The AMAZING Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005) and how it shaped future racing games

in Hive Gaming3 years ago


Imagen promocional del juego - Revista Nitro

Casi 15 años han pasado y sigo pensando que Most Wanted es la mejor entrega de esta saga de juegos


Need for Speed siempre ha tenido un lugar privilegiado en el videojuego, sus gráficos revolucionarios así como su sistema de juego, dándole esa sensación de velocidad al jugador eran uno de los títulos que más se aproximaban a hacer realidad los gráficos en 3D poligonales y hasta estreno el género de carreras en este ámbito cuando lanzo su primera entrega en la ya extinta 3DO (consola de la que hablare más adelante), desde ahí se podría decir que EA ha reinventado la fórmula de la franquicia constantemente y nunca fue mejor vista que en la época de los años 2000s, un mundo marcado por películas como Fast & Furious le abría las puertas de par en par para que Need For Speed se posicionara como un título rico en ventas, por lo que la innovación que venía en camino lo hizo estallar en un éxito mundial del videojuego. Primero con sus entregas de Underground y la secuela de este, para luego en 2005 arrasar en el mercado con un nuevo sistema: Most Wanted no solo le daba aún más dinámica a la conducción Arcade de las entregas anteriores, sino que introducía un sistema de persecución que nos hacía recorrer las calles y escapar de los policías que cada vez que se hacían más rudos en una ciudad gigante y llena de corredores.


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Need for Speed Most Wanted (2005) Gameplay

EA que era conocida en aquel entonces como toda una revolucionaria en varios generos del videojuego (particularmente en el deportivo), ya había experimentado con las carreras en circuitos tanto en las entrega de Underground 1 y 2, en ella nos colocaban en la noche de una ciudad cubierta de Neon pero para Most Wanted querían darnos exactamente lo opuesto, una ciudad desgastada y descolorada nos espera cuando nos introducen a Rockport City y nos sumergen primero en una introducción en donde conoceremos los mecanismos del juego asi como su esencia que nos va quedando claro desde ahora, las carreras son a la luz del día, en pleno tráfico y con los policías a tus espaldas, nos dejan primero uno de los mejores carros del juego para que experimentemos lo suave que es conducir en estas calles, ganamos unas carreras y de repente sin aviso acabamos en nada, nos han robado el carro en una carrera arreglada y tenemos que empezar desde cero, desde lo más bajo.


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Creadores de Need for Speed Most Wanted desarrollarán el próximo NFS

La influencia de la cultura del tuning

Todo está cubierto en un ambiente cinematográfico y es que tanto la música como las diferentes radios y mensajes al teléfono sumadas con las escenas live action que nos ponen en algunos puntos de la trama nos hacen sentir que las calles están vivas, no solo somos nosotros corriendo las carreras, sino que hay establecida una lista negra que deberemos superar si queremos tomar venganza y recuperar nuestro carro, es justo aquí en donde se nos abre un abanico de posibilidades, aunque empecemos con el carro más barato, tenemos las opciones de tuneado desde la primera vez que pisamos el garaje permitiéndonos hacernos con una identidad y mejorar progresivamente nuestro ride a medida que juntamos dinero ganando carreras en circuitos, sprints o completando ciertos desafíos como radares de velocidad o hacer molestar a los policías.

La sensación de conducción a pesar de ser Arcade y ser uno de los primeros juegos que he jugado la siento muy fluida tomando en cuenta su época, al principio quizá nos sintamos cómodos al volante pero a medida que aumenta la dificultad tendremos que esforzarnos no solo de mantenernos firmes en las rectas sino también de estar atentos a las curvas cuando vamos a casi 240mph, por cierto las físicas se disfrutan mucho más cuando vamos a altas velocidades ya que podremos no solo acabar de un golpe con los policías a esta velocidad sino que también hay todo un sistema de atajos y saltos fuera de la vía que hace mucho más improvisadas las carreras y las persecuciones. Por cierto, estas dos facetas (eventos de carreras y persecuciones) están muy bien integradas pudiendo también vernos envueltos en una persecución en medio de una carrera y hasta después de terminarla, es un detalle crucial que hace la experiencia mucho más fluida y creíble.


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https://27games.net/

Eso sí, una vez terminemos de escaparnos de la policía tendremos toda una ciudad libre para que exploremos, el mapa del juego actúa como un sistema de mundo abierto en el que podemos vagar libremente y tener encuentros aleatorios con la policía o pasar por los radares de velocidad, es un goze disfrutar de los edificios abandonados o de las autopistas libres que con un paisaje gris pero bello de fondo y nuestra música rock nos invita a ser no solo los mas rápidos sino el más problemático de todos.

La modificación de nuestros autos si bien nos ofrece una amplia variedad de nuevas herramientas se mantiene como en entregas anteriores, podremos personalizar el exterior del carro, ventanas, rines, pintura, accesorios y también podremos en el taller agregar mejoras para que nuestros auto pueda adaptarse a medida que navegamos por la dificultad del juego.


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ktmx.pro

Most Wanted fue un rompedor de records en su tiempo, pero es que viendo hacia donde han llevado la saga actualmente, lanzando títulos mediocres uno tras otro, no puedo dejar de hacer referencia a este juego, que con mejoras simples, una personalización aceptable y una sensación de juego asombrosa y bien equilibrada destaca mucho mas que todo lo que Need For Speed saca año tras año, anualizar las sagas le cuesta caro tanto a la compañía que apadrina esta practica como al jugador que se pierde mejores experiencias todo porque una empresa no puede permitirse perder dinero, pero siempre quedara este tremendo juego en mi memoria.

English Version


Imagen promocional del juego - Revista Nitro

Almost 15 years have passed and I still think that Most Wanted is the best installment of this saga of games.


Need for Speed has always had a privileged place in the video game, its revolutionary graphics as well as its gameplay system, giving the player that feeling of speed was one of the titles that came closest to making polygonal 3D graphics a reality and even premiered the racing genre in this area when it launched its first installment in the now extinct 3DO (console that I will talk about later), Since then it could be said that EA has constantly reinvented the formula of the franchise and it was never better seen than in the 2000s, a world marked by movies like Fast & Furious opened the doors wide for Need For Speed to position itself as a title rich in sales, so the innovation that was on the way made it explode into a worldwide success of the video game. First with its Underground installments and the sequel to this one, and then in 2005 it swept the market with a new system: Most Wanted not only gave even more dynamics to the Arcade driving of the previous installments but also introduced a chase system that made us go through the streets and escape from the cops, who were getting tougher and tougher in a giant city full of racers.


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Need for Speed Most Wanted (2005) Gameplay

EA was known at that time as a revolutionary in several video game genres (particularly in sports), had already experimented with circuit racing both in the delivery of Underground 1 and 2, in it we were placed in the night of a city covered with Neon but for Most Wanted wanted to give us exactly the opposite, a worn and faded city awaits us when we are introduced to Rockport City and immerse us first in an introduction where we will know the mechanisms of the game as well as its essence that is becoming clear from now, the races are in daylight, in full traffic and with the cops at your back, we are first left with one of the best cars in the game to experience how smooth it is to drive on these streets, we win a few races and suddenly without warning we end up in nothing, we have stolen the car in a race arranged and we have to start from scratch, from the bottom.


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Creadores de Need for Speed Most Wanted desarrollarán el próximo NFS

The influence of the tuning culture

Everything is covered in a cinematic atmosphere and is that both the music and the different radios and phone messages added with the live-action scenes that we put at some points in the plot make us feel that the streets are alive, not only are we running the races, but there is established a blacklist that we must overcome if we want to take revenge and get our car back, It is right here where we open a range of possibilities, even if we start with the cheapest car, we have the options of tuning from the first time we set foot in the garage allowing us to get an identity and progressively improve our ride as we collect money by winning races in circuits, sprints or completing certain challenges such as speed cameras or annoying the cops.

The driving sensation despite being Arcade and being one of the first games I've played I feel it very fluid considering its age, at first we may feel comfortable behind the wheel but as the difficulty increases we will have to strive not only to hold steady on the straights but also to be attentive to the curves when we go to almost 240mph, By the way, the physics are much more enjoyable when we go at high speeds because we can not only finish with a blow to the police at this speed but there is also a whole system of shortcuts and jumps off the track that makes much more improvised races and chases. By the way, these two facets (racing events and chases) are very well integrated and we can also get involved in a chase in the middle of a race and even after finishing it, it is a crucial detail that makes the experience much more fluid and credible.


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https://27games.net/

Of course, once we finish escaping from the police we will have a whole city free for us to explore, the game map acts as an open-world system in which we can roam freely and have random encounters with the police or go through the speed cameras, it is a joy to enjoy the abandoned buildings or the free highways that with a gray but beautiful landscape in the background and our rock music invites us to be not only the fastest but the most problematic of all.

The modification of our cars although it offers us a wide variety of new tools remains as in previous installments, we can customize the exterior of the car, windows, rims, paint, accessories and we can also add improvements in the workshop so that our car can adapt as we navigate through the difficulty of the game.


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ktmx.pro

Most Wanted was a record breaker in its time, but seeing where they have taken the saga nowadays, releasing mediocre titles one after another, I can not fail to refer to this game, which with simple improvements, an acceptable customization and an amazing and well balanced game feeling stands out much more than everything Need For Speed brings out year after year, Annualizing the sagas costs dearly to both the company that sponsors this practice and the player who misses better experiences all because a company can not afford to lose money, but this tremendous game will always remain in my memory.

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I enjoy most racing games. I prefer the more realistic simulator style, but these Need for Speed games were still enjoyable.

 3 years ago  

Need for Speed is a pretty nostalgic game, most current racing games make my toaster start asking for help, I don't want to imagine what a more realistic simulator would do to my little baby

PC gaming and hardware requirements. I just kind of shake my head at that. And not in the positive direction.

 3 years ago  

oh so you prefer consoles?

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NFSMW was one of the greatest racing games ever. Underground is still my favorite though. The sound track was so awesome.

 3 years ago  

Underground 2 had the most amazing soundtrack tbh. I remember playing the ripped version (a pirated version without music), I had no idea what I was missing.

This was perhaps my most played game on the Nintendo GameCube. I would do police chases for hours trying to get a new high score. Sometimes I had to leave the console on for hours because they never ended and I had to go. I really enjoyed drifting as well.

 3 years ago  

lol, there was a version for gamecube? I quite remember the police chases (I honestly consider that they were one of the best attractions of the game), seeing how at the beginning they were normal patrol cars and then armored trucks and even a helicopter following you was fucking cool.

I think the best drifting goes to NFS Underground 2, it had amazing game modes (and also the drag races were amazing)

As far as I know this was out for most platforms. EA likes their money you know. I can agree on the drifting being better in Underground 2. Two awesome games nonetheless.

The Need For Speed Underground saga was my personal favorites.

 3 years ago  

Underground was pretty amazing too :)

Need for Speed was a classic for all of us in our childhood, it was something so brutal the gameplay and the game modes it had, god, hours and hours playing with my friends together.

 3 years ago  

My family is from Cumanacoa - Sucre, a town where there is not even internet. Every canima I saw had NFSMW, it was just amazing, this game is unforgettable XD

AJSAJKAJA totally, alls canaimas

 3 years ago  

I played it on PC, I actually played all Need For Speed on PC, I'm not very attached to consoles (not to say that I don't really have the money to buy one XD).

I remember seeing the 2012 version, but I don't think I ever played it, maybe I should take a look at it to see what changes it has