I Played NFS: Most Wanted ‘05 for the FIRST TIME in 2022 | Here’s What I Thought

[@HokiHoshi]

I'm getting a lot of similar comments about speedbreaker, fast travel, etc so I figured I would make a pinned reply! I did use speedbreaker plenty during pursuits/roadblocks, it was helpful! Just not during races, the footage you see in the video is *not* how I used it at all, that was filmed just for the video to show off the feature while I was talking about it, it's intentionally awkward driving to try and use the feature as much as possible in one clip. Speedbreaker feels more awkward when you play on manual instead of auto, but ultimately it just came down to not needing it in the first place. I didn't find the races overly difficult so I never felt "pushed" to use speedbreaker - so it didn't add much to my game experience personally. Fast Travel. I want to repeat a sentence I said in the video, "fast travel **as it's implemented in Most Wanted** was a mistake." U2 had (almost) no fast travel which is *also* bad in its own way, and I think they just overcorrected in MW. There's a middleground between no FT, and instant FT to everything. You obviously don't need to use it but the problem is more so that you're never encouraged to just drive around and explore/experience the world, in fact you're encouraged not to because you could get into a pursuit you don't want to be in. This is in stark contrast to U2 which had hidden races, outrun racing, money finds, "hidden" shops, photoshoots, and more in the open world, which helped break up the pace and added a stronger immersion to the game. The open world experience just isn't there as much in MW which is unfortunate because it's a cool world! I just wish the game encouraged players to use it more!

[@r3uvsgaming]

I feel like you're kind of missing the point of speedbreaker. I'm in the same boat as you since i rarely ever use it in racing, but speedbreaker is SUPER HELPFUL in ramming through roadblocks and avoiding Rhino SUVs. I think speedbreaker is ultimately a pursuit oriented feature, as you said in point #1. Because if i try to imagine a heat level 5 pursuit without speedbreaker, thing will be a hell of a lot more difficult. Also, turning off the "p*ss filter" isn't sacrilege in the slightest, most people would agree it makes the game look worse.

[@RavenGaminghaven1]

Speedbreaker increases your weight to ram racers and police With it you can ram racers and police against the wall and can kill the police easily or it can make the drivers flip On roadblocks, you can easily hit them and pass through

[@r3uvsgaming]

@@RavenGaminghaven1 ramming racers in this game is generally a bad idea, you just lose precious speed and momentum that will otherwise help you win the race. Blocking them when you're ahead however, isn't such a bad idea.

[@r3uvsgaming]

@@yeez13 I think Most Wanted and Carbon were designed and developed to have speedbreaker in mind, that's why the feature worked rather well in those games. UG1 and UG2 (as well as most other NFS games) never had speedbreaker because those games were never designed to have them.

[@RavenGaminghaven1]

@@r3uvsgaming It is fucking funny when the racer just flips over

[@dansullivan8]

I miss how big getting a new car was in these older titles.

[@Gwarzonicus]

ikr

[@shranoscryptinity8190]

the amount of cars wasnt even that big, but felt bigger than the current nfs games

[@big_bird8597]

yea now you play forza horizon and the game just shits out cars for you and you get a bugatti as your 2nd car

[@dansullivan8]

@@big_bird8597 thats why nothing feels special in the horizon games.

[@eternalreturnal]

@@dansullivan8 yes, this is why i stopped playing pretty much...

[@Vi_XXiV]

This game didn't age. It's still very playable, enjoyable and if we're talking modern standards, this actually smashes a lot of new racing games.

[@MrSkullMerchant]

Facts 👊 even underground 1 and 2 are still awsome today (replayed them recently)

[@Vi_XXiV]

@@MrSkullMerchant That's awesome! Even Hot Pursuit II and Porsche Unleashed are still great today. Goes to show how timeless these are.

[@MirelRC]

I agree. There are only 3 modern NFS games that I have enjoyed. The Run, NFS HP 2010 and NFS 2015. Heat looks and feels unfinished and needs mods to make it acceptable, and Payback didn't even play more than 3 hours.

[@csl750]

this video has just given me a hankering to play... who needs to work right...

[@mro4ts457]

@@MirelRC NFS Heat is just a non-bianary disappointment of a game. From terrible police mechanics, to a Gen Z pandering cringe-mess of a story, to terrible driving mechanics. The game makes me want to pull my eyes out every time I give it another chance

[@corriec28500]

NFS:MW also had 13000 voice lines for indicating every little car paint scheme and vehicle you used so it always seemed like they knew what they were doing.

[@Gerald-of-Riviera]

Now that's pretty cool, that is insanely impressive for a racing game,

[@sissy021]

Maybe that's why they limited the modifications you could do eh

[@mavrik2007]

The dispatch in MW is so much better than games like Heat because they sound like they’re trying to stop you. In newer NFS games, they just insult you.

[@riven4121]

And there's also a bunch of hidden unused lines. There's one that implies that you seriously harmed or even killed the cops.

[@xavierpatel3126]

Driving really fast not hitting anything with avenged sevenfold on the back playing was pure heaven on this game

[@XxTheGoOfYxX]

That was Blood and Thunder for me

[@reymenders5437]

Decadence -Disturbed

[@erlinghansen8033]

Hand of blood for me

[@fromplanetearth]

Decadence, Blinded In Chains, Shapeshifter and Nine Thou is the best

[@Rlisfun69]

Nine thou amd the ronnies intro song.

[@wickstorm_records]

The mid 2000s have a special place in my heart. It´s a shame it went by so fast. Golden age of the internet and gaming.

[@barxweight]

Fr

[@henrik1743]

totally agree, born in 96

[@adenshaw5273]

For life in general acctually

[@Garcia7148]

Born in 94. Played NFSMW endlessly on Xbox Live during my childhood. Definitely golden age of gaming

[@sumergill1351]

Golden era of cars as well

[@rainz2]

I’m 18 years old. my dad still owns a copy of this game in black edition on disc for PC. we used to play it when he built me my first PC, around the age of 4/5. this game is honestly the reason i am a mechanic 14 years later, and a big help in building a solid friendship with my father. love this game to death

[@diego2817]

Older people prefer NFS high stakes, IMO is the best NFS game... Many young people never had the chance to enjoy the pure NFS experience

[@enzogarcia6675]

@breadandcircuses8127 because it's nostalgic, takes us back to when NFS was actually about racing and not cringey storylines and characters.

[@HLGJammer]

​@@diego2817 ahh, to be a low-flying helicopter again...

[@alexposohov7426]

@@diego2817So true, spent so much time playing it and enjoyed everything out of it. The final races with everyone driving McLaren and mb clk-gtr was so challenging, the ai back then didn’t hold back

[@pasteghost428]

I had just survived hurricane Katrina when I played this about a month and half later when we finally had power and water and a shiny new FEMA camper. Me and Mama would play this constantly and it really helped take out minds off the tragedy. It was a very traumatic time and everyone was becoming an alcoholic just to deal with it. But we're gamers and gearheads and that helps. Good game

[@yeez13]

Love this. We need more familial bonding through cars and Need For Speed games! Also, that’s a hell of an experience. Going through FEMA after Katrina and having to readjust during and the eventual after of NOLA (and the surrounding areas/states) feeling the brunt of it. You two must be so incredibly upbeat and headstrong after not letting it completely ruin your life…which just seems so increasingly rare these days and is more than its weight in gold, so props!

[@pasteghost428]

@@yeez13 thank you so much for the kind words and taking time to consider these things. I appreciate that very much.

[@pasteghost428]

@@yeez13 as for Mom becoming a gamer...I introduced her to PS1 back in 1999 with FF7, nfs hot pursuit, gran Turismo and OG tony hawk. She had just bought a place out in the sticks and was recovering from drugs and alcohol.(hard to find these in the woods) she was getting cabin fever and was tempted to relapse. I said, "Mom I play these games and the time just flies by. It's perfect for you." She was willing to give it a go and holy shit, she became a bonafide sweaty tryhard gamer. To this day she sometimes smokes me on Halo, GTA5 and she's hella fun to play with. So gaming helps with overcoming real addiction. Take that naysayers and wives and girlfriends. GamesRgud

[@cktank13]

Your momma is a great lady. Godbless you both

[@1987FX16]

Hope you didn't stay in that FEMA trailer for long.

[@herosshade7887]

Something I’m impressed with to this day is the radio chatter from the cops. The chatter in 2015 and heat feels completely generic and uninteresting, 2012 was okay but still didn’t compare to 2005. I remember being in a race in most wanted, the cops came in. Through some series of events, one of the racers crashed the the police actually radioed for emergency response to get medical attention. Well either that or I’m remembering completely wrong, but it’s still a very impressive and immersive part of the game.

[@arandominternetperson4462]

And then we have Heat's police chatter which is pure cringe at night and boring at daytime

[@K3ntucky123]

don't forget that Rhino's are just a piece of shit to deal with, even that you are using lotus Elise

[@piccoloatburgerking]

@@arandominternetperson4462 The police just talk way too much like movie villains in Heat and that takes you out of the experience. In Most Wanted it feels like the police are just trying to do their job which feels more engaging.

[@arandominternetperson4462]

@@piccoloatburgerking Some of the stuff they say at night sounds like poorly written jibberish like "Snap back to reality" or "We rule the night!!!" Like who talks like that?

[@piccoloatburgerking]

@@arandominternetperson4462 Exactly, the overly edgy and pretentious lines just feel out of place even if they're corrupt officers. They tried way too hard with the writing and it shows when the cops are saying thing like "can't wait to crush your little car" and "you can run but you can't hide from justice" or whatever lol. Too on the nose basically.

[@LaZarusXtnct]

You could wipe everyones minds of this game, re-release it today exactly the way it was in 2005 and it would still be recognized as the greatest of all time.

[@LaZarusXtnct]

@@iluvmyoosik children should be silent

[@Sleepy_Moon84]

Absolutely not. Why? I wasn’t born when this game came out, but I played it and love it. Unfortunately…majority of Gen Z care about graphics…which this game has aged decently IMO but not for others.

[@merasoul6520]

stop capping, you definitely havent palyed it LOL@@iluvmyoosik

[@donnycorn3086]

I doubt that. And I've played the game for a while now. If we were to acknowledge this game after the Blackbox game series (UG1/2, Carbon, Prostreet, etc.), then the Criterion/Ghost eras, the game feels like something to be more forgotten than anything else due to the lack of every aspects of every other game has been known for: Graphic (DRIVECLUB and GT Sports/7), aesthetic (GTA IV and Race Driver:GRID in 2008), Career (GT4), Multiplayer (pick one yourself), Customization (UG1/2, Prostreet and many more rivaling games at the time), and content scale. I'd assume that if this game wasn't known for the last 2 big hits of the franchise and/or published by a (in)famous company, this will only go as far as "Most Underated game" alongside Split/Second and Blur. I don't ultimately despise MW05, but by comparing it to modern's standards and even to the games being released around that time, it's clear that it already had an edge over its competitors, so big it overshadows the standards of a good game. All it has is a shining personality, however, while it worked briliantly back then, would barely make it in today's standards. It's as great of an experience as it is a not-so-good game.

[@HellBrYnger]

nah the shift from hot pursuit 3 to underground 1 was

[@garylai363]

Can't believe it's been almost 20 years. I worked on this game and a few other NFS games as a track artist.

[@xander_vi]

Many thanks bro, it was (and still is) a great job!

[@garylai363]

@@zeusvargas I worked on Underground 2 through to Undercover, but left during Undercover. We always knew the games sold well, but this was before the internet was so widespread, so we never really saw feedback from the fans online. It's just cool seeing this now.

[@ed3n4pf]

@@garylai363 You would be surprised ! Have you ever heard about all unfinished/cutted content that messed up/fascinating the big fans over the years ? Till today, some fans keeps researching and discovering things about those EA Black Box NFS games ! Tracks and even test tracks aren't taken out the mysteries and theories !

[@garylai363]

@@ed3n4pf I mean, stuff gets changed and cut all the time in production. I can tell you that in almost all cases, the city starts off much denser with more roads, but then needs to be simplified because of hardware limitations. Back on the xbox360/PS3 days, we couldn't stream the world fast enough, so inevitably there would be a lot of content cut out or simplified.

[@Lucrativecris]

@@garylai363 it’s a shame NFS sucks now

[@ZaThrint]

Not a lot of people talk about the dynamic pursuit music that reacts and changes depending on what's immediately happening in the pursuit. If you take a look into the game files, the pursuit music is segmented into hundreds of 1 second sections per song track. Just shows how much work goes into the game monitoring and understanding the situation and being able to change the music tension on the fly. This system was continued in Carbon and applied to the city and canyon racing soundtrack, albeit to a lesser extent. Still impressive

[@Liberaaiytb]

In The Run I remember that timed race music started to get faster when you got closer to the time reaching the end before getting to the checkpoint

[@d1rtydan194]

The dynamic music in chases is insanely good in MW05, nothing came close. You got evade music, fast racing one, slow racing one, one when you almost get catched, one when you have been catched and one if you have the hidden bar appear and hide somewhere.

[@hawken796]

Heat has a great dynamic pursuit music too

[@xan1242]

The music system is called "Pathfinder". It's actually extremely complex in MW. It's also used in Undercover, although in a much simpler way, but still the same thing. It takes in many parameters - car speed, busted/evade meter, previous state, transition to next state, etc. It has a "tension" variable, indeed. Another game that uses it is... NFS2. Yes. The classic one. It used an old version of the Pathfinder system though which is much simpler, but still used for the same purpose. I hadn't looked in Heat but since they used Ginsu (the engine sound library), it's possible that they used Pathfinder as well as it's still a part of EA's game development framework. And the files (or more specifically, nodes) aren't necessarily "1 second long", but as long as 1 beat measure is in the song by default. It can have multiple measures, lasting in that many times longer files and that's the gist of it. They did the same with the EA Trax songs for whatever reason.

[@V4N9U15H.]

OH YES LOL I fucking remember the Canyon music getting more intense near the end, ITS SO FUCKING DISAPPOINTING WHEN I LOSE WHILE THAT SECTION IS PLAYING LMAOOO

[@thicboibigsmoke7220]

Even if you’re not personally a fan of the handling model and driving, I LOVE it. I wish need for speed would go back to this feel, the cars could go round corners at insanely fast speeds, but they still felt like they had weight to them.

[@ethan2670]

The intro to that first race lives rent free in my head. "Let's see how you do in the daylight" is such a simple and good way to tie back in to underground

[@UbiMortus]

Look what the underground let loose...

[@Dominicankareem]

I like how in the whole game Rog alludes to that especially in the last audio call before the race with razor he says ppl all the way from bay view are betting on the race. Bay view being the city in NFS Underground 2

[@burakoto6439]

wow, I never noticed this little tip.

[@AremStefaniaK]

i dont even remember much playing the underground league track races in NFSUG2. I just enjoyed driving freeroam and outruns

[@BeerDone]

My favorite part about MW2005's pursuit system is the radio chatter. It goes through so many ranges of emotion, from laid back disinterested Heat 1 "donut eaters," to proactive and engaged "Let's try something different" out of Heat 3 and up units, to the dead-short adrenaline rush of "BLOCK HIM, NOW, NOW" and "BOX HIM IN, BOX HIM IN" as the trap snaps shut, to the utter rage and downright hostile demeanor of Cross and his "Personal Guard" at Heat 5 or 6, it really conveyed more than just what the cops are doing right now. It gave you a sense of being hunted, by a truly commited police force that works with the professionalism and confidence only decades of experience can give, making it all the more satisfying when you finally outwit them. And Paul Linford's soundtrack just took it to the next level, with its recognizable "Breaking News" tune and samples, dynamic shifts in tone corresponding to your state in the pursuit, and its perfect blend with the sirens and loudspeaker orders coming from the PC's themselves. MW's pursuits are a master-class in designing a Unique Selling Point. I hardly need the actual races to be sold on it.

[@sebastiankulche]

Yeah, literally after finishing the game, i had more than cuadruple of the game time of beating the game at doing pursuits in the post game.

[@anasazhari4498]

I've only ever got to Cross for a complete 10s lol before I got hit with a spike. His Personal Guards alone are broken as heck. Never met Cross again after that one time.

[@kadzzzz6177]

the radio transmissions were my fave in this game. the way they get so uptight when they are close to stopping you is just so darn cool and it just sounds so realistic . it also has cool little details like when they get hold of Ronnie near the ending of the campaign.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

You think the system works well in the game as is, try the heat level unlock mod. The chatter and music go so hard in conditions 6 to to 9, and condition 10 is... just _condition 10._ 😰

[@TheAndrewlolz]

The part where you were just driving along in freeroam and suddenly the police chatter starts and they start describing your car, “vehicle is a black Mercedes” gave you the feeling that they actually DO know their cars 😍

[@RC_0001]

I know this is old, but I wanted to point out about Speedbreaker as a mechanic: The slow mo is only a single facet to using Speedbreaker. What it does in its entirety is this: 1) it slows time, 2) it GREATLY increases the mass of your vehicle, and 3) it massively increases steering sensitivity. The result, when you just turn it on, is that the increased weight of your car coupled with the steering sensitivity makes your car very slidey, as the mass tries to keep you moving straight while the sensitivity makes it easier to point your car in a different direction. This mechanic has three main uses in races. The first is that, if you find a collision unavoidable, Speedbreaker will allow you to leave the collision with more speed (the extra mass means you impart more force on the traffic car than they do on you). The second is reducing airtime, by activating Speedbreaker right before cresting a bump or jump, which leads to overall more speed. (extra mass keeping you on the road). The third, and most important, is using Speedbreaker to turn your car into a tight turn (Enter turn, activate SB, point your car at the exit, deactivate SB), then using Nitrous right after to give your car a huge grip boost. Done properly, you can do 90-degree turns with incredible speed, as one of the effects of Nitrous is to up the grip on your car. You can do this so quickly that your momentum can completely flip your car. Once you get the feel of this method of turning, it will save you tons of time in races. Note that this is only useful on turns that you have to massively decelerate for, like non-cuttable 90+ degree turns, and doesn't save time on turns you don't have to lay into the brakes for.

[@BrennanLetkeman]

I remember this from being a kid! I feel like I had figured out a driving strategy where I was basically using SB + NOS in and out of every turn to get perfect hairpins with cartoon physics at speed when all the AI cars had to slow or drift or hit the opposite wall

[@sammy13ificationable]

Fun fact : Cross knew EXACTLY who you were and what mias plan was the second time you meet him. Cross was using you as an inside man with the intent of using you as a fall guy the entire time

[@Iloveatacms]

and why did mia let us go?

[@sammy13ificationable]

@@Iloveatacms idk, love interest probably, that's kinda the way the whole series was portrayed to that point with the underground games, and carbon, beat the bad guy, score the babe, move to a another city and do it over again, or maybe she let you go because shes ALSO canonically a street racer that was offered an informant deal, and didnt the other person "in the scene" that she was tasked with using get arrested, cuz she ain't a snitch. And also because she was arrested the same way you were, as she admits in a voice message in the game

[@johncrowley3322]

I always thought that was self evident being his name is Cross

[@nkoninn]

@aim-9xSidewinder she bet a lot of money on us. She risks internal investigation if we report it after the arrest.

[@DarkIzo]

@@johncrowley3322 crock ?

[@Gatitasecsii]

Getting the notification of destroying cross during a pursuit was the greatest feeling I could've had as a teen playing this game.

[@anmolfrost]

I SWEAR, core memory unlocked!!!

[@NaruSanavai]

"Haha, go get another C6R, chump!"

[@niklasgraff9200]

I think the Fast travel is very good. If you just want to race you can do that and if you want to drive to the races manually you can also do that, just check the map.

[@Raderade1-pt3om]

Should have been limited

[@azazeliscrying169]

@@Raderade1-pt3omdoesn’t affect gameplay at all. Completely optional, so it suits different players. It wasn’t obligatory, so if you want to explore the world - go on, if you have time for couple races only - use fast travel

[@leto_atreusII]

Yeah, I never understood critiques of 100% optional stuff. Don't wanna use it? Then don't use it! Why cry about it?🤷

[@navsingh9406]

I am pretty sure I just drove to all the locations, not sure if I knew fast travel was an option back then...Im not sure now lol

[@commisaryarreck3974]

​@@leto_atreusII Some games do it shittily and design the game only thinking of fast travel Say Skyrim...or Oblivion where that hell started. Everyone ignores that morrowind also had one but that one made sense and was well implemented If you ever go back to skyrim or morrowind you'll quickly figure out why. It's making 17 trips back and forth across the map with the assumption you'll teleport

[@ChrisSaur]

The soundtracks shaped my taste in music. Disturbed, Bullet or my valentine, Avenged sevenfold and many more are the best songs to get into flow state while driving. Underground 1 and underground 2 had some nice tracks aswell but most wanted tracks are on another level.

[@DFM761]

I still listen to Do Ya Thang and Hot Action Cop regularly

[@reymenders5437]

@@DFM761 Same

[@JLchevz]

mine too lmao

[@ralphlorenzperolino3054]

I would say Most Wanted 2005, Carbon, Underground 1 and 2, and Rivals' soundtracks have aged well.

[@ChrisSaur]

@@ralphlorenzperolino3054 I never played rivals. I will listen to the soundtracks. :)

[@65Red]

It’s a shame that you didn’t touch on the soundtrack. I think the older NFS soundtracks is something that helped make the games so iconic. The developers in charge of setting the music for these games always impressed me with their ability to include tracks from wildly different genres, but still have them all fit together great. I can’t remember the individual tracks from these games feeling out of place at all. Hell, these games alone molded my music preference to this day. Unfortunately it’s something that has seemingly fell off as the years have gone by. I remember playing Undercover and enjoying the overall soundtrack, but I could tell that it wasn’t near as good as they used to be.

[@jacobbell8171]

he did mention the soundtrack

[@sildurmank]

My point exactly. I still have the music downloaded now XD.

[@AlexanderOrion]

My crew is all fired up Y'all better just wise up

[@ologhai8559]

OST is really great.. still listening to that almost 20y later

[@gtrulez]

Hot persuit 2 had an amazing soundtrack imo. I still have some of them on my playlist 20 years later. They still make you want to go over the speed limit if you drive around in your car haha.

[@saikaveti]

Speed breaker was good feature to have… trick was that once you get out of it, use nitro to gain control… I used it properly throughout the game in many ways

[@crazycrazy7710]

exactly, not using it properly is a skill issue. it is meant to slow the car down ( speed breaker for a reason ). i d k what this guy was expecting.

[@DMSBrian24]

Back when I played it, we used to make homebrew rules whenever a game felt too easy (or when we got too good) and do a lot of roleplay around it too, so we'd never fast travel. And sometimes we'd also just drive around with the traffic at normal speeds trying to avoid the cops when going between the races etc. i feel like doing stuff like this as kids is what truly made those games so much fun

[@axellyann5085]

just like playing gta and trying to be a honest citizen. lol

[@core36]

Everyone is playing differently. The fun is in that it’s possible to play like that. I feel like modern games are too direct and restrictive. Do anything not intended, either get put back on track like the sheep that you are or get nagged constantly about it. No explanation, just the main path. Nothing is ever hidden.

[@yummyzerg]

At low heat in NFSMW, if you do the speed limit, the cops won't aggro. Not until you do more than 5 over.

[@pawshmel]

in my case, i will not hold myself, but make the game harder(like now, that i re-play the game) adding mods that make the game fair, but challenging

[@Boborjan1986]

Driving aroun at normal speeds were one thing i did just for relaxing.

[@amazingamer360]

The police chatter during pursuits is not only a clever, subtle mechanic for predicting the cops’ movements, but the dialogue used to be a lot more brutal before the final game came out. There’s a KZbin video that showcases unused police dialogue, which includes a cop probably straight up DYING from the player ramming into them. The police requesting EMS due to you causing MULTIPLE casualties, and apparently the helicopters for heat 5 pursuits were going to be able to shoot the player?? Instead of slamming themselves into your car? (Helicopter pilots would request to return for a reload if their weapons were running low on ammo) It’s amazing how much they wanted to immerse the player into being this diabolical street racer, but unfortunately adding these few lines of police radio chatter would probably raise that age rating beyond what they were aiming for.

[@xan1242]

As far as the cop speech is concerned, some of those "unused" parts were used in the early demo version. So, for example, if you t-bone or sideswipe a cop, they would yell in pain on the radio occasionally. It fully works in the demo version, you can try it for yourself there. The final build still contains those lines because they're actually still enabled! Well, only technically. They deliberately set their lengths to 0 so that they don't play at all. However, if you manage to pause/unpause the game at the right frames you can get them to play again. This is extremely rare to actually happen (because it's a random event) or even notice because it's just background noise, but if you look out for it, it's there. (I should probably make a mod to reenable them)

[@lyinarbaeldeth2456]

I've definitely heard the cops call EMS for collisions involving civilian vehicles, though not "multiple casualties". It's interesting what gets cut out.

[@AremStefaniaK]

this function was far more next level in NFS IV. Every country you drove in, had different language cops, so as european gamer, you could benefit if you were french or german instead of american/english. You could also toggle it off for easiness. And the Diablo cop cars were monstrous. This game poses an M3 as a car to rule them all but NFS IV heat level 1 cops were M5's!

[@Roger_John]

I entirely disagree with your criticism of fast travel OPTION, because it's not pushing you in any way to use it - you can omit this possibility and only use the open-world traveling between the locations. I did so, and just a few times, when there were like 2 or 3 races left I had to win before challenging a boss, and their locations were miles away, I jumped into those events and it was so much better than driving through the whole world like for 88th time in a week of gameplay... they gave us CHOICE and it was a good decision, you can mix it up, use the open-world traveling for 85% of the gameplay, but sometimes, may just skip some boring driving and enter a race when you're still in the heat after the previous race.

[@WarzoneXProductions]

For the handling issue, all the cars do handle differently but there is a tuning slider in the options menu. It lets you tune the downforce and gearing settings of the car your using. It saves the settings for each individual car as well

[@HokiHoshi]

Yep! I used that plenty, definitely helps improve the cars, but its a shadow of the amazing dyno tuning system we had in U2.

[@philithegamer8265]

The issue with MW's performance tuning system is that it doesn't lend to be really being all that customizable in terms of optimization. The only viable tuning options is very much "+5 Nitrous" "+5 Steering" "+5 Turbo/Supercharger" "+5 Downforce" etc.

[@GlitchiiZ]

back then whenever i played it, i've gotta admit, it felt good. it felt like.. everything else just disappears.. no past and no future.. no problems. just the moment

[@fabiooliveira8940]

is that a tokyo drift reference? Haaaaaaaaaa, love it!

[@josealmeida1713]

@@fabiooliveira8940 yes ahahah

[@aero2007_]

because you were actually living the moment, not worrying about the past or the future. you actually LIVED

[@fabiooliveira8940]

@@josealmeida1713 that's my fav f&f

[@lyordson2K]

cringeworthy

[@stephenbyers6173]

A classic most wanted experience is racing Earl and seeing him press a button to summon Vin Diesel to turn his evo into a machine of pure physics destruction.

[@AdrenaLukeYT]

One thing I don't think you mentioned (unless I missed it) is that the music in the cop chases are very well orchestrated and it really adds a strong element of suspense. The music while the police are chasing you really does a great job at making you understand a lot is at stake here.

[@HarD4545]

Yeah, it is so good that even I played it just for NFS Heat pursuit

[@ribrob2798]

He just talked trash the entire video. Can't believe someone would talk this much rubbish about the best NFS game ever.

[@00wolfer00]

@@ribrob2798 did you watch the video?

[@lordlythis1407]

​@@ribrob2798nfsmw is dogshit

[@jackskellingtonsfollower3389]

There's a hidden trick you can use for cop pursuits. If you need a rest but don't want to end the pursuit (or pause the game), you can drive on top of the parked busses at the bus station and wait there. The cops usually have a difficult time getting to you. But don't go AFK because they can still get up there. I used to do that all the time. It's pretty funny watching them fall behind the busses, and drive away thinking they lost you only to realize your still there.😄

[@skylineboy001]

I 100% used to do this to have a quick snack or drink in between while keeping an eye on the screen 😂😂😂 I never dared try this above heat level 3 though lol

[@goldenhate6649]

@@skylineboy001 It did seem that the pathfinding got better as the level got higher. The funniest thing to happen to me was at the gas station right next to it where a cop launched himself onto my roof, bounced off and went out of bounds.

[@sheikhsadiashfi9980]

@@skylineboy001 better heat actually makes it better. More cars under you, more superior you feel xD

[@kanalisationerstellen]

same xD did this for hours :D just let the pc run xD

[@mrorlov2706]

Its not 100% Safe way especially on a high heat

[@majorkeybro]

Just seeing this title makes me realize how dynamic gaming, music, and other forms of entrainment are. We not only have what is new today but also everything before it. We have more to choose from than ever and what's new isn't always what's best. Being able to go back and listen to old music and play old video games opens up our library of choice and we find so many diamonds throughout history. Its why so many old songs and artists are suddenly being played again thanks to Apps like Spotify. And why old games can be more fun than even new ones because games then were made differently. They were made with the mindset of "fun game = successful game" Developers had one shot at making a game as fun as possible and never even once considered microtransactions and paying to win. Now games are made with "Maximize corporate profit = successful game" If you can look past the graphical limitations of the past then you realize how great we had it back then.

[@MrMichaelNoble]

I don’t know why but Most Wanted is that one game I can play over & over & over back to back knowing the gameplay is not going to change a bit between play throughs but I’ll play to the very end every time & never had the thought of being bored with it.

[@d3d952]

finished it around 20-30 times not gonna lie everytime it feels the same idk why either i just like playing it and it never gets boring

[@MrMichaelNoble]

@@d3d952 I’m currently playing through the pepega mod for most wanted after watching KuruHS play it, it’s put a whole new spin on playing through Most Wanted.

[@RakibHasan-hs1me]

@@d3d952 I know right

[@matrixlee6392]

This is by far my favorite NFS title, the second I put my hands on the keyboard to launch this game, I feel I'm getting in a car, not physically but psychologically. The vibe, the color, the scene, the music, the cop radio, everything just feel so right to me. I really hope there could be a remastered version of this game that has more cars and up to date graphics, but maybe it's better for it to be what it was.

[@hotel.colorado]

One of the most played games I ever had as a kid. Just like that one day I put it down for the last time as a teenager without knowing it. I come back to it every so often as an adult. Pure love for this series up to carbon.

[@TWCthewrestlingcafe]

Why carbon? I loved carbon just like I loved this one, it was undercover where I lost love

[@TheTriangle444]

love how most of the blacklisters have never even shown themselves except from a few poses of jpegs but the way how we connected an image of some random person and the car that is associated to them to something that you have to beat and feel rewarded upon doing so is amazing

[@JLchevz]

This game is just INCREDIBLE. Just looking at this makes me want to play it and it's been 18 years. It's great.

[@LuqmaanOfficial]

Most Wanted '05 is what got me into car games altogether

[@TheOnlyDTM]

same there and midnight club

[@big_bird8597]

this game is what got me into cars, my first car was a cobalt SS because of this game, that car didnt age like wine, while nfsmw did

[@kaimvardas]

Sad that you turned off the graphics enhancer. The overexposed sunlight gives a remarkable touch to NFS MW. That's how everyone was playing and that's how it's meant to be played - with your vision being blinded by a huge glare of light everywhere. I remember I couldn't sometimes even see the road properly as the light reflection effect was so strong. It's the ambience you missed in your playthrough.

[@IJFJJAJI]

the ugly yellow tint ruined games from that era

[@TheCapitalWanderer]

piss filter

[@Eren-da-Jaeger]

@@IJFJJAJI sepia

[@LagoRafael]

Except that I was playing on a MX440 and had to turn everything off to get decent framerates.

[@Viliuxa5]

@@IJFJJAJI it honestly fits the game's theme pretty well. Removing the piss filter makes it look like crappy Grand Turismo.

[@swuz2529]

I actually prefer the daytime setting and maybe it’s because the chases in carbon felt weird but that might be a hot take as well!

[@trombulan]

Me too. I love the dynamic weather, like 🌧️

[@ekokobeajong]

My favorite thing about the driving mechanics of MW 2005 is that you could drift by actually counter steering. A lot of the other games had a weird drift mechanism where you turned into the turn in order to drift. Here, even though it wasn't really advertised, If you feathered the throttle, flicked into a turn and gave the proper amounts of counter steering, you could get some beautiful drifts going.

[@codygrinnell8676]

I started doing that without think and my friends hated me for it... I became a monster in this game... It got to the point where I stopped using the breaks!!!

[@Noise-Bomb]

@@codygrinnell8676 Why use brakes when you can use speedbreaker?

[@helgenlane]

Well... The physics were absolute garbage, but drifting sure was easy and intuitive. Better than MW2012.

[@DarkIzo]

@@helgenlane the physics werent really garbage, especially not compared to "tap brake to drift" but 05 most wanted cars were kinda fridgelike, ai cars were SOLID and there was this weird rotation mechanic that would keep spinning your car when you were at crawling speed

[@real.silencewench]

uhm, can you teach me how to drift in mw2005 pc?

[@AxisCorpsRep]

the fact that we're yet to see AI as smart, engaging and "real" as MW05 is impressive, and kind of sad

[@crimsonv4670]

especially sad when the main reason devs give is that its "too complicated". pretending this game wasnt a thing on even the bloody gamecube

[@JonesBrothersProductionsiac]

*Police AI. The racer AI is still dumb.

[@kamata93]

Eeewhat? No! I hate the way they were catching up to you like they had 3000 bhp under the bonnet. Otherwise it was a good game but not the best imho. NFSU and U2 were the best.

[@ralcolfwolfcoon8207]

Get good lol

[@blinkachu5275]

The AI was really not that good lol, all they did was torpedo on towards you. AI has been doing that for literal decades.

[@anudeepreddy30]

I still remember getting to play it a year or 2 after it first came out. I was instantly in love with it. I played it for around 10 years, and still enjoyed it immensely. The best NFS game ever made. Period.

[@itsdokko2990]

Man, MW does bring lots of great and cozy memories. Made a big chunk of my early teenage years, im gonna play it again, when i get from work, im downloading it. Also: HAND OF BLOOOOOD!

[@DividerG]

Blinded in Chains :)

[@urielpuertas9899]

SHAAAPESHIFTAAAAR!!!

[@NFSBeast2365]

YOU’LL BE UNDER MY WHEELS!!!!!!!!!!

[@itsdokko2990]

I blame this damn game for turning me into a metalhead

[@bigsmoke1553]

Nine Thou :)

[@Yeet42069]

You haven't played the game like most of us did. Evading pursuit was never about skill or luck, it was about knowledge and speed. Keeping your speed high to give the cops as little room to punish and slow you down as possible and keeping your adrenaline flowing, and having the knowledge to work the map and trick the ai that way. It was amazing to win from a super long pursuit with a heavy payout racing against cars you shouldn't even be touching just by the knowledge you gained prior and a series of well thought out and executed maneuvers. Maybe its just me but as you go older you focus on more nuances in games which make you enjoy them less due to the fact you're not as invested in them as you were in the past and therefore don't put in enough effort. Back in the day this was all we had so we made it work no matter what. Nowadays you're so oversaturated by choice that things become unacceptable because of a few minor issue's to the point that it takes away from your own experience due to it affecting how you make decisions surrounding the game. If you want the most wanted experience, you need to numb everything out and focus on winning, or in this case getting away, that's it. It doesn't matter how the cops got ahead of you, how they keep following you or how they can make turns you can't. The only thing that matters is winning from them no matter how many times they come, that focus is what made the game enjoyable after finally getting it right after 5 failed 15-30m pursuits.

[@emanueldehner7882]

Something that surprises me that you haven't mentioned is the music, NFSMW easily has one of the best (if not the best) repertoire of music in the entire franchise. With exquisite examples like the main theme or Decadence from Disturbed

[@kxngsagii7]

This is such an iconic game that NFS Most Wanted flowed right into NFS Carbon and most of us old school NFS players was looking forward to a third part because there was such a good story line to follow through while enjoying fast cars.

[@pasteghost428]

Yeah, EA must've been like, "good story but we really need to make cringe ones. The fans are all crying out for characters who are polygamous paraplegic bulimics struggling with mild to severe Crohn's disease who spend the whole game trying to find a safe space and a psychiatrist. Who do we got?"

[@simovicmarko]

Well Most Wanted was technically a sequel of U2 so we had like a 4 game story continuation.

[@AbyssalMerc]

Afaik Carbon's sequel is canonically ProStreet. The announcer makes multiple references to Ryan Cooper's (player character) rumored past as a street racer in Rockport and Palmont.

[@riven4121]

That is what Most Wanted 2012 was supposed to be. It was supposed to be a direct sequel that it was at one point conceived as "Most Wanted 2". EA even commissioned artwork with it.

[@samd7106]

I played this game as a young kid around 12 years old, and not knowing anything about how games are made at 12, and accepting the flaws as a challenge, made this game incredibly fun and addicting. Customizing the cars was a huge lure for me. I ended up finding my own personal methods of evading the police, how to races with no KZbin, and many more isolated experiments. This game really got me into car culture, and if I knew more about cars back then I would've made different decisions, but it was all about shiny, and cool - this game was just that.

[@LordHdio]

This, carbon and the undergrounds were all i played for the longest time, gr8 video man, brought back some good memories

[@adnaantube]

The music, customization, the mayhem, the roads, the slow mo, the cops, the races are things i remember made it the best ever

[@smy_guitarist]

I used speed breaker in races... Needed it for tight corners to use quickly to change direction and boost around a corner with an awesome power slide. Very useful if you need to fit between tight spaces. Pursuits were a must especially if you are about to miss a pursuit breaker and need to slide over to get it and getting through roadblocks. 90% of the time, if speed breaker was used, you need to be ready to hit the nos. Game was perfectly balanced to where if you messed up it was heartbreaking. Figuring out the mechanics so you don't mess up while using the crazy unrealistic physics to help you win made it a game worth playing for years. Even though there wasn't a drift mode or drag mode in this game, i felt that the drifting/power sliding in this game was much better than all the others.

[@Light-Rock97]

I so agree with your criticism of my most beloved game. I agree that the level 1 pursuits are frustratingly easy, and we don't get enough races in the downtown area and far too many in the rosewood highways well into the late game. Still, what a classic this is. Even with it's flaws, I'm still in love, playing and modding it to get it just a little better and feeling fresh.

[@james64ibm]

What really makes this game stand out is the amount of love that was poured into it - you really feel like the developers were always aware that any part of the game would be played by millions of players and paid attention to every second of the gameplay experience rather than just adding features. The same is true for a few games released around the time and before that (I guess all the way back to the 80s, but that was before my time), while later on generic video games with giant developer teams became the norm. Besides Most Wanted, honorable mentions have to go any of the early GTAs up until San Andreas (I feel like the later ones are still being called great by critics out of habit, but aren't as encapsulating anymore), Stronghold & Stronghold Crusader, Gothic 1-3, early Anno Games, early Pokemon games, (probably Diablo 1&2, Warcraft&Starcraft and AoE, but I never played them). and my personal favorite for the best game ever created (with respect to team size and hardware requirements, but also in terms of the sheer numbers of offline hours that I played it for over the years), Sacrifice from 2001. Playing this game this game with all its quirks and outrageous (but well designed) ideas really makes you feel like such a game will never be made again.

[@xbadjokerx]

its gonna be re-released in 2024 :D

[@andycole4622]

I must say Most Wanted is just perfectly. The gameplay, The lore, the design, Even the music is masterpiece

[@itsvmmc]

Imagine experiencing the release of this game in 2005...it must have been crazy. This game was so ahead of its time. I didn't even have a chance or even know this game existed, I started playing it in 2009 because that's when I got my first computer, and my cousin recommended me this game. It still amazes me how unique and well put together this whole game is, everything from graphics to soundtracks.

[@Peelster1]

Regarding the fast travel system, you actually can access events by driving around in free roam, so a playthrough with almost no fast travel is possible. I say almost because of how Blacklist races take you to the next race in the series automatically and place you outside (either) your safe house (or the last building you entered?. I don't remember which.) I have played the game without using the race menu before and it is very fun. Sometimes the cops get called after some races and trying to dodge them on the way to your next race is an addition challenge. You can either go as fast as you can to the next race or the nearest building to lay low. However, being able to fast travel to all races and start pursuits through the menu is a much appreciated option for when players don't want to play without fast travel. There have also been plenty of times where I wanted to speed through the game and not have to spend extra time looking for a cop for my next bounty milestone, so being able to start a pursuit through the menu is great. Likewise, the speedrunning community makes heavy use of the menu for races (as they would due it being the fastest way) but some top level speedrunners I have chatted with have said that a no fast travel speedrun would be a slog. (I would also infer that to include if you could only fast travel between safe houses as well. Due to how the game operates in boroughs having the option to only travel to safe houses would still save time, but not much when you compare it to having no fast travel at all and contrast having the ability to choose any race from the menu as the game allows. But being able to jump to the safe house after a race before the cops find you is still a huge time save. When I did my no fast travel playthrough there were a few moments where I was just a block from where I was trying to go only to have a cop spot me and have to spend the next 5-10 minutes trying to get away. One thing about speedbreaker is how it increases the mass of your car to send cops flying. When I played through MW and Carbon for the first time I didn't even know about speedbreaker. I still enjoy playing the game without it. Later playthroughs I started banning use of NOS as well. I have also played the game without rubberbanding. (You can do this in story with mods but also in quick race without mods.) Without rubberbanding, the game becomes far too easy, which is unfortunate because I would prefer a skilled AI without rubberbanding. Rubberbanding being fake difficulty is one of my least favorite things in racing games although plenty of racing games have shown why it is needed, but that's another topic. There are years worth of discussion on the topic of rubberbanding alone. The only thing I wish was different about MW is the Pink Slip system. It is a random chance that you get the Pink Slip. I wish it was a guarantee, but also wish that if you lose the race series that you lose you car, similar to how Midnight Club Los Angeles handled Pink Slips. That game also forced the game to save after as well so if you lost the race your car was really gone. (Unless you backed up your save.) In MW I would change the Pink Slip system so that if you lose one race in the series, but if there are 2 races total, make it a best out of 3. If there are 5 races total make it a best out of 9. You would be allowed to lose 1 race and 4 races respectively before you lose your car. You would be allowed a number of retries equal to the number of races in the series minus 1 before losing your car.

[@mangoshake]

Oh yeah! If the open world cops spotted you while racing and start a chase, as long as you haven't lost them yet, they will continue chasing after the race so you have absolutely no way to fast travel. For the players, that does result in extended tension, and for me, it can become a complete mental drain after just 1 race that had a high heat level chance. For better or for worse, that kind of gameplay is top tier engagement. What's even better is that there is a cop spotter gimmick you can take advantage of, which stays in the race. As long as the spotter doesn't beep even if a cop is there, you won't get chased, and even better, you can nudge your opponents towards the cops and they will chase those rubber rubberbanding pieces of shit instead so you can pull ahead. Cops chasing other racers too gives an added depth of realism, so that's another plus. Having that massive variety of gameplay gimmicks that actually take skills to perform and not just press to activate make the fast travel complaint honestly a non-issue for me. I'm so mentally drained from racing and escaping that if I want to just go straight to the shop to buy a car or upgrades with my hard earned in-game cash, just let me go straight to the damn shop lol. Besides, the open world is so good that regardless of fast travel, I would drive around to explore anyway. It's also good practice to do so in order for us players to memorize the map and git gud at racing, and evading cops.

[@bolajifashola7126]

There is a way to ensure you always get the pink slip though. i never miss it. i always get all 15 cars whenever i replay MW. I only ever spend money to buy the first car

[@frog6054]

The only flaw with this game is that free roaming is almost impossible. Cops always on my ass all the time.

[@Peelster1]

@@frog6054 If you want to just cruise around, drive something with a lower heat level. You can paint your car to do that. Pay attention to your radar, don't speed near cops and don't crash into anything. With enough time you learn the map well enough and cops aren't an issue. Pursuits are easier if you slow down and know where your pursuit breakers and escape spots are. The ways you're usually going to get busted are rhinos and spikes. If you do get called in and don't want a pursuit, you can always jump to safe house or go into a nearby shop before the cops find you.

[@PiersLawsonBrown1972]

My son was 8 when this came out and he wanted it so bad, I recall playing it for hours with him and loving the game, and I think to this day, it is his favourite game we played. I don't recall the fast travel and don't think that we ever used it, we love just driving around the whole map. Great review of a great game that still holds up today.

[@saabtherapy9577]

It was SO SATISFYING getting boss cars off slips and events man, it was so awarding AND! The storylines! They were awesome, the feel, like you just had to be there when it was in its time, still I go back and replay the story occasionally NFSMW05 one of the tops for me.

[@AlinJ.]

To this day my favourite racing game. Insane to think those graphics from 2005 still pretty much hold up too.

[@evanlaux3623]

I have vivid memories of coming home after elementary school and taking turns doing cop chases with my buddies. Some of my favorite memories for sure

[@trombulan]

I remember playing the heck out of this game. In fact i still do play it sometimes even now and it still feels and sounds good, using manual was the best experience for me. I looked at the each car's redline remembering just the right engine's pitch and than i would have total freedom and joy changing gears without looking at the gauges. It really had an impact on my passion for racing games and for cars in general! Thank you for your work and great content!

[@luucamNY]

the way they built the blacklist system made it easily one of the best story mode driving games out there ... they give you a meta car just to take away from you right after the graphics at the time definitely stood their ground as well

[@priteshkumar1820]

my toughest race was with Earl and I got the pinkslip for his car, best car for racing & pursuits, that was awesome days ❤

[@lewishutchison5284]

Thanks for these types of videos, they give me a little bit of nostalgia and take me back to when I was 13 playing these games with my friends and having the absolute best time. I'm glad I had the gaming experiences I did as a kid(halo 3, cod 4, NFS most wanted etc) and I hope my kids are having the same feelings playing the current crop of games that we did as kids, cause these memories are some of my best

[@larrythepagan]

It's awesome to have found someone revisiting those good games from good ol' times. Underground 2, Most Wanted and Carbon were the only Need for Speeds that I've ever played. In time of Playing I didn't even know English, but surely every game thought me some things. I remember firing up NFS MW at 7 pm and driving til 6 AM - that was passion. Having said that, if there is one NFS that I should play, please recommend me one that I should play to get the old "feels".

[@davidjacobs7465]

Not just for this game, but for nfs games back in that time I appreciated not being punished for colliding. I also like that there were no super or hypercars there. The closest thing to super/hyper that you got was probably a lamborghini mercielago/gallardo and that's just fine.

[@rodracer4567]

I didn't like that, considering NFS was all about supercars and concept cars before Underground. High Stakes even made fun of tuners in its intro, showing a riced up Civic lookalike breaking down at the lights as Porsches and Lambos zoom past

[@kevindlima3392]

The Most Wanted 2005 was the best game ever. Yes it looks old and has a lot of limitations, but for the people in 2005, it was pretty advanced. Today's games do not even have such great storylines!

[@triggeredcat120]

This game has a special place in my heart on the GameCube. I have replayed this game so many times and it never gets old. I used the Cobalt all the way to the end, used the Junkman parts on it and it was so fast. What a excellent game. Edit: the body kit on your IS is my favourite.

[@turrican4d599]

Uhhhm, the GameCube version is not the real deal.

[@erwintwr1193]

One of those Gem's. hitting 40 this year, and this game still tempts me to replay it everytime I see it. really really strange that they are not remaking this

[@crimson2296]

Absolutely, it's a legend

[@alec-xaviar]

I am still playing it right now for nostalgia, and I love the balance between a police chase on a highway (where you have a lot more space to move) and in the city (where you have shortcuts and pursuit breakers) it really is for me a fun challenge because you can it really alter your playstyle if your more a speedy type of guy or a fast thinker who can use your speedbreaker and skill to get away.

[@Kintizen]

Right. I think because he only played a 25hr playthrough. He didn't invest in learning tricks for the game. I rarely ever got caught by the police.

[@marvinochieng6295]

this is the most honest and comprehensive review. As someone who has played every nfs game, i love it.

[@Mark_Red]

I just love the way the game is always set on daytime, to me it adds to the madness of the story/vibe. I mean street racing at night is cool, but racing and engaging in cop chases during day-time while the whole city is alive is totally MAD!

[@matrixlee6392]

strongly agree

[@Ehren1337]

yeah night is boring.

[@AOTanoos22]

My issue with day time is that the city didn't feel alive at all for me with no humans visible (also not at the many construction sites), very view cars on the streets and parking lots being empty. I always had the impression that it was fall and a quiet Sunday evening when i played Most Wanted. If they'd put more effort into making the city appear more alive i'd agree tho, but its hard to make a city feel alive in a racing game that doesn't show humans at all, that's why i find the night time setting when everyone is asleep more realistic and fitting.

[@renanroman4231]

I really wish nfs heat would've inverted how police chase works. Police at day should be more ruthless

[@AOTanoos22]

As someone who's favorite game is Underground 2 i really enjoyed Most Wanted a lot but as you said night time would have been a great addition to the game. Overall i didn't like the empty/lonely Sunday evening in fall vibes of MW as much as i loved the more realistic empty summer night at 1:00 AM vibes of U2.

[@S-Kevin]

Rainstorm are the closest "night time" in nfsMW'05. That's better imo. at least it's not just all-night like previous series.

[@ZayTRD]

They need to remaster this NFS! This game makes me want to get my old ps2 back and play it hours on end along with Hot Pursuit 2 & Underground 2. These are the most iconic & best NFS title in my opinion.

[@sleepless_160]

Most Wanted when I played it alone, with friends or my brother: 15:07 Most Wanted when my mother entered my room: 23:19 Man that stuff was dangerous when you were 8 years old haha :D also, at that age I think it took us more than 40 hours to beat the game because we were just kids back then 😅 Very well made video, I'm impressed with your writing!

[@VashSpiegel]

I still replay this every couple of years on PS2. Personally, this game checked the boxes, that get missed in the franchise. -Solid story motivation and interactions, much like The Run. -Personally, the quick travel was a plus to compensate the unfair cop busting. -Enough challenge events to keep you entertained after completing the story. This is impressive for a PS2 game, even after multiple play throughs.

[@colbysteffens2976]

I need to find another Xbox 360 and play this game

[@LmFaA]

You need a SCART to HDMI splitter/converter cable I guess?

[@adlannizar60]

@@colbysteffens2976 go pc? go download the emulator my g.

[@OrRaino]

7:25 speedbreaker was actually intended for Police pursuit like dodging a last second spike strip and all that, Nobody ever used it in any race.

[@HokiHoshi]

Speedbreaker can actually be super quick for getting around 90° corners! If you watch speedruns you can see how its utilized to speed up races, but yeah like you said there's really no need to use it in races for the average player (which is why I didn't!) But I did use it plenty for pursuits! Its great for getting through roadblocks. You can read my pinned comment where I describe that I did use it for pursuits, but found it not really helpful for racing when playing manual

[@Innosos]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the fantastic soundtrack during pursuits. The atmosphere and gutwrenching orchestral soundtrack makes the experience so much more intense.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

God, this. And the variable mix. The segments join together so seamlessly and the game seems to know EXACTLY when to turn up or down the heat.

[@menonverse]

Watching this gameplay is so overwhelming for me, I started tearing up, remembering the days when I used to play NFS:MW daily, all day long, before going to school, immediately after coming back from school, discussing with my friends on all the mods they did to their cars, having my friends come over so we all could play. I can still remember my old house and room where I used to play it.. I think I'm about to cry 🥹 Thank you @HokiHoshi for bringing back memories and feelings I never knew existed.. 🫶🏼❤️

[@menonverse]

I used to have competitions with a friend of mine, on who would have the longest pursuit time.. my record till date was roughly 2.5hrs before my computer overheated and shut down 🥹

[@mathewphoria7228]

easily best NFS ever! cant believe how many hours i put into it. best game modes and tracks

[@Drkfire_Yt]

7:30 in about speedbreaker. Its got vry specific designs its not for consistent use its meant for bashing thru roadblocks or last seconds change of directions at high speeds not meant to keep ur speed as an ez win button its for only certain situations

[@asylum1166]

Congratulations on finally playing this amazing classic! To this day it’s still amazing!! Regardless of the small issues being mentioned in this video because at the time these weren’t issues at all it’s just simply being compared to modern racing games even if someone is trying not to..

[@mikevogler5455]

This particular NFS game has always been my absolute favorite (especially the PS2 version over the other systems at the time, or even the later/newer systems that it has been ported over to throughout the years). Everything from the music Soundtrack, to the look, feel, sense of speed, the story (even though kinda corny nowadays), it was just perfect. I've loved the NFS Franchise ever since playing the first game waaaaaaaaaaaay back in 1994 on the Panasonic 3DO, and can't believe the Franchises evolution since that very first game. Feels like an eternity ago now... On a complete sidenote, had it not been for Most Wanted, I'd probably never have discovered Bullet For My Valentine, at least not for many, many more years down the road, if at all, because I know that was the first track I'd ever come across from them/ever had even heard of them. Hand Of Blood has always been my favorite BFMV song because of that, but was also my introduction to that killer band. 🙂🤘

[@hypermalware1364]

7:13 I didn't even know the Speedbreaker exists until I was halfway through the game and I was looking through any tips of MW in youtube

[@ChrisSaur]

I like how they handled the fast travel. If you don‘t like it you can always just don’t use it. When I played this back in 2005 (when I was 12) I didn’t even notice that I could fast travel. I am glad that I didn’t know how to fast travel, because that made the game feel authentic and it stretched the game length. But when I want to just want go play the game now I can also enjoy the speeding part of it with the fast travel. The obvious fast travel in Carbon and the lighting was the reason I never knew where stuff even was. I was really sad that the chases in Carbon were not really part of the progression.

[@MrLuzakman]

Tbh, looking for the cops every time, finishing 15 minutes long pursuit and then realizing you destroyed 9 out of 10 cars so you should begin looking for them again sounds infuriating

[@JamesLard32]

​@MrLuzakman except when in pursuit you know how well you're doing in the challenges before you even evade. Ex: the challenge is to trade paint(crash into) 5 cops. There's two ways to keep track. The busted/evade bar on the right side up top and in the top right corner. The game gives you the tools to know if it's time to lose them or if you need to keep going... if you don't use them that's on you not the game.

[@MrLuzakman]

@@JamesLard32 I envy your selfcontrol and composure then

[@JamesLard32]

@@MrLuzakman not about self control and composure. It's about using the features the game gives you. Lmfao.

[@MrLuzakman]

@@JamesLard32 and I'm saying that in heat of pursuit you won't always remember to look at them

[@GKPB]

In my opinion, fast travel are great for players who don't have much free time in their life, maybe if you make a game where you can create a save file with the option to fast travel on or off but can't change after you created it would be nice

[@smallworld_bigheart]

Once the police pursuit starts you cannot exit the game, you have to evade to get the exit prompt. Thats probably they added fast travel

[@IAmBoshy]

I'm doing the full run MW 2005 every year. I love that game, it's unmatched and brings joy even if you know all the mechanics and already had a ride on all cars. MW 2005 gives hope that sometime phoenix will rise again and if not I will run this game infinitely :D

[@armichevieradeniz]

This makes me go back to my childhood. Need for Speed Most Wanted was my first videogame along with GTA III. About the fast travel I just picked the first race, but then I used to drive to other places. What I hated fron Carbon was that after winning a race the prices were between 500-800$, while EVEN Sonny's races gave you more than that. Fun story: I used to play it in PS2 and my father usually played Most Wanted before me and he drove in a very agressive way, so when I took the game the police's IA was incredibly agressive too. It took me a week to realize it and after that I always turned the console down to reset the IA changing the memory cards in the process

[@halvey8518]

This game was my baby as a kid. I never got to have the pleasure to play NFS carbon but your criticism was surprisingly fair. Loved the vid and thanks for making one about my favorite game.

[@TheSickening1]

The speedbreaker was a little janky in races, but it increased the force of your car when hitting roadblocks, and its something I really miss when I play the newer titles

[@castin5244]

This game had such a huge impression on me as a kid that I currently own and drive the starter car I picked in this game when I first played it. The MK5 GTI.

[@piramaniak]

I watched the intro, realised I had done exactly the same with the PSP version, skipping the real MW all of those years ago. Stopped the vid, got an emulated version, played the shit out of it. It gave me a weird nostalgia hit considering it's a game I never owned back in the day. It was like completing a life side quest I'd forgotten to do for 18 years. The game is amazing, I'm kind of glad I saved it for so long. Thanks for making me see the light!

[@CarlRaven91]

My first NFS game! I got the Black Edition for PC. The only challenges for me were getting 1st in all the rap sheet rankings and completing the entire challenge series.

[@shred1894]

You didn't mention how pressing the reset car button in a pursuit is more or less an instant bust button. Sometimes you get caught on physics stuff after you hit a gas station or whatever and it's basically a death sentence.

[@arnie4692]

The first clip of the race on hard difficulty with such clean driving was so exhilarating to watch. Even after years i still couldn't do that

[@tacticalmattress]

Speedbreaker has to be utilized a very specific way to be advantageous in races. If you use it too long, it hampers you and reduces your speed. You can get to the point where you only use it for a split second to basically rubberband through a corner, at least that's what it looks like. SImilar to when the AI does it and actually doesn't crash. It becomes a muscle memory thing too. I went back and played it earlier this year, after not having played it for over 10 years. I still had the muscle memory and just memory in general for majority of the race layouts, and still remembered all the glitches.

[@shivamsud]

Speedbreaker was a great mechanic once u understand how to use it

[@TheDevilRejectsNone]

@@shivamsud yeah it doesn't slow you down unless you turn aggressive

[@shivamsud]

@@TheDevilRejectsNone and people really dont know this but it increases grip so u can conserve ur speed if u collide with trafic by mistake and enter speedbreaker

[@jimym__]

Finally, an opinion that isn't absolutely drowned by nostalgia

[@carven_chr9715]

Kek

[@Soulkollextor]

9:21 that clip of NFSU2 made my heart melt

[@harrybuhse8622]

I get what you're saying with speed breaker but there is a finesse to it. You won't destroy your speed like you say if you don't make harsh movements. It's also good to use when you are losing traction and might not make a turn. It can often be a make or break for catching that sort of situation. Wanted to also point out I don't totally agree about the fast travel. You are free to manually arrive at races and find police cars. It's a QoL feature in a single player game that you can choose to use or ignore. There is no punishment for not using them other than convenience. It makes subsequent playthroughs way better

[@MrKidtendo64]

One of my favorite memories of this game was the progression system and the OST. They really outdid themselves. Even when thinking about the police chase system, I feel this game had a wanted system that I wish Cyberpunk had a fraction of. Wish I could still play it on my GameCube, but this game did not age well on that console.

[@PVSBhargav]

Absolutely beautiful video, it brought back so many memories of challenging friends to beat my time or score on a single player game, setting some silly rules to drive. There are a lot of awesome memories tied up with this particular game. I might've reacted similar to you if I have only played this recently. But! my opinions differ a lot since I have played most wanted in all its original glory back then. Don't get me wrong bro, I did played every single NFS before this and after this game until the remake that killed the vibe. The mechanics are simple, and driving was actually fun at that time. To be honest I didn't mind one bit driving with no grip at all. Fast travel is a feature we used at start and gradually as the story progressed, ditched it entirely. I might've disabled mini map entirely at some point in the game. Roamed the city to know all the safe places and takedown opportunities. Also played the blacklist races multiple times to get all their cars in the card picks. That was fun and I agree cops can be really annoying most of the times, they started to feel like a minor inconvenience in the late game rather than being absolutely uncomfortable. Besides, they actually felt like a challenge to beat as our childish ego takes over as stars increase. That speed breaker feature is only used when I know there's a cinematic moment of sliding under a truck or dodging the cops while drifting a hairpin. AI is heavily rubber banded but I didn't find that as annoying as I did in Forza Horizon. Technically the physics system in Most Wanted is just there to provide cinematic fun filled with dramatic moments. So, I don't mind one bit of them being imperfect. I still believe this game is the best NFS game the series has to offer and represent the golden days of EA being good at publishing great games.