Best PC racing game up till now. A perfect blend between arcade and simulation racing.
The first thing that'll get you hooked onto NFSMW is the stunning graphics of the cars, reflections, and surprisingly, even the cutscenes. With Josie Maran heading the cast of CG/Live acting, each cutscene is worth the while to watch. However, the problem that most will have with the graphics is the framerate at which the game produces the graphics. You'll need a truly top-of-the-line video card, processor, and RAM for this game to look remotely good. With a low detail setting, NFSMW resembles a game that appears in the PS2, but with graphics set to max, the cars, shadows, smoke, and even world reflections are amazing to witness. I've personally played an arcade racing game called Maximum Tune 2, which came out in April 2005, and compared to NFSMW, MT2's graphics are even a bit less detailed than Most Wanted. You have to keep in mind that arcade systems dedicate their entire system to producing good graphics, so when NFSMW is comparable to a new arcade system, you can start to imagine the thrilling graphics this game can produce. Another new aspect is the variable weather generator, which produces true-to-life rainfall that makes the road glisten while the sunlight produces glare that makes you (and the AI) blind after a long stretch of dark tunnel. A truly magnificent effect.
Sound: 8/10
If you like rap music, then this is your territory. Almost all the music is some form of rap, so you'll feel right at home. The sfx is superb, with a large range between a small crash and a wipeout, a spinout and a skid, and even the rain has a sound effect associated with it. As well, the variety of sound effects, especially in the police radio, is immersive. For example, you could drive into a bus station, and the police radio would actually shout out, "He's backing into the bus station". Or if there's only 1 cop left chasing you, he'd yell, "I'm the only one left in this sector. Need backup!" This makes the radio commands truly interesting to listen to, and can also give you clues as to what their next move is. The only fault in this department isn't in the sound quality or sound effect, but is instead in the variety of music. It seems there's only ONE type of music and that's rap. So what happened to the upbeat, racer music found in so many arcade racers? Or how about some normal music that you'd often hear on the radio, until about a year ago?
Gameplay: 9/10
As expected of a need for speed game, the game consists of VERY fast street racing. The only twist this time around, is the need to satisfy bounty achievements. Unfortunately, this is rather tedious, especially in the later levels, as getting bounty is simply boring towards the end of the game. In the beginning, you might be exhilarated by evading cops in Crown Victorias, but as your heat level builds up, it is nearly impossible to evade a sea of Corvettes who seems to magically be both heavier, faster, and more agile than any car that you're driving. However, the game's physics and variety of cars make up for this shortfall. The drifting around corners feeling is simply irrepeatable in any other game. As mentioned in the title, NFSMW makes the perfect blend between the drifting of arcade racing and the slower pace of simulation racing. Where GT4 made the mistake of forcing you to make corners at about 80 km/h, NFSMW allows you to make the same corner at 200km/h, with the right setup. Althought some may consider this to be unrealistic, well, consider this: What do we race on the computer for? Is it for fun, or for driving practice? If I wanted to granny around corners at 80km/h, I'd get myself a real car and go to Europe, where there're no speed limits on some roads. So the point of NFSMW is to make your racing and gaming experience an exhilarating and adrenaline pumping one, which it does so extremely well. On another note, NFSMW allows to you customize almost every inch of your car, whether it is paint, decals, speedometer, or body chassis, you get to choose between an almost infinite combination of these features. And best of all, all these customizations look great, no matter which one you choose.
A must buy for those who don't totally buy into the "simulation" part of racing simulation. Also for those who just like customizing cars into their dream car.