NFS: Most Wanted (2012)Ĭertainly one of the most polarizing entries in the series, Criterion's Most Wanted is typically remembered by those who played it as Burnout Paradise with licensed cars. It’s a shame, because ProStreet did have a killer track list that included underappreciated gems like Japan’s Autopolis and Ebisu, the recently-revived Portland International Raceway and even the historic Avus loop in Germany. The problem for developer Black Box proved a familiar one: half-baked physics that render certain vehicles undriveable, coupled with a predisposition for gimmicks (like a minigame in which you heat up your tires before drag racing) that were no replacement for a satisfying driving experience. Released in the same year as Codemasters’ generation-defining Grid, ProStreet similarly attempts to capture a grittier side of circuit racing with a simulator flair, without the sterility of Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport. The thing about Need for Speed’s lawful turn is that it wasn’t so much a bad idea - just badly executed. Carbon, conversely, has aged into one dark, murky blur. All these years later, I can still remember my favorite cooldown spots and stretches of road in Most Wanted. The perpetual night setting certainly doesn't do Carbon any favors, nor does its personality-less metropolitan map that holds few, if any, memorable features. However, the more you play it, the more you realize it somehow also fails to recognize what made Most Wanted a fan favorite to begin with.

NFS: Carbon (2006)Īt the outset, Carbon doesn't do a whole lot to distance itself from Most Wanted before it. Instead, it added yet another notch to the franchise's long list of failed reboots. Thematically, 2015 had the conviction to redefine Need for Speed for an exciting new era. Yet, it’s all mercilessly undone, beaten and torn beyond recognition by the least intuitive handling model ever to grace a triple-A racing game. NFS 2015 had everything going for it: a clear vision, phenomenal visuals for the time and the most powerful customization engine the series had seen up to that point. Not since Capcom's Auto Modellista has a racing game so perfectly captured a flavor of car culture fans had been yearning for, yet been so inexplicably dreadful to play.

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