A giant joyride.
NFS:MW plays very much similiar to Burnout which EA also had a hand in. The car physics feel the same, the graphics look similiar and generally the fast pace of the game is equal. The only difference is, is that NFS:MW has more of a focus on that it has a career mode with a storyline. In fact the bulk of NFS:MW can be found in career mode and its a good place to start to get you geared up (no pun intended) for some hot exhaust action.
NFS:MW smoothes you into the game very nicely with some fantastic cut-scenes which utilises real-life actors dropped against a graphical background. Although the acting is a bit lame and the plot is bland, the cut-scenes really do shine out above other games, they really do have to be seen. After being wowwed with the cut-scenes you might be disappointed to learn that apart from one small cut-scene, they dont feature again in career mode until you've finished it. This is a bit disappointing but not the end of the world.
Starting career mode sees you challenging a blacklist which is a list comprised of 15 of the most baddest and meanest drivers around. Before challenging each blacklist member, you must complete a set number of races and objectives though. There are around 6 or 7 different race types but they are all based on one map and you'd have to do well over 100 to finish the game. It does get repetitive after a while doing each race (which is probably the biggest downside of NFS:MW) but you can intersperse your time by doing pursuits which is basically, legging it from the cops.
These pursuits bring the game into its own, and like Burnout 2 where you had a cop pursuit mode, this game is a lot different as there is no finishing line or anything, you have to lose the cops or get busted. Like GTA there are 5 cop levels, so level 1 - you've got your basic squaddies but level 5 is choppers and turbo cop cars. It gets very intense on the higher levels trying to escape, losing the cops is hard enough and once youve done that you have to make sure they don't spot you again for an amount of time based on your cop level. The sound and audio in pursuit is excellent and very realistic, you can hear each cop talking to each other about what your doing, whats happening and all sorts, it also gives you clues on if they are about to lay spike strips or set up a roadblock ahead. It does feel like your on one of those cop shows as an insane driver trying to get away.
Dont forget, this is NFS and it wouldnt be a NFS if you couldnt pimp up your cars. There is a nice selection of customization tools available such as colour of car, rims, vinyls, spoilers etc. and you can also add bigger engines and better tires as well, although the whole range is not available at the start as you must beat rivals to unlock them. Seems a bit silly as a lot of it is locked to begin with and the range of cars to buy is pretty poor too, but you can nick a blacklist members car after you beat him if you find his pink slip in a small mini-game which decides which rewards you get - I found this a better way of building up my garage.
There are a few negatives with this game though, its not all rosy - as mentioned before - the career mode can get extremely repetitive and dull at times, also I have had problems with the game freezing numerous times (thank god for autosave) and also because its an EA game, the achievements for the game are incredibly easy. Finishing career mode any kind of way gets you all the achievements, I would much rather they were harder so I could get some more joy out of the game after finishing career mode but now I don't really have a reason to go back and do it all over again.
Overall though, this is a nicely polished game, with a fun and exciting pursuit mode, very nice graphics and excellent audio, wicked cut-scenes, good customization options for your car and generally its a fun game to play. Plus you can probably buy it cheap now as it was a launch game. I would definately recommend you download the demo. I am now looking forward to NFS:Carbon very much so now.