Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)

 

Need for Speed: Most Wanted was developed by EA Black Box, released on November 16, 2005, and was one of the first games released for the Xbox 360. It was released on the Nintendo GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo DS. The PlayStation Portable port of Most Wanted is called Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0.

Police chases represent a significant body of the gameplay, and include the free-roaming aspect of Underground 2, but with less extensive vehicle customization features. The story mode is a different style from Underground, with CGI effects mixed with live action. The game featured the Blacklist, a crew consisting of 15 racers that the player must beat one-by-one to unlock parts, cars, tracks, and to complete career mode. The player had to meet certain requirements before they could take on the next Blacklist rival, such as races completed, bounty earned, etc.

A special Black Edition of Most Wanted was also released, featuring additional races, challenges, and a few bonus cars; it also included a behind-the-scenes DVD. Both versions were available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and Windows-based PCs, while only the standard edition was available for GameCube and Xbox 360. Black Edition was made for the tenth anniversary of the Need for Speed series.

Most Wanted had extremely positive reviews and received universal acclaim from reviewers in many gaming websites and magazines, praising the graphics, sound effects and general gameplay. With 16 million copies sold worldwide, it's the best-selling game in the franchise.[14] A reboot of the game, also named Need for Speed: Most Wanted, was announced in 2012 with British developer Criterion Games responsible for the development.