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Platform PS3, 360, Win, PS Vita, Android, iOS, Wii U Publisher Electronic Arts Developer Criterion Games Release Date 10/30/2012

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8.5

Need for Speed Most Wanted review: paradise found

By Chris Plante on Oct 30, 2012 10.30.12

Negotiating Easy Drive is like texting while driving Criterion is determined to keep Need for Speed Most Wanted on the road. Races, cars, upgrades, objectives and multiplayer options can be accessed from the Easy Drive menu. A drop-down, Easy Drive sits in the right-hand corner and can be navigated via the D-pad. Negotiating Easy Drive is like texting while driving. I understand the practical appeal of accomplishing an inconsequential task while going somewhere faster than any land mammal ever has before, but it usually ends in a humiliating car wreck. In practice, I'd race against time to select a new vehicle mod from the Easy Drive menu before my Lamborghini careened into a parked car. To get players in fast cars quickly, Criterion hid nearly every unlockable vehicle...

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Need for Speed: Most Wanted Easter eggs reveal Super Mario-styled pipes on Wii U

By Emily Gera on Mar 26, 2013 03.26.13

The Wii U edition of Need for Speed: Most Wanted includes three hidden "secret garage" Easter eggs throughout, a Criterion representative told Polygon. We were informed of the locations, which you can see for yourself on the map below, where users can access Super Mario-styled green pipes at various hidden entrances circled in green. By driving on top of the pipe and pressing down on the left stick, the player will gain access to one of the three hidden garages. Each garage contains one unique car: Red and Blue Ariel Atom: Representing Mario Pink Caterham: Representing Princess Peach Green BAC Mono: Representing Yoshi Users will only be able to drive the themed cars in single player mode and will not be able to customize the paint of the cars. Similarly, handling, mods and...

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Need for Speed Most Wanted launching March 19 on Wii U

By Samit Sarkar on Feb 27, 2013 02.27.13

Need for Speed Most Wanted, the most recent entry in the long-running racing series, will launch March 19 on Wii U in North America and on March 21 in Europe and Australia, publisher Electronic Arts announced today. The box art, which you can see below, refers to the game as Need for Speed Most Wanted U. It will be available March 22 in New Zealand, and on March 14 in Japan. Criterion Games developed the Wii U version in-house. In an interview with Polygon earlier this month, creative director Alex Ward called it the "definitive version" of the game, which launched on Windows PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 last fall. It is playable on the GamePad alone, and offers a new co-op mode. It also includes the Ultimate Speed Pack DLC, which EA released in December on the other platforms.

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Need for Speed Most Wanted on Wii U playable on GamePad only, includes new local co-op mode

By Alexa Ray Corriea on Jan 17, 2013 01.17.13

Criterion's Need for Speed Most Wanted on Wii U will be fully playable on the GamePad only and will include additional downloadable content as well as a new local co-op mode, publisher Electronic Arts announced today. In the new Co-Driver two-player co-op mode, one player drives using a classic Wii Remote controller or Wii U Pro Controller while the other provides navigational assistance using the Wii U GamePad. The GamePad will display an interactive real-time map of the city through which players can tap and swipe to distract police, control the amount of traffic and activate performance enhancers on the driver's car as well as toggle between day and night. EA has also confirmed the entire game is playable off-screen using the GamePad only. The GamePad can also be used to switch...

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Need for Speed Most Wanted on Wii U launching March 14 in Japan with GamePad-only play

By Samit Sarkar on Jan 02, 2013 01.02.13

The Wii U version of Need for Speed Most Wanted will be available in Japan March 14 with GamePad-specific features including the ability to play the game entirely on the touchscreen tablet controller, publisher Electronic Arts announced recently. According to a Japanese press release, the game will offer a now-standard usage of the GamePad during typical gameplay: The device will show the game world's map while the player is driving around the city of Fairhaven. In addition, players will be able to take the game off the television and play only on the GamePad. We've reached out to EA to ask for more details and release dates in other regions, and will update this article with any information we receive. Update: An EA representative told Polygon, "We have no further information at...

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Need for Speed: Most Wanted's The Ultimate Speed Pack DLC due Dec. 18 with five new cars and more

By Dave Tach on Dec 05, 2012 12.05.12

Need for Speed Most Wanted's The Ultimate Speed Pack DLC is headed to all platforms Dec. 18 with five new cars designed for speed and dozens of new races and milestones, according to a post on publisher Electronic Arts' U.K. website. The Ultimate Speed Pack will bring McLaren's F1 LM, the Aventador J, Pagani's Zonda R, Bugatti's Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse and Hennessey's Venom GT. The speed machines are particularly helpful in the game's Autolog competitive records, according to EA, allowing drivers to race past Speed Cameras and extend jumps through billboards. In all, the DLC will include 25 High Speed Races and Speed Runs and over 70 speed-themed milestones. Each car will also receive its own event. Hennessey's Venom GT will join the elite group of 10 Most Wanted cars with a new...

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Need for Speed: Most Wanted demo available today on PSN and XBLA

By Alexa Ray Corriea on Nov 13, 2012 11.13.12

A free demo for Criterion's Need for Speed: Most Wanted is available now on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, publisher EA announced this morning. The demo lets players explore in-game hub Fairhaven City behind the wheel of an Aston Martin V12 Vantage, with the option of finding and swiping three additional cars — a Porsche 911 Carrera S, Audi R8 GT Spyder or Ford Focus RS500. Use of each car includes a vehicle-unique set of races and challenges to try out, as well as different groups of unlockable vehicle mods. New Most Wanted players can rack up as many as 50,000 Speed Points in the span of the demo, which will carry over into the full game and offer an early boost up the game's leaderboard rankings. Last month Need for Speed: Most Wanted, released across all platforms on Oct....

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Need for Speed Most Wanted 'Prop 130' ad suggests raising speed limit to 130 mph

By Samit Sarkar on Oct 29, 2012 10.29.12

Need for Speed Most Wanted publisher Electronic Arts began an election-themed advertising campaign supporting "Proposition 130" today — a fictional measure that would raise the national speed limit to 130 mph. "What's the point of owning a supercar capable of insane speeds and thrilling acceleration," asked EA, "when the national speed limit restricts your speed to just 65 miles-per-hour [sic]?" The company created a facetious infographic to outline the benefits that a speed limit of 130 mph would provide — an image that ran as an ad in today's New York Times, according to Kotaku. Such advantages, said EA, would include the following: a 211 percent increase in workplace productivity, since 72 percent of habitually late employees will get to work on time; the fact that journeys...

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Need for Speed: Most Wanted confirmed for Wii U in 2013

By Alexa Ray Corriea on Oct 26, 2012 10.26.12

Need for Speed: Most Wanted is coming to the Nintendo Wii U in 2013, EA confirmed with Polygon today. The game was listed as a Wii U title in Nintendo's recent financial report, grouped in with other third party titles planned for release in 2013. "We are very excited to deliver Need for Speed: Most Wanted on more platforms and to more gamers," a representative for EA said. "Starting Oct. 30, Most Wanted will be available on X360, PS3, PS Vita, Android and iOS. Then in 2013, Nintendo fans will be able to experience what it means to be Most Wanted amongst their friends on the Wii U." We have reached out for more information on a release date and whether the Wii U version will be cross-platform compatible, allowing Wii U owners to use the Cloudcompete feature and play online against M...

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Need for Speed: Most Wanted listed for Wii U in Nintendo financial report

By Alexa Ray Corriea on Oct 25, 2012 10.25.12

Nintendo's financial results briefing for the six-month period that ended in September includes a listing for Need for Speed: Most Wanted for Wii U. The game is listed among the grouping of third-party titles coming to Nintendo's newest console. No release date is given and it is listed as coming to Europe only. We have reached out to EA for clarification and will update this story with more information as we have it.

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Need for Speed: Most Wanted developer Criterion plans for another Burnout game, says Road Rash a 'good fit'

By Alexa Ray Corriea on Oct 17, 2012 10.17.12

Criterion, the developer behind upcoming title Need for Speed: Most Wanted, sees another entry in its classic Burnout series in the company's future, creative director Craig Sullivan told The Guardian in a recent interview. "There's still a lot of stuff we want to do with driving," Sullivan said. "We will make another Burnout game at some point. "Obviously, as we're working on Need for Speed we're thinking of really good ideas that aren't right for this series; there are ideas that we're going to explore with Burnout," he added. "And we wouldn't be making Need for Speed or Burnout games if we didn't think the driving genre had a long shelf life and that we could push the boundaries." Sullivan said there is "a lot of new stuff" in Most Wanted for players to digest, a sentiment p...

Need for Speed Most Wanted (2012) Releases
North America
  • PlayStation 3
    • Released 10/30/2012
    • Publisher Electronic Arts
    • Developer Criterion Games
  • Xbox 360
    • Released 10/30/2012
    • Publisher Electronic Arts
    • Developer Criterion Games
    • Score 8.5
  • Windows
    • Released 10/30/2012
    • Publisher Electronic Arts
    • Developer Criterion Games
  • PlayStation Vita
    • Released 10/30/2012
    • Publisher Electronic Arts
    • Developer Criterion Games
    • Score 7.5
  • Android
    • Released 10/30/2012
    • Publisher Electronic Arts
    • Developer Criterion Games
  • iOS
    • Released 10/30/2012
    • Publisher Electronic Arts
    • Developer Criterion Games
  • Wii U
    • Released 03/19/2013
    • Publisher Electronic Arts
    • Developer Criterion Games
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