Tricks And Tips For NFS: Most Wanted

Easy to play yet hard to master NFS:MW? This post is not meant for anyone except a Need for Speed: Most Wanted player; anyone else probably won't get much out of it. It's my hope that at some point a NFS:MW player will stumble upon this and get something out of it that helps him/her win the game.

The two cardinal rules to winning at Need for Speed: Most Wanted are:

1. Never hit anything.
This piece of advice applies to any racing game. If you hit things, you slow down. Hitting the wall, hitting oncoming traffic, hitting an obstacle can mean the difference between first and last place in a race. Maybe I shouldn't say "NEVER, NEVER, NEVER because there are rare exceptions to this rule, but it's pretty ironclad. Brushing the wall while cornering is better than hitting it more head on. Getting through the corner clean is better than brushing the wall. Take advantage of the Speedbreaker button to get through the sharper turns.

2. Learn the map.
You don't need to know all the streets and what their names are, but you should have a good idea of how to get from one place to another. In NFS:MW, you especially need to know where all the pursuit breakers are and how to use them. At the end of the game, in the final pursuit, you have to know how to get from Ocean Hills, the southernmost part of the city, to the final exit, north of Rosewood, without access to the big map. (More on this later.)

A major suggestion: Turn off the Game Moment Camera. While it may be fun to run into the giant tire and see it fall on the pursuing cops, your car is still moving. It is much better to be able to see where your car is actually going.

When you start your career as a street racer, you are new to the metropolis of Rockport. You are driving a BMW M3, challenging all comers to become the best street racer you can be. You begin with three races that you must win before you can advance. Just don't hit too many obstacles and you shouldn't have any problem. When cops appear in some of these races just treat them like any other racer. Don't let them slow you down too much. Wait for a clear opportunity to pass them. The fourth race is against a punk named Razor who is fifteenth on the Blacklist, a ranking of the best Rockport street racers. Razor's gang has sabotaged your car so you can't win this race. Your car will conk out on you before the finish line. You lose the race and your pinkslip to Razor and get busted. When the game continues you discover that Razor has taken your BMW and advanced to become Number One on the Blacklist. The object of the game is to move up the Blacklist and supplant Razor as the most wanted street racer.

You start the game with $30,000 - $10,000 for each of the three races at the beginning. If you have a Need for Speed: Underground 2 game saved on your memory card, you will receive an extra $10,000 to begin your career. The first step is buy a car. You have three choices: a Lexus IS 300, a Chevy Cobalt, and a Fiat Punto. If you have the Underground 2 bonus money, you can also buy a Volkswagen Golf.

Cars are pretty subjective things. What works for one person might not work for another. I've read game FAQs where they swear by the Cobalt, but I think it's the worst of the starter cars. It rides too high to suit me. I can never get it to handle the way I want. I prefer tight cars that hug the ground. If you've got the bonus money, go for the Golf. If not, buy the Punto. I've defeated most of the Blacklist opponents with both cars. The Punto might give you some problems at the beginning, but a few performance upgrades make a big difference. The Lexus is a great starter car. It'll serve you well until the latter stages of the game. By then, you should have a whole fleet of cars to choose from. Again, this is all subjective. You might love the Cobalt.

There are three races that you must win before you can challenge the first Blacklist opponent, Sonny. I recommend alternating between the races and the shops, spending your race winnings on upgrades to your car. Run the races as many times as you need to in order to get your car fixed up. Concentrate on performance parts.

Types of Races:
Circuit: Usually two to four laps around the same course.
Sprint: A race from point A to point B.
Lap Knockout: A circuit race. On each lap the driver that is in last place is eliminated.
Tollbooth: There are a series of tollbooths on the course. You have to make it to the next tollbooth in the allotted time.
Speedtrap: There are a series of speedtraps on the course. The goal is to register the top total speed through the traps. Save your nitrous until you have a clear path to the trap, then blast through it. You don't have to cross the finish line first, but you lose speed for every second back you finish. The timing of your nitrous is critical. If you hit it early be sure you don't hit anything to slow yourself down before the trap.
Drag: A drag race. Your car will automatically follow the curves of the track. You use your steering to change lanes to avoid obstacles - mainly other vehicles. Timing of your shifts and nitrous is critical. I prefer to use my nitrous in short bursts to get to the next gear quickly.

Available free on 9game, Need for Speed™ Most Wanted is a game you should install today.