This is absolutely essential for a game of this type: Criterion’s desire for thrilling freedom would be nothing if its host was a bore. More than just a network of roads for you to plaster with burning hot rubber, Fairhaven holds Most Wanted together with a tight embrace. Even better, it doesn’t require you to give a toss about Top Gear in order to love it.įairhaven, the diverse metropolis that acts as your racing playground, is a construction of weaves and webs starting from its bustling industrial core and spiralling outwards into wide-open mountain tunnels and stretches of highway. The result is one of the smartest, most enjoyable racing games of 2012 – one that slams emphasis directly on the race itself. In fact, despite the class that Most Wanted’s stunning garage exudes, Criterion has made a clear distinction between the materialistic superfluousness of games like Forza Motorsport, where the focus is very much on your love for cars and the desire to curate a digital garage, and the thrill of the race itself. There’s none of that “turning car lovers into gamers” stuff here. Like the cold metal girders and sun-glinted glass panels that make up Fairhaven’s skyscrapers, Need for Speed: Most Wanted is as mercilessly rock solid as it is stylish.
