But ultimtely, 2012's Need for Speed: Most Wanted may have been unrefined in some areas, but as a Most Wanted game, it was comparatively lackluster. However, instead of taking after the original Most Wanted game, 2012's iteration focused on the idea of competition amongst friends as part of Autolog's next iteration. There was also the implementation of "Autolog," a newly engaging multiplayer component that allowed friends to compare stats and achievements to score more "bounty." In an at-the-time new generation of consoles, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was the exact kind of evolution the franchise needed.ĮA and Criterion Games decided to continue that momentum moving into the next game with a "spiritual successor" to Need for Speed: Most Wanted. For one thing, the heavily arcade-like driving experience from Burnout games was almost one-for-one integrated into Hot Pursuit. Harkening back to the linear driving challenges from the original Hot Pursuit games, Criterion's iteration in 2010 modernized Need for Speed in several big ways. Melding Burnout driving mechanics with the Need for Speed world design and pedigree was the perfect way to make a very successful Need for Speed game.
As it turned out, Criterion Games was the perfect studio to reimagine Hot Pursuit into the game that came out in 2010. Hot Pursuit came just a few years after Criterion Games, of Burnout fame, had been acquired by EA and was to begin helming the Need for Speed franchise. In a lot of ways, 2010's Hot Pursuit (the successor to 1998's Hot Pursuit and 2002's Hot Pursuit 2) marked both the renaissance and the downfall of the franchise. NFS: Hot Pursuit Was a Triumph, But Began a Downfallįirstly, this is not to say that one or the other should've been remade. RELATED: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered Revealed With Release Date Now with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit being remastered, there's no reason why Most Wanted shouldn't receive the same treatment.
As the best-selling Need for Speed game from the whole franchise, it's been practically ignored by the franchise's latest efforts. The most recent Need for Speed Heat supposedly used Most Wanted as an inspiration, and while it never quite reached the highs of the original Most Wanted, the inspiration was clearly there. For those who've played it, 2005's Need for Speed: Most Wanted is widely considered the best game in the whole series.Īnd yet, it feels like EA has made every attempt to ignore Most Wanted at every turn. After Hot Pursuit came the Most Wanted spiritual reboot, which ended up being nothing like the original game in nearly every way. Some even argue that 2010's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, despite being generally praised by those who played it, as the turning point for the franchise as a whole. It's long been a meme in the racing and speedrunning community that Need for Speed will never be the same.
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