The Need for Speed video game franchise, much like those movies with Vin Diesel in them (you know, the car ones), well…there’s a lot of them. In fact, there are over 20 Need For Speed games as things currently stand, and some of them are even good!
Yep, I’d go so far as to say that some of them are very, very good indeed, and Need for Speed Most Wanted, I’m quite confident in declaring, is the best of the bunch. Hot Pursuit does come close, I’m not gonna lie, it’s 99% of the way there in terms of moment-to-moment thrills (and it’s got a very nice Switch remaster these days), but 2005’s Most Wanted remains king of the series, with a GameCube port that really impressed back in the day as it got rid of the game’s very noughties, yellow-tinged filter. The p**s filter, if you will.
Now, don’t worry, there’s a poll at the bottom where you can vote against me for your favourite from a selection of NFS titles [You’re 100% right, it’s definitely got ‘Most Wanted‘ in the title. – Ed.], and I’d love to hear all arguments for and against in the comments.
But, for now, I’d like to celebrate 20 years of Most Wanted — it launched in Europe on 25th November 2005, and 10 days earlier in North America — by talking about why it’s so damn good, and that comes down to the simple fact that it focuses intensely on street racing and pursuit skills at a driving level, rather than utilising pursuit tech or special powers (à la Hot Pursuit) to bring cop chases and illegal racing activities to life in a thoroughly exciting and organic-feeling way.
Of course, Hot Pursuit came later, and in practice, its focus on gadgets worked really well, within the confines of what it was doing. However, in the street racing world of Most Wanted, on the streets of Rockport, and facing off against its 15 rival racers (all of whom you’re charged with taking down, whilst also developing a troublesome relationship with the local fuzz), pure racing skills, timing, slick handbrakes, and last-minute misdirections are where it’s at. And it’s deliciously entertaining all the way for it.
In the races here, you get to indulge in street-set circuit and point-to-point efforts that like to hammer home that you aren’t just racing, you’re breaking the law. You cheeky sod. So you’ve got these awesome movie-like vibes straight out of the gate framing the action — something that racers don’t often bring to the table outside this franchise — before the cops then show up like clockwork to make everything feel x100 cooler than it already did.
There’s so much opportunity within this racing triangle of you versus your rivals versus the cops that no two races ever come off the same when the law gets involved. I mean, why win anything straight-up and boring style, when you can mess with some po-po at the same time?
Video games, and especially these days with battle passes and all that jazz, come with so much baggage, so many distractions. Most Wanted, though, has you locked and loaded, aware of your objective and on the streets racing without any of that nonsense in double quick time. This is a game where the thrill of a close thing, speed multiplied by danger, and driving super-boosted and turbo-charged with style is the order of the day, but it’s also a game that gives you racing that works competitively when it has to. Indeed, the one fly in the ointment of the Gamecube version was that it had no online play, which was a shame given how well this one plays with other folk.
It’s the sort of upper-echelons type of arcade racer that nails the feel of things deliciously. It strikes a sexy balance in the handling of its roster of 37 vehicles that sits exactly where it should do, in a magical spot between sim and all-out arcade silliness.
It’s a feeling that Need for Speed games get right more than most. Hot Pursuit nailed it, Underground 2 nailed it, and Most Wanted gets it bang on, too, and it gives these games a timeless quality that’s rare in the genre, meaning that even now, booting up your GameCube to have an anniversary race or two, it’s not lost any of its ability to draw you in. Just one more race, and then I’ll write that goddamn anniversary post. That sort of thing.
It helps, too, that the GameCube got such a good port, besides the omission of online. I was very impressed in 2005, and actually preferred the look of this one to my Xbox copy, as it didn’t have that awful yellow filter that I mentioned. The less said about the awful DS port the better (I could have not said anything at all but where’s the fun it that?), as some things are just a bridge too far, but the GameCube version got it spot on, and continues to do so, in its fluidity, wonderfully slick controls and in graphics that, while aged for sure, still bring it home and get the job done in 2025.
Now. With that being said, I would love to know, on this 20th anniversary of my favourite NFS, what your favourite NFS game is from the abridged selection below. So, make sure to give the poll a vote and sound off down below if you feel…well…if you feel the need. Innit.
Got a favourite that’s not in the list here, or just straight-up disagree with anything about Most Wanted, be sure to let us know in the comments!
