I have to swear to you that this is probably "the" best Need for Speed game, regardless. Definitely worth playing.
User Rating: 8.9 | Need for Speed Most Wanted GC
I mean really, this is the best game in the history of the Need for Speed franchise. You want to know why? Well, because they brought back everything that made the Need for Speed franchise a great one. First of all, the biggest feature of the game, is the police. The reason why the police is an excellent concept to bring back from the Hot Pursuit games is because this time the police really get serious. On each car you own in this game, it has what you call a heat level. This shows how intense the cops are going to be on you when you engage in a pursuit. There are 5 levels of heat. Level 1 is a basic pursuit in which it's not so easy to outrun the cops, but it's pretty easy compared to the other levels. Level 2 is when the police try to get a little faster and more intense on you, but it's certainly not the worst level. Level 3 is when police try to slam their cars into your car when you and them meet up with each other, and they get a pretty good plan of a roadblock, but they do have many weak spots in them. Level 4 is when they start trying to be unfair and uneasy on you. In this heat level, there are police helicopters that can track you easily if you're not in a hidden place, and then the roadblock's best friend comes your way in which this is called the spike trap. Wherever there is an opening to a police roadblock, you'll most likely run over a spike trap and it will give the police a 99-100% chance to bust you. Last but not least is Level 5. I haven't experienced this level yet, but I heard this is the one with Sergeant Cross looking after you and there is federal involvement in this one. I'd reccomend to stay away from this level of heat, since the police are probably to show what unfairness really means. This game also has a pretty good story mode in which you must move your way up this Blacklist 15, in which your goal is to get the number 1 rank on the Blacklist and get your BMW racecar. The boss of this game is called Razor, a punk who steals your BMW racecar after their is an accident in the beginning of the game which races you and him. To move your way up the Blacklist, you must complete a certain amount of races, milestones, and you must bring up your bounty over time so you can challenge the Blacklist rivals. Finally, I must tell you another feature of this game. This time, you have cars to select such as Lamborghinis, Porsches, etc. They also brought in the customization features which made the NFSU series well known for. If you're are interested in a game that is a racing game that has customization features, great cars, and police involvement, this is definitely what you're looking for in a racing game. 
