Need for Speed: Most Wanted first impressions
by Conrad Quilty-Harper 
{ Sep 3rd 2005 at 2:00PM }
Now that EA has announced the release date of this 'criminal' racer, it's November 15th by the way, I thought I'd
give my impressions from playing the game for a short while at Games Market Europe. I know this'll probably sound like
a crime to anyone interested in this game, but I had never heard of the latest in the Need for Speed series
when I picked up the PS2 controller at the EA booth. I was actually aiming to have a go at Bond - From Russia with
Love, but the game had frozen with Sean Connery's digital hand halfway through a Russia soldier's chest (go
figure). Anyway, I moved over to the next console which happened to be Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
So I started off sitting in a blinged up BMW 3 series wondering what the controls were. First I tried the analogue
sticks but ended up powersliding round every corner. Then I tried the D-pad; same thing happened. Why couldn't I aim
the car straight around the corners? Was it the distracting karaoke section of the EA stall? Nope, it seems the staff
there weren't paid enough to actually sing loud enough for me to hear. Was it the controller itself? Nope,
unlike Nintendo, EA seemed to have provided new booths.
What could I blame? The game itself. The driving mechanics were abominable. It was like playing a racing game on your
cellphone. The car felt like it was floating along a plane of ice around every corner.
Ive driven a BMW 5 series in real life and this wasnt even a smidgen close to that experience. On a scale of
realism from 1 to 10 (with 10 being Gran Turismo and 1 being Outrun) this was a 3. Yeah, I know,
realism doesnt always equal fun. But this wasnt fun at all. It was annoying! Dont get me wrong, I could steer the
car perfectly fine without hitting the sides, but after the first few minutes playing the game I was bored already. Not
exactly the feeling you want from an early Xbox 360 title.
On the positive side, the graphics on the PS2 version look pretty impressive and despite the noise pollution from the
karaoke, it sounded pretty decent too. I also didnt get a chance to try out the Bullet Time steering mode which is
supposedly the games stand out feature. Bear in mind although my overall impression is negative, I did only see a
small section of the game. Hopefully until the release date the EA guys will stick to their word and
put the gameplay focus back on the
racing.
[Thanks, Anuj]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
metal_gear_jello @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
I've never really played any need for speed game. This may be just an early development build. Hopefully though they'll improve it by launch time. Of course, being an arcady game, expect an arcady feel.
But if they keep that physics for the X360, then it would definitely be a poor launch title. Drifiting is good and neat to look at but can be annoying when you drift on all the corners.
Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
I don't think this was early anything. It was running on a regular PS2 for anyone to pick up and play. And as we now know this is only two months from launch. I wouldn't be surprised if that was at release candidate, the stage where final bugs are being ironed out. Crap physics is a pretty massive bug.
Rest assured, once it's released I'll have a good go at it and see whether they fixed it.
ShinyGuy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
This is definitelly very exciting news, I'll let my readers know
KC @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
is anyone suprised by this? EA! NEED FOR SPEED! and you expected realism?!?!?! obviously you are a fool. you want a good racer play Gran Turismo. Need for speed is justa a mainstream title for people that think they know cars and wanna look cool in front of their "bros".
Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
The realism isn't the issue, it's the fact that controlling the car was actually boring and frustrating, despite a supposed increase in emphasis on the racing.
benhc911 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
am I the only one annoyed by shiny guy? can he not just "let HIS readers know"? does he have to fish for readers here too? just because no one reads your site doesnt mean that you have to be a whore about advertising. I'm surprised that he hasnt been blocked.
weaszel @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Haha... benhc911, I thought I was the only one. Good call.
NergiZed @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
yet another NFS title... I think the NFS series peaked at underground, and even that I got bored of. NFSU2 was a pain in the ass, all those ported on the portables (DS,PSP,GBS) all suked. I don't think I'll get another NFS title until something new happens.
Don't know if it's just me, but so far, most if not all realistic racer games have been the same thing over and over again with increasingly improved graphics, physics and effects (and obviously new cars as they come out). I find them all the same , can they not make something new? Burnout is probably one of the more unique ones, although I really didn't find the last one that interesting, only had it for about 2 months before I traded it in.
Well I hope they make better racers, NFS is dead to me unless they make some improvements, and crap control isn't improving.
jc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
As a gamer that really enjoys racing games, this news really makes wonder about the current state of affairs at Electronic Arts.
I have spent hundreds of hours on the Gran Turismo series, and would rate GT3 at 9.5 and GT4 at 9... I still dust off Need for Speed: Hot Persuit and play it occasionally as well. While not as realistic as the GT series, NFS:HP definately had a fun feel to it, and I would have no problem rating it around 7.5 overall (NFS:HP kind of reminds me of Project Gotham Racing, however I haven't played PGR enough to give it a fair rating).
Maybe I am being too harsh on EA, but I just can't shake the feeling they are a 'one trick pony'... maybe the only way they can make successful games these days is by buying all the rights and shutting down any competition.
Thanks for the heads-up Conrad, I will definately take this game off the wish list.
Mike @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
I played the Xbox 360 version of this game back at E3, and it was obvious that the controls were WAY off. I blamed it on the fact that it was an early build. The fact that I am hearing this now, scares me into thinking that the controls are still the same as they were in March at E3, which is terrible. This has nothing to do with it being an "Arcade" style game. I own NFS Underground, and Burnout 3. The newest NFS game controls MUCH worse than those games. It isn't bad controls due to a lack of realism, it is just plain bad controls period. If it is the same as E3, then I would describe it as your car floats around too much. I guess I am saying that the controls were "too loose" even for an arcade racer. I just remember thinking...Wow, the controls are terrible. And this is right after playing the super-arcade style racer "Full Auto," so it isn't due to it not being a simulation game. It was just plain bad. Of course that was back at E3. Apparently not much has changed since then.
Tim P @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Why are you writing on this site never having heard of Underground 2 (let alone never having played it.) Untill Midnight Club 3, NFS: U 1&2 were best "street racers." And NFS has always been a good line. I see your impressions but I will looks for a more informed view, thanks.
Buck Q. Fitch @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Who cares about gameplay, how did the graphics look? I kid, I kid.
MosquitoControl @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
The series peaked at Porsche Unleashed.
1 was amazing for the time. 2 was more limited and more dull. 3 was genius, I spent entirely too much time playing it split screen in high school. Porsche Unleased was one of the best arcade racers I've ever played.
Then it hit a downslide. The fifth release was the new low point, lower than even 2. And Underground, while amusing, was tedious and aggravating. Invisible walls and senseless physics brought it down.
Why can't we go back to fully open tracks like 'Vette or Test Drive 3? At the very least give us something like FlatOut only without the crippling glitches.
Sean @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
NFS has always had crap physics. So that's not suprising to me. I wanna know if they finally added car damage. The fact that you can have a head-on collision, get catapulted 50 feet into the air, and land as if nothing had happened is idiotic.
NFS is decade-old technology in a shiny vinyl-wrapped paint job.
SmoothNinja @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Wow Joystiq once again jumps the gun and makes a silly comment why would Joystiq judge the development for the Xbox 360 version of NFS Most Wanted on a title not even finished in development for the PS2.
I mean why judge and base the status of development and make an opinion about a game based off of a diffrent version and a highly inferior current gen console and compare it to that of the Xbox 360 title???
The versions could handle entirely diffrent also you must remember that NFS is an arcade sim so therefor its going to feel a little arcady if it was REAL it wouldnt be a game.
NFS is no Gran Turismo so its foolish to compare joystiq seems to make comparisons like this very often. YOU PICKED up the PS2 version and youve already concluded that the Xbox 360 version will play the same or at least u threw it out there.
Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
#15, read #10. The Xbox 360 version has the same problem.
Monmin @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Conrad, can you back that up? Did you talk to the developers and did they state that the 360 version handles exactly the same way? Or did you also get a chance to play the 360 version and just forget to tell us about it?
Or are you assuming that it handles the same way on all platforms?
Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Did you miss my last comment? A commentator here has played the 360 version and can back me up that the next-gen version had the same crappy handling. Read #10!
n8 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Yeah. Um. Conrad. I don't know who you are, and I don't know what your relationship is with Joystiq, but it's a sign of declining quality at this site that they/you would even post this. I'm not trying to get personal here, but you have brought it on yourself. You can't just pick up a game that you've never played before, that's still more than two months from release, and claim that the game sucks. You can't judge the x360 title by playing a PS2 title. And you can't bolster your argument with claims that "a commentator" has played the x360 version and had the same issues, therefore you and he are both right.
I'm not trying to defend the NFS series or this new version in any way. I've never even played the games. I do know that the series is pretty highly rated though - it's pretty uncommon for any game to get a trilogy out on one console that has all three games ranking around 9.0 at IGN. So predicting that both the PS2 and the x360 versions are going to be boring and frustrating seems premature.
I've rarely seen a post at Joystiq that was more speculative and pointless, not to mention poorly written. You don't know anything. You had a bad experience with an early build of the game. That hardly qualifies as news.
n8 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Oh. I guess you're the editor. Well, I guess I expected more.
Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
I'm not going to re-write my experience of the game because someone said the rest of the series got "9.0 on IGN". I played the game, the controls sucked, I suggested EA should do something about it.
Bender @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
I find it hilarious that people (n8) comment on the quality of articles in a BLOG! You do realise that this site is NOT A BUSINESS and that you should be grateful that it even exists - i know i am! The authors can be as biased, as un-informed or as super-intelligent as anyone as it's OK because it's THEIR BLOG! If you don't like it, go write your own.
That said, I do agree with you n8 that the quality of the xbox 360 version should not be directly compared with the PS2 version.
n8 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
I'm not saying you should. What I'm saying is that your comments are pointless and premature.
My point in bringing up the IGN reviews was to illustrate that your limited experience with this series may have led you to make rash remarks. Others in the industry have, unlike you, played these games and found them great. The latest released NFS has a press average of 9.2 and an "editors choice." Gamespot, who ranked the game at only 8.5 said "Hot Pursuit II for the PlayStation 2 is not only one of the best games in this long-running series, but also one of the fastest, most visceral, and most polished racing games currently available for Sony's console."
Of course, that was 2002, and as they say on those ads for investments on TV, past performance is not indicative of future performance, but I have to say that it would strike me as particularly odd is EA slipped backwards in terms of physics or controls for the NFS series.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't comment on the controls or give early impressions of the game either. You have what sound like legitimate concerns about the game's controls. But you took one aspect of the game and spun it into a whole preview of both the game that you played and the next-gen version of that game. Until you've learned not to make snap judgments and blanket statements based on a few minutes with a PS2 controller and a few munutes behind your friend's 5-series, I'd say it's probably best for you to stick to putting your snarky spin on other journalist's remarks rather than overreaching to try first-hand-reporting.
n8 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
...and Bender - I don't know if you've noticed, but this is a business. Joystiq is part of Weblogs, Inc., which is a consortium of "blogs" that share a common corporate owner. Conrad is paid for writing here, and I think that I have every right (not in the constitutional sense) to give him my opinion about whether I think his reporting is accurate, helpful, or well-written. Since when did "being a blog" mean that there were no standards for writing, or that people aren't allowed to comment or critique?
metal_gear_jello @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
I believe that the game mechanics for the PS2 version will be very similar to that of the Xbox 360. Why would EA write 2 completely different and independant code base for the same title, the game engine would be 90% similar to each other. I am pretty sure that the crappy physics will apply for both consoles. What conrad does is legit and is often done in research labs. We do it actually, that is use one model to test a hypothesis that applies to other models. (We study the delta-9 desaturase enzyme as a model for the SCD enzyme, they perform the exact same function but are different enzymes).
Back on topic... If the game mechanics are crappy on the PS2, then there's a good chance they will be crappy on the 360.
Bender @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
I didn't know about Weblogs Inc as a corporate owner n8 and i stand corrected. What I do know however is that quite often people complain about what should and should not be classified as 'news' without giving much thought to the personalities responsible for this site and their rights to publish whatever they feel like. IMO the reader should be the one to choose to come here and read the articles on offer, and the writer should not need to feel like they must try and keep to the 'standards' opposed on them by their readers.
I don't want to dwell on the topic and I am not placing any sort of blame on you n8. I just appreciate the work that goes into my favourite gaming blog.
You are correct in that you do have the right of reply to any articles published. I guess it was your comment "it's a sign of declining quality at this site that they/you would even post this." that got me on the back foot.
vladimir cole @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
N8 --
I'm the editor of this blog and I've reviewed the post and all of the comments in it and the post stands. Conrad posted his thoughts on his experience with the game and was very careful to note that the title is still (a mere) two months from release. His concerns are valid. He has played the game with his own two hands and has posted his thoughts on that experience.
I'm going to stand by Conrad on this. Joystiq serves our readers best when we tell you the real deal and don't sugarcoat our impressions of the games and hardware that we manage to get our hands on. His criticism is founded in actual play experience. Conrad picked up a controller, played the game, and shared his gut reaction to it. He'd be remiss if he had subverted his first-hand opinion based on a few favorable reviews of different titles.
It'll be interesting to see how the game is changed over the next few weeks leading up to it going gold. EA tends to release sequels that are relatively close in quality to their predecessors. Perhaps once we've had a chance to play the launch title we'll be amazed by how much the game changed in two months.
Still, thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts here. Everyone benefits when readers challenge us on our posts and the industry as a whole benefits when everyone brings a critical eye to everything they read, whether it's posted on IGN or on Joystiq.
- Vlad
Rjcc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
But need for speed always does and has always had crap physics. It's not that type of game. If you picked it up expecting realistic physics, then of course you're going to be dissappointed. It's odd tho that you would comment on the disappointment of the 360 launch title, when you're not playing it on a 360 even, and beyond that, to assume you're playinmg a release candidate build. If it seems to be the exact same game the other guy played back at E3, maybe that was an old build, maybe not. Either way, you're assuming quite a bit.
n8 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Let's keep this in perspective: I wasn't calling for his head or anything, or asking to have the post removed, rewritten, or brought to a manager's attention. He had his opinion, I had mine. All part of a healthy dialogue.
That said, I probably went over the top on my criticism, particularly with the end bit of the second comment, and I apologize for that. Conrad, I'm sorry to have made that insulting remark.
But I stand by my criticism as well - phrases like "crap physics" and "boring and frustrating" seem premature based on limited exposure to a game with which the reviewer has no experience, and which is far from release. It is highly unlikely that what he was playing was a "release candidate" since my guess is that they will be working on this game quite a bit from now 'till then and the latest code is probably in the lab, not on the floor of a gaming conference that is hardly the focal point of the industry.
I appreciate your openness to critique, and hope that you and Conrad take the comments for what they were - attempts at constructive criticism meant to raise the level of writing and review at Joystiq. Like Bender, I do appreciate the work that goes into creating a good blog, and Joystiq is my favorite video game blog. In general I find the quality of writing here to be entertaining and informative. I just felt this post with the additional comments by Conrad seemed excessively critical, and was trying to point out the danger of making hasty judgments.
And after all, it's just video games. Nothing to get all bent about anyway. :)
Puh Fifer @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
There really is no need to bash a man for having an opinion on what he played. EA is a stagnant company, who buy exclusive licenses and make sequels rather than innovating. They destroyed my beloved childhood command and conquer. They ruined my ESPN football.
That being said, this is an unbiased blog, and even if he has a wrong opinion, at least he expressed it. I've read reports about your beloved IGN and Gamespy changing reviews to be nicer and gentler for their sponsors. I can't go onto their sites without clicking past AT LEAST 2 ads for EA.
I love weblogs Inc cause they're amusing and fairly unbiased.
And my rant is complete
metal_gear_jello @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
"But I stand by my criticism as well - phrases like "crap physics" and "boring and frustrating" seem premature based on limited exposure to a game with which the reviewer has no experience, and which is far from release. It is highly unlikely that what he was playing was a "release candidate" since my guess is that they will be working on this game quite a bit from now 'till then and the latest code is probably in the lab, not on the floor of a gaming conference that is hardly the focal point of the industry."
But your criticism is unfounded. Despite the fact that the release is two months away, I don't think they are going to do much under the hood interms of game engine. As it stands there's a good possibility that the game he played will be the game released. Think about. 2 months to go and your manager says "I think the game mechanics need tinkering, fix it." The coders will be like "WTF?" They are probably on their final phase of development fixing bugs and making sure the print material is neat and tidy.
You say the reviewer has no experience with the game yet he says HE PLAYED IT AT THE KIOSK with his own 2 hands. Even a 5 minute rundown of the game is sufficient time to gather some thoughts of the game.
This post is no less news worthy than most other posts. He played it, gave it some thought, then posted it.
Adam Wrigley @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Sheesh... it's need for speed. The last two games have driven like this, what do you guys expect for this one? It's not a simulation racer, it's an arcade racer.
Eran Hawke @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
While I can see how the game could suck and the PS2 and Xbox 360 versions will use the same driving controls, the whole comment about, "Not exactly the feeling you want from an early Xbox 360 title." does not belong in the article at all.
You weren't playing the Xbox 360 version. The article isn't about the early Xbox 360 titles. The feeling you got, being annoyed and bored, were not exaclty the feelings anyone would want from any title. Why did you go out of your way to focus this on the Xbox 360 launch?
I'm no Xbox lover here, but your journalism is reaching lows, like that recent article you did about expensive systems.
http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000147056329/
Please either shape up or stop writing. It is clearly obvious you are trying to interject some snyde asides in your writing and it looks really bad compared to other Joystiq writers.
Then again, if it is your intention to make other Joystiq writers look better, it is working.
Eran Hawke @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Sorry if I came off as harsh, but digs and jabs like this that are off-topic really irk me. It makes Joystiq sound like a petty fan forum and that's NOT something I expect from the authors. Commenters, yeah; but the authors should remain above it all.
Why bother taking a dig at the Xbox 360 lineup when you are talking about a multiplatform game? If a game isn't good, then it isn't good. End of story.
Alexander @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
NFS?? Again?? On the same engine and same cars? It's BAD!
dneuland @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Although the article states that the game is two-months from completion, how are we sure that this demo was recently compiled? How do we know that the demo was not carried over from E3?
This close to release, I doubt the development team has time or desire to compile a demo when they have various things to tighten up and finish on the retail product.
Until someone has the retail copy in hand, any comments about any pre-release game title should not be taken as heavily. I do thank Joystiq for posting their opinion, as it tells me to give this game a spin before putting down my $60 on it.
Dave Wickham @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Very minor nitpick - the X Factor was coming from Pinnacle's stand, not EA. EA's whole appearance at GME was those four machines. Didn't see any PR people anywhere.
TC @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Conrad - fear the wrath of the microsoft fans!That was just one sentence mentioning xbox360! And yes, the same thing would happen you mentioned PS3 instead - loads of fanboys religously scared of anything construed as critisism of 'their console'and taking things far too seriously. Personally I think you've just stated the NFS controls are even worse than previous versions, and that this game will also be part of the starting line up for xbox360; and from my personal experience with EA games, the control system barely changes from one version to another, (think FIFA soccer on PS1 and PS2 - both poor)so while n8 may be correct in stating there could be changes between the PS2 and xbox360 gameplay, I feel pretty safe in guessing EA will just polish up the graphics and take the cash thankyouverymuch. I'm going to get an xbox360, but I won't try to defend EA with its track record of releasing rehashes - n8 please don't act so defensive, xbox360 will still be great, but games like this are not wanted thank you.
Justice @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM
Are you kidding me? Is this seriously some type of review of the game? I only came to this site because it was mentioned as favorite blogs for the VGA. I bought this game, and my review of it would be a lot more detailed other than, "I am clueless and have lived in a cave obviously since I have never heard of the Need for Speed series." If you are going to attempt to review something, maybe you should have some knowledge about videogames in general. This is horrible and I seriously do not think I will waste anymore time on this site, but I will give one more "review" or "article" a shot before I delete the cookies from here forever.