beat one of your friends.

Criterion knows how to make a game look good, and that is evident in Most Wanted. Each car is done with fine detail, and each car sounds like it should. The overall feel of the city is great; you have so many varying areas. From high industrial areas to winding side roads, it’s a blast searching the scenery for that next car to find or billboard to smash through. The cars handle great too, easy to pick up and drift around big corners. One issue I have noticed is when the heat gets high with lots of cops on screen, the frame rate can take a noticeable dip. The more races you do with a specific car you will unlock upgrades that will make that car faster, handle better, and boosts to the damage you can take, or deal out.

Multiplayer is where it’s at though. You have a group of up to 8 players and you’re thrown into the open world. Once everyone is there the host will start the match. There is a list of random events that will happen. This all happens on the fly. So when you’re trying to bash one of your friends’ rides you are told to get to the meet up. Keep an eye on the mini-map to see where you are headed because the first person there will get a SP bonus. This in itself is great fun, even before the event starts there is a sense of competition to get that bonus. Once at the meet up you will get directions on what the event is. There is a ticker at the bottom of the screen that will give you the specifics of the event. There is no lining up for the race, it just starts. Maybe you will be facing the wrong direction, maybe you will be driving in the right direction and get a head start? It’s a really awesome way to start the race as it keeps you on your feet anticipating where you’re going to be headed. The different events are great too. Sometimes is a straight up race, others are a team race, or co-op events that will have everyone hitting a jump to reach a cumulative total. There is a great mix up of events that you can do. One of my favorites is a solo drift event. You see in a certain amount of time that can get the longest drift. Say you don’t like to drift. Well grief the hell out of the other players. If you manage to take one down, they are taken out of the race and their best drift is taken for their total. Once they are out, they are still there, only to cause that same carnage that you threw down to take them out. You can also do custom SpeedLists, so you can pick and choose the types of events you want to do with your friends. The more you do in multiplayer will earn you SP and unlock more cars for you to use. It’s an awesome setup and really the backbone of the game. I’ll keep going back and back for more, it’s just that damn good.

Overall Criterion has made a very nice package. The lack of story in the single player campaign is a bummer, but it’s still great fun to drive around the city looking for cars, and billboards to drive through. But where Most Wanted shines is in its multiplayer. The “keep you on your toes” element of the SpeedList is perfect that keeps you in your car, and not in the lobby. They knocked this element out of the park, and it’s amazing fun that will keep you coming back for more. I couldn’t recommend this more to anyone. As a huge original Most Wanted fan boy, I can say Criterion has my approval.

Editors Note: This review copy was purchased with my own funds.

Forza Horizon Preview

Forza is hands down my favorite racing franchise ever. Period. I am the most hardcore Forza fan on the NovaGamer crew, they will all agree. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate on others. Need For Speed: Most Wanted (the original) is one of my favorite games ever. I’m totally stoked on the new one coming out later this month. Forza just always “felt” amazing. The controls were tight and what you expect when you are drifting through a corner at high speeds. The cars felt different from what kind of drive the car was, front, rear, maybe even all wheel drive. Everything just felt like it should. It was a true “sim”.

Now, Turn 10 decides to hand the reign over to Playground Games, a UK based development studio. I won’t lie, I was worried. A new studio? Not to mention it was not a full simulation game like I am used to from the Forza franchise. That’s what Need For Speed is for. I didn’t follow the development cycle like I do on a regular Forza game. Watched trailers here and there, but not really focused on it. Honestly, I was more focused on the Need For Speed: Most Wanted reboot.

Turn 10 released a demo this past Tuesday (October 9th) so I decided to spend some quality time with it to see if my skepticism was warranted. The demo starts you out on the open road heading toward the Horizon Festival with the previous years winner just ahead of you. Your start car is a 2013 Dodge Viper GTS. Not a bad car to start off with. One thing Turn 10 nailed on the head repeatedly was that the complete Forza engine is intact in Horizon, and yes, yes it is. The Viper felt great as I whipped down the Colorado highway. You can really tell it’s all Forza under the hood. Once you get to the end of the first race you will be directed to your first real event, a off-road challenge. Off-road in a Forza game?? It works great. You’ll be in the seat of a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR. All-wheel drive at your fingertips while you blast around dirt corners. I couldn’t believe it was a Forza game I was playing. Their work really paid off. Nailing the drifts around the corners in style, while earning your points that will help boost your characters bragging rights and popularity.

Next, you’re thrown in to a “win the race, keep the car” situation. The car? A ’70 Ford Mustang. The opponent? A Mustang airplane. You race a friggin’ airplane! It’s great how it keeps you on the edge of your seat as you see the plane racing toward the next checkpoint, hoping you are there just in the nick of time.  Once this race is finished you are told to go to one last race. High stakes, big money for the winner. You hop back in your Viper and make a mad dash for the finish line for the big purse.

Now you are free to roam. See just a small snippet on what Forza Horizon has to offer. The environments look amazing. The cars, in true Forza fashion are stunning. Wrap all of this new, arcade style racing in the Forza 4 engine, and you color me impressed. I went in very skeptical to this new formula for the Forza franchise and come out very intrigued. Turn 10 has done something very smart here too, release a demo just a couple weeks before release to try and sway those who are on the fence in their direction. Well played Turn 10. I know it may help me in my decision.

What do you think of it all? Leave your comments below!