Need For Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0 Review

Need For Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0 isn’t one of the best racing games currently out for the PSP, but it’s also not of the worst. It differs most significantly to the more traditional games in regards to its wide array of car customizations and story progression. In this particular version, one’s main purpose is to become the best, and most recognized street racer while simultaneously evading patrol cars. It’s an interesting concept, but it can become tedious and irritating further into the game (~50%-60% Complete). There about 15 different top racers one has to overcome to complete the game. To challenge each of these, one must first complete their required (~3-6) missions.

Some of them are simple three-lap races, others are 3-race tournaments, and the rest are usually simple “heat” raising missions. The heat concept is also new to this version of NFS. Basically, it’s a 10-level meter (located at the bottom left of the screen) that measures one’s recklessness, and indifference for traffic enforcement. The higher it is, the more attention one will be getting from patrol cars. These police cars will constantly try to keep one from reaching the finish line via small barricades along the streets, or by tactfully hitting one‘s vehicle so as to render them immobile. Once in this state, one will only have three seconds to escape their grasp, before losing the mission.

The graphics are smooth and reasonably clean (sheen included). As with most of the games for the PSP or PPSSPP Games, the graphics aren’t really an issue; they’re not bad, but they’re not awesomely great.

The handling is very weak at the very beginning of the game, which is to be expected, but it improves as you upgrade your car. Even so, some might still find the handling a little off, particularly on some of the sharper turns. However, you’ll mostly only be driving straight, having to adjust for turns only slightly ever so often - so it might not be a big deal.

One of the more favored features of NFSMW, is its multiplayer. In infrastructure mode, it allows for two players to race against each other, with the option of also racing against two AI cars. Patrol cars can also be turned off, or left on. There are two modes of play, “Ranked,” which has the NFSMW default settings, and “Unranked,” which allows for certain regulation changes. Racing stats are only recorded in the Ranked mode. Currently, you’ll probably only find about 10-25 people online during the evenings of most days. Moreover, you can make your own races, and password-protect them if needed. While it’s true that online play could have been much better (pink slip races aren‘t available), it‘s decent enough to be fun (if only for a short while).

Overall, as a racing game, it’s worth renting, but I wouldn’t recommend purchasing it at full price. If you rent it, don’t decide that it’s good enough to buy until you complete about 50% of the game (the patrol cars at this point may be too aggressive for some). For those of you who have never
Played NFS games, beware, it might not be what you want….