Race your way to the top by beating Fairhaven’s Most Wanted, outsmarting the cops in the process!

A remake of the 2005 cult classic, EA’s Need for Speed™ Most Wanted (a.k.a. NFS: MW) reboot is a modern take of the hugely popular title of the same name. The game was released for all gaming platforms in 2012 – including Android and iOS – and recaptures the previous game’s nostalgia while making important changes to streamline it for mainstream players.

Just like the original, Most Wanted is an open-world arcade racing game, allowing you to roam the streets of fictional Fairhaven City without restrictions. There is a day-night cycle too, letting you drive through scenic views of the city’s suburbs during the day before going full throttle around the mountainside at night.

There is little to no storyline here; your main objective is to become the best street racer there is by beating ten (10) rival drivers who are on the police’s Most Wanted List. This will inevitably put you inside the cops’ crosshairs too, which leads to the game’s most crucial aspect - the cars.

You will have a wild variety of cars to drive in, ranging from the usual sport sedans like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, to exotic luxuries such as the Lamborghini Aventador.  All these cars area available for you to unlock right from the start of the game, but you will need to find them in hidden spots across Fairhaven first.

To help you on your way, you can also customize certain aspects of your cars to boost their overall handling and performances. The depth of modifications is not as deep as the 2005 game, though, to which the previous game lets you change almost everything about your ride, especially the aesthetics.

Still, the things that you can change in this game do impact your cars in various ways, such as different types of tires to race on different roads, and choices of chassis to alter your car’s overall sturdiness.

Changes to your cars can be crucial to success in Most Wanted because you will be facing off against other hyper-tuned cars that are stronger than the rest, besides different vehicles that the cops will deploy to stop you in your tracks.

If you want recognition, go online to challenge your friends or other players too. Beat their records and prove your worth! Let them know that when it comes to speed, you’re the one to beat.

Ready your nitrous and rev those engines. Strap yourself in and buckle that seatbelt. You’ve got a long way to go towards that finish line!

Need for Speed™ Most Wanted is an enjoyable racing video game that combines open-world elements with arcade controls for you to jump straight into the action. The controls are direct and simple, with controller support and keyboard play both optimized (depending on platform/ console).

The main differences when it comes to the gameplay loop are the cars that you drive, each offering varying degrees of handling and top speeds. There are more than sixty (60) different cars for you to own in Most Wanted, including DLCs. 

These are the different categories of cars that are available in the game to date:

Everyday

Examples: 

Audi RS3 Sportback

Ford Fiesta ST

Subaru Impreza Cosworth STI

Exotic

Examples: 

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

Lexus LFA

Pagani Zonda R

Grand Tourer (GT)

Examples: 

Aston Martin DBS

Mercedes Benz SLS AMG

Porsche Panamera Turbo S

Muscle

Examples: 

Dodge Charger R/T

SRT Viper GTS

Shelby Mustang GT500

Race

Examples: 

Caterham Superlight R500

Ariel Atom 500

BAC Mono

Sports

Examples: 

Audi R8 GT 

Nissan 350Z 

Porsche 911 Carrera S

SUV

Examples: 

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Range Rover Evoque

You can even acquire exclusive cars that the Most Wanted ‘bosses’ drive by winning their respective races and shutting them down (by ramming into them) afterwards. Better get that last hit in!

As mentioned earlier, the police will also be hot on your heels too. You will undoubtedly break numerous street laws while racing against the Most Wanted drivers in Fairhaven, and the cops will show up immediately in order to drag you to jail.

You will notice a Heat bar next to your in-game map on the bottom-left of the screen. This will indicate the level of the cops’ Pursuit, with higher levels leading to more police cars and special units being deployed, such as S.W.A.T. trucks.

These police chases can happen throughout most of the game’s racing modes, which are:

Sprint

Race against other drivers in a single-shot challenge from point A to point B.

Circuit

Win against others by completing laps around predetermined routes.

Speed Run

Achieve the highest average speed after passing through different checkpoints at top velocity.

Ambush

Immediately start a Pursuit against the police, starting at different Heat levels depending on the difficulty.

Winning these challenges will award you with various rewards such as Speed Points (SP), car modifications, and many more. You will need those SPs to challenge the Most Wanted drivers, with higher SPs unlocking higher ranking drivers accordingly.

Your knowledge of Fairhaven City and its roads will also be instrumental during races. There are multiple corners, shortcuts, and hiding spots that you can use to make your way up the ranks, and here’s a general overview of the locations that you will visit across the city:

Downtown

The busy central area of the city, you will need to be crisp and acute with your handling around the tight corners that are aplenty here.

McClane

Just next to Downtown, the roads around McClane are also mostly surrounded by buildings and infrastructure.

The Beltway

A major highway that encircles Downtown, there are a couple of quiet driveways for you to explore, which are quite useful to run away from the police during Pursuits.

Callahan Industrial

As its name suggests, Callahan Industrial is an area filled with storage houses, factories, and other infrastructural projects being developed.

Ripley’s Point

Almost similar to Callahan Industrial, Riple’s Point has a few distinct areas that distinguish it, among them being a big nuclear plant and a sandy beach.

Hughes Park

The best place to make a peaceful drive-by, Hughes Park is the largest park in Fairhaven, with beautiful trees, residential locations, and a gorgeous lake to visit, amongst others.

Hodges Airfield

An abandoned airfield, Hodges Airfield is expansive with empty hangars and open runways for you to roam freely.

Interstate 92

The outer main road of Fairhaven, you can do sprints on Interstate 92 due to its long freeway before exiting to other interconnected roads along your path.

Hughes International Airport

The city’s primary airport, Hughes International offers clean roads and open driveways that hide certain hiding locations and massive off-road tracks.

Embrace your inner demon and drive like crazy with Need for Speed™ Most Wanted right now! If you’re a veteran, be sure to provide some comments or tips and tricks for others to learn from too, down below.