DISCLAIMER: Despite my small amount of hours, my SpeedPoints synced with my progress from my previous playthrough. At the time of writing, I had beaten/taken down all 10 Original Most Wanted (more on that later).

The story: There is none. Really. You're dropped into the city as a voice tells you that these 10 nameless Most Wanted rule the place; to be the best, you must race and beat all 10. By "race and beat," however, I mean that after winning a 1v1 race with a Most Wanted you must takedown their car in freeroam. No explanation why, but if you want that endgame car you have to win the race and crash it.

The progression: As you gather collectibles, find cars, complete milestones, etc. you are awarded SpeedPoints. These determine not only your rank, but also your progress to facing each OG Most wanted (the last one is 1 million pts. for reference). This is where the bulk of singleplayer gameplay is. If you're on an EA account with prior progression, however, it will pull your SpeedPoints from the cloud (NOT progression). For me, I had ~27 million; I could face each OG Most Wanted and have a high standing online to start. There is a progression tracker, and some of the content is locked behind a paywall (we'll get there).

The multiplayer: Pretty standard for an NFS title; meet with other players, race one another, etc. etc. There isn't too much to it, but the tracks in this game are pretty decent compared to some newer titles (some are locked behind a paywall I KNOW). Car customization, on the topic of multiplayer, is very limited to parts and next to nothing cosmetically (one DLC has cars with vinyls on it I'll get to the DLC I'm mad too).

Car selection: There's 41 cars that are free (yes, free only). This selection isn't bad for anyone refusing to buy the DLC; if anything, the DLC cars are just for show and do not outperform like you would assume. Each car has a selection of races (I believe 6 free 3 paid) ranging from easy to hard (it's not that hard). The difficult races are the Most Wanted ones; they lock you in at a set Heat level, with persistent cops tailing you and the competitor (and yes, you'll want the tires that reinflate because there are SPIKES). A word of caution: When racing a Most Wanted, the game will rubber band them towards you should a certain distance be achieved between you and him. This may/not affect the race results more or less, but it's important to note.

The controls: A bit floaty, but drifting is easy to manage and the nitrous system is one of the better ones. Limited fast travel to completed events and nothing more.

The nostalgia: This is the 2012 Most Wanted, not the 2005 MASTERPIECE (at this time of writing the older version is not on Steam (yet, hopefully)). My experience on this game was with the PS VITA, where I wasted hours upon days racking up more score than I realized. I also played this before the DLC was introduced.

The DLC: (Yes, this is that part.) The DLC locks you out of an AREA (the Airport), CARS (more/less a big deal), and PARTS (Drift Tires would be NICE if they weren't locked behind a paywall). Then, EA also tosses in a Pro Unlock Pack (unlock the parts' pro variants; essentially better variants with little/no cons) and a CAR unlock pack (nearly every car, at your disposal). The last 2 DLCs are cash grabs and should be ultimately AVOIDED (unless you wanted to save time and be like that). As for the others, well, let's talk.

Price: I got this game at $5 (a steal in my book) but its original price is $20. I urge you (yes, you) to buy this game during a sale. If you have the disposable income that makes you not want to wait, I raise you the Complete DLC Bundle that has all 4 paywalls for $30; buy the base game on sale, and put the savings towards the bundle. This game is 8 years old (at time of writing) and is not worth the $50.

Overall rating: 8/10
For a 2012 game, NFS: MW holds up pretty decently with the slight annoyances of controls and AI. I would've given this a 9 or even a flat out 10 if EA wasn't looking to squeeze out a few extra bucks from "timesavers" and building paywalls within gameplay. If you're an NFS fan, I encourage you to grab this game (despite not being the 2005 version).

DISCLAIMER: Despite my small amount of hours, my SpeedPoints synced with my progress from my previous playthrough. At the time of writing, I had beaten/taken down all 10 Original Most Wanted (more on that later). The story: There is none. Really. You're dropped into the city as a voice tells you that these 10 nameless Most Wanted rule the place; to be the best, you must race and beat all 10. By "race and beat," however, I mean that after winning a 1v1 race with a Most Wanted you must takedown their car in freeroam. No explanation why, but if you want that endgame car you have to win the race and crash it. The progression: As you gather collectibles, find cars, complete milestones, etc. you are awarded SpeedPoints. These determine not only your rank, but also your progress to facing each OG Most wanted (the last one is 1 million pts. for reference). This is where the bulk of singleplayer gameplay is. If you're on an EA account with prior progression, however, it will pull your SpeedPoints from the cloud (NOT progression). For me, I had ~27 million; I could face each OG Most Wanted and have a high standing online to start. There is a progression tracker, and some of the content is locked behind a paywall (we'll get there). The multiplayer: Pretty standard for an NFS title; meet with other players, race one another, etc. etc. There isn't too much to it, but the tracks in this game are pretty decent compared to some newer titles (some are locked behind a paywall I KNOW). Car customization, on the topic of multiplayer, is very limited to parts and next to nothing cosmetically (one DLC has cars with vinyls on it I'll get to the DLC I'm mad too). Car selection: There's 41 cars that are free (yes, free only). This selection isn't bad for anyone refusing to buy the DLC; if anything, the DLC cars are just for show and do not outperform like you would assume. Each car has a selection of races (I believe 6 free 3 paid) ranging from easy to hard (it's not that hard). The difficult races are the Most Wanted ones; they lock you in at a set Heat level, with persistent cops tailing you and the competitor (and yes, you'll want the tires that reinflate because there are SPIKES). A word of caution: When racing a Most Wanted, the game will rubber band them towards you should a certain distance be achieved between you and him. This may/not affect the race results more or less, but it's important to note. The controls: A bit floaty, but drifting is easy to manage and the nitrous system is one of the better ones. Limited fast travel to completed events and nothing more. The nostalgia: This is the 2012 Most Wanted, not the 2005 MASTERPIECE (at this time of writing the older version is not on Steam (yet, hopefully)). My experience on this game was with the PS VITA, where I wasted hours upon days racking up more score than I realized. I also played this before the DLC was introduced. The DLC: (Yes, this is that part.) The DLC locks you out of an AREA (the Airport), CARS (more/less a big deal), and PARTS (Drift Tires would be NICE if they weren't locked behind a paywall). Then, EA also tosses in a Pro Unlock Pack (unlock the parts' pro variants; essentially better variants with little/no cons) and a CAR unlock pack (nearly every car, at your disposal). The last 2 DLCs are cash grabs and should be ultimately AVOIDED (unless you wanted to save time and be like that). As for the others, well, let's talk. Price: I got this game at $5 (a steal in my book) but its original price is $20. I urge you (yes, you) to buy this game during a sale. If you have the disposable income that makes you not want to wait, I raise you the Complete DLC Bundle that has all 4 paywalls for $30; buy the base game on sale, and put the savings towards the bundle. This game is 8 years old (at time of writing) and is not worth the $50. Overall rating: 8/10 For a 2012 game, NFS: MW holds up pretty decently with the slight annoyances of controls and AI. I would've given this a 9 or even a flat out 10 if EA wasn't looking to squeeze out a few extra bucks from "timesavers" and building paywalls within gameplay. If you're an NFS fan, I encourage you to grab this game (despite not being the 2005 version).