Criterion is best known for developing the smash hit Burnout games — which last appeared on a Nintendo console over ten years ago — but since then the studio's gone on to helm the long-running Need for Speed series of racing games. Its latest effort is Need for Speed: Most Wanted U, an enhanced port of last year's PS3/360 release and a triumphant return to Nintendo's hardware that was absolutely worth the wait. This is a wonderful open-world racer with a focus on speed, fun, and seriously reckless racing, and Wii U owners are getting the best version of it yet.
Rather than being split into distinct tracks, the entire game takes place in the continuous city of Fairhaven, a distinctly North American metropolitan mash-up that's equal parts San Francisco and Chicago, with a notable Toronto landmark airlifted in for good measure. It makes an excellent racecourse, with wide-open country roads, tight downtown turns, ribbons of highway and stately boulevards providing plenty of tarmac variety. There aren't any artificial track boundaries, even when you're in the middle of a race, so courses are really more like 'route suggestions'. They're very strong suggestions, mind - but there are plenty of times where you'll have more than one viable path, particularly in the semi-gridded sections of the city. It's also definitely possible to head off-piste by accident, as course checkpoints can be a bit difficult to make out until you get close, and though the track design is well done, there's a tendency towards 'gotcha' moments that encourages glancing over at the mini-map every few seconds to anticipate hidden turns.
It's also worth keeping an eye out for the constant presence of the police, a defining feature of Most Wanted's racing action. Cops will play into events to varying degrees, and will come after you in free-drive mode if you're speeding - though cruising at a considerate pace the wrong way down the highway (or sidewalk!) is apparently fair game in Fairhaven. Once they're on your tail, a Grand Theft Auto-style "Heat Level" meter will let you know how much trouble you're in. Smash into cop cars and blow past roadblocks and your notoriety increases, bringing bigger, badder backup to take you down. If you manage to shake the chase, you'll enter a cool down phase - stay out of sight for long enough and you're away laughing. Of course, that's not really an option while you're racing, but luckily contending with the cops up until the finish line is always more fun than frustrating, and adds a healthy sense of controlled chaos to the circuit.
The game's subtitle alludes to a list of Fairhaven's ten "most wanted" racers, and you'll have to work your way up by challenging the other drivers for their spots. Once you've beaten them on the track, you'll need to take them out for good to earn their rides. These races act like boss battles, with superpowered concept cars that require finesse and fast wheels to outrun, and are a thrill to drive once you get your hands on them.
Your climb up the wanted list is perhaps the most structured part of this largely freeform game, and the open-world philosophy extends to vehicle selection, too; most cars are yours right from the start, while others become available as you find them hidden around town at 'Jack Spots'. There's a huge collection of licensed cars to chose from, including modified sedans and coupes, classic objects of desire like Porches, Maseratis, and Lamborghinis, and even the all-electric Tesla Roadster. Car lovers will be over the moon, but you don't need to be a piston junkie to appreciate the variety - each model handles differently, and has its own set of races to run and upgrades to win.
By placing first or second in different events, you'll unlock mods to upgrade your vehicle's tyres, chassis, body, nitrous boost, and more. These upgrades are more than just stat boosts, and they all serve their own purpose; you might want to equip reinflating tyres to combat police spikes in one race, but switch to off-road tyres for a particularly muddy challenge, for instance. Tricking out every car and seeing every event will take a very long time, and being able to hop from car to car whenever you like means you'll never be stuck on a difficult race, or get bored driving the same BMW for too long. And whether you're in a heated competition or simply tooling around town, Fairhaven is chock full of places to beat your own micro-records. There are over sixty speed cameras throughout the city, which clock your speed as you zoom past, and more than 150 billboards, placed just past launching ramps, which record the length of your airborne escapades as you smash through them. If any of your Miiverse friends are playing, you'll be competing against their records as well.
The best part about the game's design is that it can be as open-world or as menu-based as you like at any given moment. When you're looking for a race or Most Wanted showdown, you can either set a course to the event on your mini-map and drive there, starting the challenge by revving your engine - or you can just press right on the D-Pad and use the Easy Drive menu to quick-start any event. It's nice to see a game embrace immersion without jettisoning traditional menus, and the fact that the open-world elements are largely optional means they never get old. In fact, simply cruising around Fairhaven is one of the most enjoyable parts of the experience. It's easy to finish one event with every intention of heading straight to the next race, only to find yourself still roaming the streets an hour later, hitting jumps and finding billboards, goading cops into giving chase, or setting personal bests on speedcams.
Part of what makes Most Wanted U so much fun is the smooth, tight control, which lands in a sweet spot between semi-realistic handling and pure, arcade fun. Driving is responsive and intuitive, but it's still easy enough to lose control of your ride by making large adjustments at full speed - as you might logically expect. It feels like you're driving the dream cars that you are, and a combination of drifting, pedal-feathering, and judicious use of the handbrake makes almost anything possible. Pulling off hairpin turns at speed feels fantastic, and crashing isn't such a big headache either; recoveries are Lakitu-like in their speed and won't set you back too far.
In addition to the GamePad, Need for Speed supports the Wii U Pro Controller, the Wii Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro, Wii Remote, and the Wii Remote and Nunchuck configuration. These all work well, and whichever control method you prefer, you'll be well catered to. The only issue is that the Wii Classic Controller's analogue shoulder buttons don't actually seem to register as such, so true analogue throttle control requires assigning acceleration to a thumbstick. That's definitely a serviceable fix if it's important to you, but we found the digital throttle more than sufficient for running smooth lines around the streets of Fairhaven.
Along with the bevy of control options, Most Wanted U takes good advantage of its new system with plenty of Wii U-specific features. There's full support for off-screen play on the GamePad, and the game looks great on the small screen, though the reduced size does make some obstacles and turns harder to spot. More noteworthy is the GamePad's touch-screen menu, which places a wonderful amount of control at players' fingertips. From here you can turn traffic on or off at a moment's notice, switch from day to night, disrupt nearby police cars, change cars or paint colour, or view a larger version of the mini-map. These GamePad enhancements play into Co-Driver mode, the game's new asymmetrical co-op mode. By hooking up another controller, one player can drive while another provides backup and navigational assistance with the GamePad. It's a fun option that makes spectating much more interactive, and it can also be used to help younger or less experienced players: like a digital version of driving instructors' dual-control cars, Co-Driver lets the GamePad player take over steering if things get too tough.
The Wii U package also includes all the content from the first DLC pack for the PS3/360 versions, the Ultimate Speed Pack: five ludicrously fast cars from McLaren, Lamborghini, Pagani, Bugatti, and Hennessey, along with plenty of new races, all accessible from the get go. And finally, you'll see some familiar faces throughout the game in true Wii U form: your Mii will make an appearance on any billboards you smash through in your quest for long-jump records, and there's a nifty option to view a live-feed of Miiverse postings during the game's idle screen.
The GamePad features and Miiverse integration are welcome additions, but one of the best upgrades for Need for Speed's Wii U release is its absolutely incredible graphics. Simply put, this is a stunning game, and one of the most visually impressive titles we've seen on the Wii U - or any console - to date. Criterion replaced the textures of the original PS3/360 releases with those from the higher-res PC version of the game, and the difference is readily apparent; everything is presented at a level of detail that's glorious overkill for a game where you'll spend most of your time whizzing by the scenery at 200mph.
The lighting effects are particularly impressive; lens flares and sunlight bounce beautifully off of reflective surfaces in the daytime, while spectacularly realistic headlights (unique to each car) and streetlight splashes illuminate night races. Draw distance is massive - after spending a while in Fairhaven you'll be able to tell where you're headed by far-off landmarks - and the sense of speed is fantastic. The only visual let-down - and it's particularly surprising considering Criterion's pedigree - is in the relatively mundane crashes. They're still fun, but the damage doesn't seem to correspond to the crash in any meaningful way, and the effects are largely the same whether you've smashed head-on into a building, clipped a pole, or been T-boned into a highway barrier.
Helping to set the atmosphere for your high-speed antics, Most Wanted U sports a genre-hopping soundtrack with songs from deadmou5, Green Day, Icona Pop, The Who, and Dizzee Rascal, among many others. There's a definite slant towards recent electronica, but it's still an impressively varied selection; while there's no option to edit the playlist, a quick tap of the R button will skip over any tracks you're not crazy about. For players who appreciate the roar of a good super-engine, Need for Speed's meticulously lifelike sound design will be gearhead heaven; for the rest of us, there's the mercifully silent Tesla Roadster or the welcome ability to turn down the effects volume.
As much as Need for Speed: Most Wanted U does right, it's not a perfect game, and every once in a while its seams start to show. We experienced a few graphical glitches, including the odd instance of pop-up and shadows jumping while standing still, and two serious freezes that required unplugging the Wii U from the wall. And while the game normally does a good job of masking load times with in-engine cinematic sequences, its commitment to a seamless experience leads to a strange problem after races. There's a sort of post-race limbo where you're able to (and in most cases, need to) keep driving after you hit the finish line, but before the HUD and associated options load back up, and if you happen to crash during this interval, the game will let you shake it off and keep driving before finally registering the crash - and stopping you dead in your tracks - when the HUD returns several seconds later. It's not a huge issue, but it's jarring and feels glitchy nonetheless.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted U also features a unique online multiplayer mode that maintains the open-world ethos of the singleplayer. Instead of waiting in lobbies or jumping into single races, you'll join an online version of Fairhaven populated by up to five other drivers, and play through sets of challenges ranging from team races to long-jump contests, speed runs to circuit races. True to the spirit of the game, getting there is half the fun - you'll need to watch your mini-map to see where the next event starts, and racing to be the first player at the meet-up spot is a fun and frantic challenge on its own. We had no trouble with lag or dropped connections in our time online, and voice chat worked quite well using the GamePad's built-in microphone and speakers. The only issue we had with online play was that it doesn't seem possible to skip over music tracks in this mode - an odd restriction. And as fun as the online component is, it's disappointing that there's no local multiplayer option whatsoever; it would have been a blast to tear around Fairhaven with one player on the GamePad and the other on the TV.
Conclusion
Need for Speed: Most Wanted U delivers on every level. It's fast, fun, and absolutely beautiful, with an open-world design that creates a real feeling of freedom to go with the sense of speed. There's a staggering amount of content, with races to run, cars to find and mods to unlock, and the unique online multiplayer adds heaps of replay value. This is also a perfect example of a port done right - the graphical upgrades and GamePad-specific features make this the definitive console version. Racing fans, make room at the top of that most wanted list.
Comments 107
Looks pretty good.
I might purchase it sometime in the future (for the right price), but I have way too much to play right now to consider it (95% of that being Monster Hunter).
Was going to get this off Origin as it was on sale for $30 the other day went to order it last night and it was back up to full price. Probably check it out when it comes down in price again.
Wait, the conclusion makes it sound like it should hypothetically be a 10.
It took me a couple of hours or so to get into but I'm quite enjoying it. Can approach it in different ways if you choose. Love all the Gamepad features. Steering with Gamepad is surprisingly tight even in this high speed, hardcore racer. Very, very well put together game all round by the devs. Tough going in terms of objectives, but definately worth your time and effort.
I'm still iffy about this one. I haven't been enjoying NFS games as much as i used to. I'll wait for a while before getting this. Mainly because I don't want to get two racing games right next to each other .
I've been waiting for so long for "Burnout" to return to Nintendo, can't wait!
This game is so much fun, multiplayer is smooth and without a doubt one of the best on WiiU
Let's buy this game (mine is coming soon) and ask Criterion on Miiverse to add that local GamePad vs TV multiplayer in an update — and to patch the very few of its issues, btw. Who's with me?
That pun was bad and you should feel bad.
Still, I might look into getting this game.
I am broke, so I added this to my Amazon wish list. Looks awesome!
What's the throttle control like with gamepad because of its all or nothing triggers?
If you have a friends, a Wii U, and you don't have a copy of this game get it! It's the most fun I've had offline co-op in a long while.
I hate most racing games but I have had a lot of fun playing this at my friends house. Gonna buy it when I pick up my Luigi's Mansion later this week.
I have waited a long time for a great looking NFS game on a Nintendo console. Last game I got in the series was NFS Hot Pursuit 2 for GCN, which is also an awesome game!
@timson72 I think every car has it's own auto accelerator but if you tap the gas it goes at at slow speed. It's a little different but it works fine.
Downloaded it from the eShop on day one and have enjoyed it so far. In all seriousness I've pretty much just been driving around fast for hours and not even doing any races yet. Fun stuff.
@d-devo think if I get it I'll get the pro controller for it.
I haven't enjoyed a Need for Speed game since the PS1 days.
But this does look interesting. I will wait for it to end up in the bargain bin.
I didn't really expect this one to do so well. I might have to get it after all at one point. Glad to see the Wii U did get another great game to help it in its tough times!
This is a great game, fun too!
If Wii U gets any more ports, they should definitely do there ports like they did this one. Just a fantastic game made even better on Wii U. Awesome review, Morgan.
Not being a racing fan this game isn't for me. Very happy to hear of a great game for the Wii U that isn't a launch title though.
Beautiful! Its the first game that I played until my gamepad died. Love it!
I am still waiting for it to arrive. Looking forward to it.
I would get this, but I already have to many games I have to play, I'll probably pick it up some time this summer though.
Support this game! We need more DLC!
Do want this very much so but will wait for a sale because so many games are coming this year for 3DS/Wii U.
This is a must. When was the last time we got a proper racing game on Nintendo? GameCube? Yep. :S
A must buy for me. Already bought two copies waiting for them to arrive. Nice review Morgan.
Looks like I'm getting this to spend my time until Pikmin 3 (I think I'm going for the 3DS version of MH3 based on its portability)
Had recently just bought this game exclusively for my Wii U, had being enjoying it nonstop. I love it, don't care if there's any other versions of it.
Hmm, I might actually pick this up.
Pleased to see a top tier racer on the Wii U.
Still, the glitches and freezes shouldn't be happening.
"And as fun as the online component is, it's disappointing that there's no local multiplayer option whatsoever; it would have been a blast to tear around Fairhaven with one player on the GamePad and the other on the TV."
Damn, thats me out. When I saw that this game was two player thats what I imagined it to be. Even a split screen would have been awesome. I really wanted to buy this game. I need more Wii U games and am quite happy to support 3rd party games and this looked like the one to get. No local multiplayer though stops me from buying though. I'm so dissapointed.
The reason the crashes aren't as exciting as they could be. (In say a Burnout massive destruction sort of way) Is that car manufacturers don't like seeing their cars get destroyed very much, so Criterion is forced to keep the damage to a certain scale.
This is the first time I've really cared about the success of a racing game! I'm not a fan of the genre but I would probably have picked this up if local multiplayer was incorporated more.
I have a question, in the online is it possible to encounter the other cars on route to the event destination, (Are they rendered in your world) or do they appear once you reach the event?
If the former is true then this bodes extremely well for the future of online open world games on the console.
No local multiplayer? Awww...
I've never played NFS before, but I'm enjoying this game.
I still miss the 3DO version(also converted to Saturn and Playstation), would love to see a remake from that. If this goed down in price I will buy it though.
@AceSpadeS "Oh Noes, our fancy cars are destroyed. We're ruined forever!"
Really? Even in video game form, they care that much about their cars?
No local multiplayer and a few glitches is sort-of a bummer upon this awesome racing game. Now all we need is a patch, multiplayer option, and a couple hundred thousand people to play this game and we are all set.
Wow.. i didn't expect such an high profile game. Really well done.
This is the best NFS title I have played on a Nintendo since the last Most Wanted. I've played enough of Criterion's 'Burnout: Paradise' to say that these two titles compare very closely, but with licensed cars. Any fan of the show Top Gear (BBC) will know all of these cars. It's hours of fun.
Thanks for the comments everybody!
@Knux - One of my favourite things about the Wii U's name is that it's incredibly easy to turn every review tagline into a hypothetical Prince B-side.
@AceSpadeS - Ah - that makes sense! And it's a shame, silly car companies...
@AJWolfTill - You can see and interact with your online buddies the whole time, the entire experience is seamless! That's what makes racing to the next event so fun - people will try to get a jump start on you, smash eachother around, or just sit in circles honking and doing donuts until the race starts!
Thanks Nintendolife for the review on it, now when i get Wii U. I might grab it first.
"Helping to set the atmosphere for your high-speed antics, Most Wanted U sports a genre-hopping soundtrack with songs from deadmou5"
There's a small typo in that sentence, should be deadmau5, not deadmou5
Morgan Sleeper, I tip my hat off to you. This was by far one of the BEST Wii U review I have ever read. This week I MUST buy Most Wanted U.
Awesome game and stunning graphics on the Wii U.
Does anyone know if there is any support for using custom soundtrack (MP3's on SD Card or something similar?). Can't seem to find a set answer on this and even on the other systems there doesn't seem to be a solid answer. I've heard that 360 and PS3 support this with some difficulty, PS Vita supposedly does and PC doesn't? but I can't find a straight answer on the Wii U version. One review on gamerankings.com hinted that you could but no solid answers yet. Would appreciate any help since this is a feature I would personally love in the game.
Yay! this will be my first NFS since Hot Pursuit.
Disappointed by the lack of local multiplayer but this isn't a game changer. It's great to see that all of these games have been well received.
Will get this some time down the line for sure.
Never really got into racing games but this does sound interesting.
Thank goodness! I was very interested in this game!
Having played the Ps3 Version for god kows how many hours... enough to reach lv 71, Concours and earn well over 8.5 million speedpoints then play this I can honestly say this beats the Ps3 version in all departments except 1.
On the Ps3 there was 8 players online, this has 6, however the Ps3 version would randomly kick people out and sign them out of autolog and i've not experienced any of this on the WiiU version.
I know some people have experienced freezing/lockups, but I wonder if thats something to do with discs. The reason being I have had non of these issues with the download version & I know via Miiverse others with the download version havn't had an issue but some with the disc version have.
But as the review indicates this game is a must buy in the WiiU, its less a port and more a new version of NFSMW, criterion have done a great job and maybe this will be a 3rd party title that will show 3rd party publishers If they make a good enough game, WiiU owners will buy thier titles... possiby resulting in more 3rd party support.
BTW, if you have played this on any other platform log in to autolog using the same Origin id and it will import your earned speedpoints, and freinds from the other platforms. Also if you've already reached lv71/previously concoursed you can imediatley concours in the WiiU version.
I'm glad to see that the Wii U received an optimal version of this game. I enjoyed what I played of the demo and will probably end up getting this game down the road once it goes cheap.
@SpaceApe I am the same way, but this game has been so much fun. If you can find someone who owns it, you should give it a shot.
Wanted to know if the Wii U is more powerful than the Xbox 360 or PS3? Just look at this game.
Oh, not surprised? Then wait for Bayonetta 2.
@WaveBoy Da fuq
I love the co driver multiplayer My little sisters always my co driver which she enjoys because she cant drive very well and with co driver she can still be involved
I'm definitely getting this on Friday. I was supposed to get it on day one but it wasn't in the shops!! Ended up getting Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed, which is also a very good game.
Really been enjoying this game during the weekend, with no glitching and freezing. (I have the download version).
Time flies when you start cruising around the town, and getting the unlocks to the different cars via races and "tasks" really makes you wanna have "just one more run"
And the multiplayer is solid!
(Feel free to add me to your friend-list for some multiplayer gaming)
Waiting for a demo because I wasn't able to play it well on the PS3 with the controller. However, on the Xbox I can play racegames very well with the controller. So I have to check the controls on the Wii U first.
Kind of disappointed about lack of any local multiplayer aside from "Father mode", but still looking good. I enjoyed Hot Pursuit back in the day, might as well get this at some point. :]
And if we... ahem, "support" the game, EA might even consider supporting it themselves, right? ;P
Nine? I didn't expect that. Nice for Wii U owning driving game fans.
Great review, would give it the same score myself. I've spent more time just roaming around Fairhaven than doing actual races! Love every part of the game really, free roam, racing, online. It did give me my first ever Wii U freeze though when pressing the Home button. (which is a bit glitchy when pressed anyway)
Top game, online is ridiculously addictive.
Well the comments mean there is interest. It got a good review. let's see if it sells.
should arive soon, killing the waiting time with mh3U in the mean time ;p
Great review of an amazing game! Its too bad the reviewer encountered some freezing &/or bugs. I have only ever experienced one instance of being smashed through a wall & into the abyss by cops, & one instance of the game freezing. I was winning overall on an online match but then my Wii U locked up towards the end of the 4th round sadly. Was Nintendo's fault though I'm relatively sure since the Nintendo Network went down for a while last night due to technical difficulties so I heard. Hence I give this game 10/10 haha
Say what you will about EA, they do make exceedingly good ports....
Interested to hear the original analog trigger Classic Controller is (sort of) supported. Might be a deal winner for me if they promise to patch the controls for them.
I'm not surprised about the crashing/ freezing, so far my Wii U has needed to be unplugged when playing the following:
Fifa - lost count of number of times, guaranteed crash if you don't press start immediately
Sonic Racing - 3 or 4 times in succession, unable to complete more than 1 race in certain multiplayer scenarios.
AC3 - twice while loading
Black Ops - twice but only when using unpatched version after patch released
Batman - never or maybe once
Tekken - never
NSMBU - never
Nintendoland - never
I would add eshop games (trine, switch force) but I don't think they've crashed on me.....
Great review; agrees with others i've seen saying this is the best version.
I'm quite partial to some racing action but never tried any NFS games. A couple of people above have commented that this is a good entry point to the series so i will get this.
As far as Wii racers go, i actually quite enjoyed F1 09, I must have got about 40 hours plus out of that. F1 09 got some middling reviews, i certainly go into it and thought it really rewarded your practice and got better the more you put into it. The only other 'real world' racer i've played lots of was GT4 (PS2).
I can't find this anywhere,in any shops
I was sceptical before buying it out of despair about the "no game situation". Besides, being a Nintendo fan, I only just discovered HD graphics...
Really well-designed open world, excellent controls, great cars.
Pardon my french, but this is a "F-word" good game !
Downloaded and loving it. Best game graphics on any console... EVER...FACT.
Driving is fun and online is epic. Me and my friends are deep into challenging each others' speed runs etc. thank you criterion.
Brilliant game.
@mariobro4
Yup. My favorite example of this is in Forza Motorsports for the original Xbox. The car manufacturers said that cars could not flip over under any circumstances.
I bought this game on origin's half of sale and I also have luigi's dark moon coming in this week.... But I don't know where I'm going to find the time to play all these games with Monster Hunter 3 on the wii u and Fire Emblem on my 3DS sucking up all my time.. le sigh
@DePapier "ask Criterion on Miiverse to add that local GamePad vs TV multiplayer in an update "
I would love to see this option, but honestly I think Criterion is probably pushing the GPU in the Wii U to the maximum. I don't think the GPU can handle a second world rendering at the same time without sacrificing some of the visuals.
Perhaps if they lowered the resolution to a sub-HD level for local multiplayer like blops2 does, it could work.
@Haxonberik ("I think I'm going for the 3DS version of MH3 based on its portability)"
I highly recommend the Wii U version because online play seriously crushes offline mode.... I have both, but if I had to choose I would choose the Wii U version because of its higher resolution, able to completely remove the HUD and online play (second thumbstick is great if you don't have the CPP on 3DS)
I don't care what anyone says Criterion makes the best arcade racing games, weather it's on the Wii U, PC, PS3 or Xbox. It's well worth picking up if your into arcade racing games.
Now I just need to put down Monster Hunter long enough to take the plastic off my still sealed copy of Most Wanted.
Loving the game but the lack of analogue triggers is a real shame, I would have enjoyed it that much more. I wonder why they didn't incorporate them into the controller when the game cube pad had one analogue trigger.
My copy arrived from origin today. been playing it all night. looks beautiful
best $30 ever!
I got this from origin and it just didn't work out. Maybe I am just not a car guy.
Driving was very difficult because the accelerate button is the equivalent of slamming a gas pedal to the floor. So I drove around by tapping the gas. Motion control steering was too sensitive and the stick wasn't a great deal better. I imagine trying to cram the totality of a steering wheel into an inch long stick isn't easy.
The touch screen features were very odd. At first I was surprised that there was no way to turn on the map. Then I tried playing with the wii remote (no motion steering, despite the enabled option), and suddenly they came on, but the gamepad driving controls needed to be enabled.
With the map at hand, I couldn't find a whole lot to do. I hit cop cars and ran past speed cameras, but races seemed to be pretty hard to find. The open world concept is usually pretty cool, but I think an old-fashioned menu might work better here.
The sports cars are (sorry) really ugly, at least from the back. One of the devs said you could play "any" car in the game, so I assumed I could be a taxi or a van, but that didn't work out. Back to moron driving games like mario kart and cruisn usa for me!
From the (excellent, by the way) review:
"or you can just press right on the D-Pad and use the Easy Drive menu to quick-start any event."
This looks really, really good. I'm impressed.
If there's no other non-Kart racer when I get a Wii U, I'll be sure to pick this up.
After having mixed to awful experiences playing some of the other Wii U ports in recent months (Darksiders 2 being the worst offender) it’s amazing to see a game that looks this beautiful run so smoothly on Nintendo’s latest console. Makes me wonder what some of those other developers are doing wrong. My hat is off to you, Criterion; you put a lot of care into the Wii U version and it shows. I hope people support this game and that your efforts are rewarded.
This game is pure fun. The best port to come to the WiiU and by which all other ports should be measured.
The "father" mode I was watching in a dev video has me Intrested in this.
Sounds like fun
I've just gotten NFS: Most Wanted U last Thursday afternoon. I'm glad that the review was right... it's indeed a 9 out of 10. HD graphics, exotic cars (foreign and domestic), asymmetric co-driver mode, challenging rival cars... and 100% pure fun!!!!! I love this game!
I have the PS3 as well as the WiiU Version and on the one hand, I now enjoy the WiiU version far more, which is mainly because I like to play with the WiiU far more. On the other hand I gotta say that the PS3 version had a better learning curve for me. The WiiU version sometimes feels like they just implemented anything that would help the casual gamer getting warm with that game, as it's obviously much harder, if you don't have something like the BoostU or the ability to turn off traffic and distrupt the cops. So in the PS3 version I felt much more like finding out how the gamemechanics work and what I got to do to make the best of it. I actually think, they should have dropped most of the gamepad-functions as they don't seem to be integrated into the game as good as they could be. Instead what would have really, really been a WiiU exclusive supercool addition to the game would've been a real 2 Player mode where one player plays on the Pad and the other on the TV.
Still, despite my critique, I still prefer this version as it offers Off TV Play and you get a feeling, that the studio really likes the WiiU and tried to make the best possible port they could. And they did, which wasn't even necessary as this game was already on the PS3 a milestone game.
By the way, look out for the Super Mario Warp Pipes.
Ugh. NL owes me $60. This game is truly terrible. Your review forgot to mention the total lack of storyline, the way the "Easy Race" features completely remove any semblance of smooth game progression, the way the cars all handle like roller skates on butter, the way the cop chases can go on for 45 minutes without ever feeling like you're anywhere close to being caught, and most importantly the absolute lie that is the subtitle of this game.
The original NFS: Most Wanted was my favorite in the series. It combined tight car handling with epic police chases and an immersive storyline that develops as you complete races and unlock cars to progress up the most wanted list. This game doesn't even deserve to be called a cheap knockoff of the original. If it had gone straight to the $10 bargain bin I still would have rated it "Buyer Beware."
Just got it and oh my!!! is this a good game!!
I love the Hennessy Venom GT Spyder. It flies! It gets up to a speed of 200mph in bout half a minute!
@WaxxyOne I agree that NFS Most Wanted (2005) is a better game in many ways, but in recent years this is the best since then. Also the lack of storyline is apparent in all versions of the game. The only drawback to the Wii U version is that it hasn't sold enough copies to warrant them releasing additional DLC. I would love the pack that includes the airport and some of the classic NFS cars. But the developers at Criterion who worked on this port should be applauded and given credit for putting an effort into giving us a much better version of the game than released on 360 or PS3. I've heard people compare this game to Criterions Burnout series, when it falls between the older Most Wanted and Burnout Paradise. For me it is one of my all time favorite Wii U titles and was a day one purchase I have not regretted. But yes, in this game I have been able to outrun Rhino units when I had full heat, a feat that would have taken at least 45 minutes on the 2005 release IF you were lucky. I think this is just a sign of the times, newer gamers need help and things have to made easier for them. But with that said, this game is still a lot of fun and challenging and will provide countless hours of good fun online or off.
Picked this up last week, think it's a great version with the Gamepad tweaks and some DLC already included, just hunting down the last of the security gates etc now.
Top notch fun.
Great game, here and there some framerate issues but not to bad. I do not often agree with all the 9's but this one deserved it.
This is a great review. It's $16.99 on Amazon now, so I may pick it up soon. I read on one review on Youtube (in the comments section) that the game got down to $10 on Amazon! Stinks I missed out on that deal, but $17 seems well worth it!
How does this game have such good reviews? It is garbage. Is everyone just impressed by the graphics? If you want good graphics, go outside. I want to play something fun.
@ajcismo. You know that zelda tatoo aint real
Very good review! Though the perfunctory negative comment to demonstrate fairness was such a minor deal that it just goes to show how darned impressive this game is. It truly is a massively impressive game on every front.
Wonderful game! So sad the steering is crappy. It's so slow you dont have a chance to react when driving the fast cars. Do they know the gamepad have analogue sticks?
@TreonsRealm If you want to listen to your own music on PC just mute the in-game music, open up Windows Media Player, put the songs you want in the Now Playing list, turn on shuffle for good measure, and press play! That's what I do in all my PC racing games. Still, in this version I turn the music in-game off so I can watch TV (or listen to my own music) and play the game simultaneously. Although I do enjoy SMASHING (pumpkins; sorry, just had to do a pun there) through roadblocks!
For what it's worth: this game is NOT good. The steering response is very slow. You basically have to react in advance for your maneuver to play out in time. Which with graphics that make it hard to distinguish what's coming at you, means you'll be crashing a lot. Frustrating.
Handling in a racing game is everything. How the reviewer could ever award this a 9/10 is beyond me. Luckily I bought it second hand, but even so, it's money wasted.
One of my all time favorite games.
@BenAV I feel this game would get the remaster treatment eventually. Its 2022, NFS MW 2012 is approaching its 10th year anniversary so EA MIGHT remaster this NFS game next for MAYBE the same platforms that Hot Pursuit remastered was on.
@chickenguy I feel this game would get the remaster treatment eventually
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