Need For Speed: Most Wanted Preview

Now as for the actual gameplay, the demo showed three different types. The first it showed off was a simple point-to-point race in which you had to finish under a certain time limit. The actual city in the game is a fictitious area inspired by the East Coast that is littered with long, narrow and crazily bending streets. This happens to be just like previous NFS. But now there will be more hills, turning as well as multiple paths to drive through and shortcuts to utilize. The demo race happened to take you through a more suburban-inspired area complimented with a county fair. Yes of course there is a Ferris W heel in it, and a good amount of destructible objects could be seen.

The next part happened to be a single opponent drag race that was put on display at this year’s E3. Now just like they were in the Underground games, the action and excitement contained within these races is crazier than ever. The actual race took place in narrowed neighborhood streets while passing through a series of rather intimidating hills. At some point you will also happen to cross right through a major intersection that just happens to have an 18 wheeler barreling through it! The funny thing is the game is actually scripted to do that, so you’ll pretty much have to expect that to happen every time you drag race. You then find yourself in a car-filled tunnel that happens to lead out to a sweet exit ramp that will send you straight into a speed trap.

The second race that is shown off is a pure and simple drag race. They are pretty much completely reminiscent of the Underground games, with slight differing features. Just like the changing of lanes had a sort of “magnetic” feel in Underground, that will be making a nice return in Most Wanted. You will also have to manually shift gears again, making the whole race dependent upon your reaching peak speeds controller hand skills. Some luck will also help in participating in these races. Interestingly enough, there happened to be a shortcut in this race, which begs you to wonder what they could possibly be.

While actually racing in these drag competitions, the game will rate the quality of your gear shifts just like the Underground games did. Such ratings as “too early”, “short”, or “perfect” will be given to you. Then depending on just how well you shift, you have a chance of completely burning out your engine, which obviously isn’t a good thing. No engine means no racing, you’re done! But if you manage to achieve the skills required to perform well in these races, you will increase your acceleration without any kind of interruption. This will basically require all perfects on your part in the shifting. The increased acceleration will then lead to higher top speeds and ousting your opponents!

Another new feature that may aid a lot of players will also change your strategy just a little bit. In a sort of “Bullet Time” effect, you can literally slow down time by the simple press of a button! This will allow you to more skillfully steer through tougher turns, pressuring situations or any kind of near-collisions with just about anything that you can crack into. This feature happens to be more similar to the “Focus” feature in Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 than Max Paine’s bullet time gun attacks. But nevertheless, you’ll find yourself wanting to use the feature quite a bit; since it will help you avoid potentially devastating your position in any particular race.

The last part of the demo happened to be the most invigorating. At the end of the second part, you will find yourself blazing through one of the city’s many toll booths. Then without much surprise, you discover the toll booth is being monitored by the cops. It also happens to take your very photograph as well as clocking the speed at which you were going when running through it. The camera flash seems to blind you for a second or two as the screen goes completely white, and then you all of a sudden hear the cops on radio heavy with voice activity.

At this very point, you will find yourself immediately being pursued by a good dozens of cops. A map can actually be pulled up while you are racing to view just where you are in the city as well as seeing just how many cops are pursuing you, but it’s best to really maintain focus on the race. The cops will start off by just calmly driving alongside you, trying to peacefully detain your progress. But as you speed up, the aggressiveness of the cops will begin increasing. They will begin ramming you, swerving left and right and speeding ahead of you in an attempt to stop you. They will also try to completely surround you in an attempt to direct you into some sort of unknown obstacle that will basically put you at a dead stop.

But just as about all games featuring cops, they aren’t the most intelligent people around. They aren’t stupid either, which is a good thing. But moreso than anything else, they are just downright aggressive towards you and work in great numbers. You can very much outsmart and out-drive them if you’re paying attention enough, so you have that. When they try to completely surround you, simply slow down making them think you are going to go one way, then dramatically change direction and head off accordingly! You can lead them into oncoming traffic if your heart so desires, causing some nice destruction in the process. You can also trick them by going into a traffic-filled tunnel and then quickly backing out, or you can use your trusty nitro and simply make them eat your rubber!

So come this November, the cops have returned and with a vengeance! You can no longer hide under the night time of a fake city, as you will be pursued at many points during the game. Whether it’s in the narrow streets, traffic-filled tunnels, or enclosed alleyways, you are the Most Wanted November 15! If you thought cops and police helicopters were bad, try dealing with them AND the city’s traffic!