The most exciting time I've had in gaming is a long long time!
When I played this game I was expecting the same old stuff. Boy was I wrong. I was not a fan on the the 2 underground games, just not my style. But this game is close to the undergrounds polar opposite.
For instance this game is set in the daytime, which I give props to whoever decided that because it is absolutely beautiful (especially on the 360). This game in my mind is more gritty then the others just because of how you have to work your way up the blacklist.
The blacklist consists of the 15 "Most Wanted" street racers in the area. As the games goes on you will have meet certain objectives to have a chance to race the blacklisters. You start at 15 and work up to 1 to becomes the "Most Wanted."
One huge reason that "Most Wanted" greatly separates itself from the others is the police chases. These chases are the most exciting thing that I have encountered in a game since I have played Metroid Prime (see my review). You couldn't ask for must more when it comes to the chases.
What happens is that occasionally during a race the cops will either spot you or someone will call in and report you. When you are spotted the cops will be on your tail. Chase will also occur if you are being seen causing accidents or breaking some type of law and someone sees you. You will also be called in on that. When you are being chased you gain a "bounty" this bounty also increases your rep on the blacklist. You can obtain bounty through opjectives, breaking laws, and through destruction. The longer you are being chased the more cops will show up. Eventually there will be road blocks, SUVs, and even helicopters that are trying to stop you are ANY cost.
This to me is near perfect game. It has outstanding gameplay, like I said the most fun I a long time, that I have had playing a game. If you liked the other NFS games you will love this. Even if you didn't, like I, you should like it as well. The only minor detail that I noticed is that I get some slow framerate when I am going fast and have a lot of cops on me but it's not anything to complain about just thought you should know.
In conclusion buy this game if you are looking for an arcade style racer that has some realism to it or if you just love racing games.