Then comes the road network, or ribbons as Criterion call it, which links everything together and accommodates the vehicle handling. The next step was to add specific gameplay set-pieces – an abandoned airfield, a power plant with lots of off road runs – destination areas for players to discover and experiment with. We kept the coastline, though - it's our job to make something you can memorise, so if you know the coastline is on the south, you can orientate yourself around that". But with Most Wanted, we knew it had to be based around a city. We were also inspired by California, so we wanted beautiful coastlines, forests – almost a homage back to the original Hot Pursuit games. We purposefully didn't have a city because that game was all about going 200mph through rolling beautiful curves. So in Hot Pursuit, which was quite different to Most Wanted, we knew we wanted mountains so you could drive in the snow, and we wanted desert so you'd get that Vanishing Point feel. "We start out talking about the kind of variety we want.
So how does a studio go about creating a landscape designed specifically for high speed thrills? "It's quite an interesting process," says creative director, Craig Sullivan.
NFS MOST WANTED PC RUNS LIKE SHIT FREE
And you're free to explore the entire open-world environment at your leisure, locating challenges and races en route. Brilliantly, very few of the dozens of licensed vehicles are locked at the start of the game instead, they're hidden around the enormous map – if you find them, you can keep them.
NFS MOST WANTED PC RUNS LIKE SHIT SERIES
Set in and around the sprawling metropolis of Fairhaven, Most Wanted challenges players to become the most notorious illegal racer in town, speeding through a series of illicit driving events, gathering speed points and unlocking mods. And now the development team has returned with another NFS offshoot and another scintillating interpretation. Its interpretation of NFS: Hot Pursuit sold eight million copies and introduced the brilliant Autolog social competition system, which allowed gamers to asynchronously compete for the best times. The veteran studio has been responsible for some of the best racing games of the last decade, switching from its own Burnout series in 2010 to rescue EA's long running Need For Speed brand.
We're not supposed to enjoy cars, we're supposed to put up with them.ĭiametrically opposed to this life-sapping philosophy is Need For Speed: Most Wanted, the latest anarchic drive-'em-up from Guildford-based developer, Criterion.
Escalating traffic levels have strangled the life out of urban roadways, while congestion charges and designated parking have become familiar weapons in the war against personal transport. "All cars are getaway cars" – Martin Pawley, Architects JournalĬities are designed to fulfil a lot of functions, but fun driving usually isn't one of them.