History VideoGame / NeedForSpeedMostWanted

** HeroAntagonist: Sergeant Cross. Although his behavior slides him more into AntiHero territory.

This game's plot is [[ExcusePlot way more bare-bones]] by comparison. After a woman's voice welcomes you to the city of Fairhaven and tells you a bit about how things work there, you drive your Aston Martin V12 Vantage over Connors Bridge, past an inactive toll booth, through a pair of tunnels, and arrive in Downtown Fairhaven. Coming up to your first Jack Spot, you quickly switch over to a Porsche 911 Carrera S and have a duel with the Aston Martin that you just arrived in. After beating it (hopefully considering it's an easy race), the woman explains about mods, [=EasyDrive=], Speed Points, billboards, speed cameras, smash gates, the police, and the Most Wanted List (this game's version of the Blacklist), you are then free to do whatever you want to go up the ranks to beat and earn the "Most Wanted" cars. Yeah, not much to work with really; ''Need for Speed: Most Wanted -- [[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt A Criterion Game]]'' is really a SpiritualSuccessor to the equally-storyless ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}} Paradise''.

** The 2012 game has license plates based off of Criterion's previous racing games. Also, the arrivals/departures board at Hughes International Airport list previous locales from past ''Need for Speed'' games as destinations, as well as Paradise City from ''Burnout Paradise''.

* WantedMeter: The 2005 game introduced the "Heat levels", which ranges from 1, the municipal police {{Mook}}s, to 6, the undercover federal police. This was reintroduced to its' sequel, ''Carbon'', and followed suit through ''Undercover'', ''World'', and was eventually reused in the 2012 game.
* [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys Where Do They Get All These Wonderful Toys?]]: It's insane to believe that the government would use expensive Corvette C6s (Z06 models in 2012) as '''FEDERAL''' cruisers. Since they are reserved to be used against the most dangerous drivers, it's natural for the governmental bill to climb into the ''millions''.

[[quoteright:325:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/need_for_speed_most_wanted_covers_490.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:325:Are you ready to be the Most Wanted?[softreturn][[note]](2005 on the left with the BMW, 2012 on the right with the white Porsche and the black Aston Martin.)[[/note]]]]

* ProductPlacement: In 2005, the player uses a Cingular (which today would be AT&T) cellphone, and there's plenty of Burger King ads scattered around: shops, ads, even '''blimps'''. There were even some inaccessible garages themed with Castrol branding on them. Also, let's not forget the ''many'' decals of car mod-producing companies such as Brembo and HKS that you can add to your car. At this rate, you can probably create a NASCAR replica!

* RareVehicles: The Porsche 911 [=GT2=], Chevrolet Corvette C6.R and, of course, the BMW M3 GTR E46.

*** ''Most Wanted U'' on - you guessed it - the Wii U adds three hidden warp pipes from the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series scattered across Fairhaven. The first has a blue and red Ariel Atom, the second has a pink Caterham, and the last has a green BAC Mono. All of these are based on the colors of Mario, Princess Peach and Yoshi, respectively. Each of the rooms has items related to each character as well; Mario's has girders from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'', Peach's has a crown, and Yoshi's has an egg. Also notice how all the hidden cars are in the track-day car class; the closest thing to [[VideoGame/MarioKart go-karts]]. Even the color schemes match.

* {{Bowdlerize}}: The game censored a lot of its' music. Which makes sense, considering their nature.
* BrokenBridge: The road leading to [[spoiler:Palmont City]] is sealed out [[spoiler:until the final pursuit]]. There are mods that leave it open, at all times, though.

'''''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: Most Wanted''''' is the name of two street {{Racing Game}}s published by Creator/ElectronicArts. The first ''Most Wanted'' was developed by then-main ''NFS'' developer EA Black Box and released on November 27, 2005 for MicrosoftWindows, PlayStation2, Nintendo GameCube, {{Xbox}}, and {{Xbox 360}}, the last of which had this game as one of its launch titles. It gained fame for being the first tuner culture game by EA that lets the player drive during daytime and to be chased by the police. A second ''Most Wanted'', which was a more socially-focused, much less story-driven reinterpretation of the 2005 game, was developed by Creator/CriterionGames and released on PlayStation3, Xbox 360,[[note]]The only-non-PC platform to have received both ''Most Wanted'' games, not counting the release of the 2005 game's PS2 version on PS3.[[/note]] Windows, and PlayStationVita on October 30, 2012, with a WiiU version entitled ''Most Wanted [[SuperTitle64Advance U]]'' released in 2013. There was also a mobile version of that game developed by Firemonkeys Studios. Since Criterion's game has less of a story, most of this page will cover the 2005 game.

The main plot of the 2005 game involves [[FeaturelessProtagonist the Player]] arriving in the city of [[WretchedHive Rockport]] with his blue and silver [[CoolCar BMW M3 GTR (E46)]][[note]]Which is also a rare ''racing version'' of the car![[/note]] alongside [[MsFanservice Mia Townsend]], in her own Mazda RX-8 Mazdaspeed. After a close encounter with [[HeroAntagonist Sergeant]] [[DirtyCop Cross]], he runs into resident {{Jerkass}} [[BigBad Clarence "Razor" Callahan]], who [[BullyingADragon doesn't waste a second to insult the player]]. Mia tells him to simply race against the player to prove who's better, but Razor simply reminds her that he's Number 15 on the Blacklist, and thus the player cannot challenge him until he has a notable reputation. The player begins building a fame, meeting Rog on the way, and eventually manages to challenge Razor, who reminds him that [[AllOrNothing the winner gets the loser's car]]. Needless to say, Razor [[HopelessBossFight cheated and tampered with your BMW's oil system]], causing your car to malfunction and therefore lose the race. Finally, of course, to rub salt into the wound, you're arrested by none other than Cross.

The 2012 game's plot is [[ExcusePlot way more bare-bones]] by comparison. After a woman's voice welcomes you to the city of Fairhaven and tells you a bit about how things work there, you drive your Aston Martin V12 Vantage over Connors Bridge, past an inactive toll booth, through a pair of tunnels, and arrive in Downtown Fairhaven. Coming up to your first Jack Spot, you quickly switch over to a Porsche 911 Carrera S and have a duel with the Aston Martin that you just arrived in. After beating it (hopefully considering it's an easy race), the woman explains about mods, [=EasyDrive=], Speed Points, billboards, speed cameras, smash gates, the police, and the Most Wanted List (this game's version of the Blacklist), you are then free to do whatever you want to go up the ranks to beat and earn the "Most Wanted" cars. Yeah, not much to work with really; ''Need for Speed: Most Wanted -- [[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt A Criterion Game]]'' is really a SpiritualSuccessor to the equally-storyless ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}} Paradise''.

** {{Defied|Trope}} in the single-player mode of ''Most Wanted'' 2012 with the Jack Spots. All cars in the game are immediately drivable after you complete a quick-and-easy tutorial race and find where each of them are on the map (except for the titular "Most Wanted" cars and any non-purchased DLC cars).

*** ''Most Wanted U'' on - you guessed it - the Wii U adds three hidden warp pipes from the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros series scattered across Fairhaven. The first has a blue and red Ariel Atom, the second has a pink Caterham, and the last has a green BAC Mono. All of these are based on the colors of Mario, Princess Peach and Yoshi, respectively. Each of the rooms has items related to each character as well; Mario's has girders from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'', Peach's has a crown, and Yoshi's has an egg. Also notice how all the hidden cars are in the track-day car class; the closest thing to [[VideoGame/MArioKArt go-karts]]. Even the color schemes match.

** Also, in the United States, EA held a special promotion with Slim Jim. Specially-marked packages of the beef jerky had a code which contained a code that allowed players to unlock content in certain EA games. ''Most Wanted'' 2012's Slim Jim content unlocked a 2012 Dodge Charger [=SRT8=] for use in multiplayer only.

* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Hitting a cruiser's front half in a roadblock is usually considered suicide.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: As detailed in the ''Bullying A Dragon'' section. The only one who even somewhat mellows down is, ironically enough, Razor himself.[[note]]Although that's mostly due to his VillainousBreakdown, as in the end of the game he [[spoiler:refuses to give you the keys to your car.]][[/note]]

* [[InfinityMinusOneSword Infinity Minus One Car]]: If you win Ming's[[note]]Blacklist #6[[/note]] Lamborghini Gallardo, it comes with most of all of the final performance upgrades available for cars that aren't supposed to be unlocked until after you beat Ronnie. The car unmodified from its initial setup is enough to get you through the next few Blacklist targets easy, and it saves you money so you can buy one of the final cars when you need to. You will definitely want to [[SaveScumming Save Scum]] for this one.

* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: When you ram and make a police car flip. Several times. Especially during roadblocks.
** GettingCrapPastTheRadar: However, if you approach said police car, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything you'll notice that the driver]] '''[[HesDeadJim isn't inside anymore.]]'''

* [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys Where Do They Get All These Wonderful Toys?]]: It's insane to believe that the government would use expensive Corvette Z06s as '''FEDERAL''' cruisers. Since they are reserved to be used against the most dangerous drivers, it's natural for the governmental bill to climb into the ''millions''.

* DownloadableContent: Along with the day-one Timesavers Pack, this game[[labelnote:*]]except for the [=PlayStation=] Vita version[[/labelnote]] received four DLC packs:

*** The ''Need for Speed Heroes'' Pack contains cars that were on the covers of some ''NFS'' games: the Lamborghini Diablo SV from ''Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit'',[[note]]Interestingly the only car in this pack to not come from an EA Black Box game.[[/note]] a Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 V-Spec II based on Eddie's 2000 Skyline from ''Need for Speed: Underground'', a 2006 Nissan 350Z based on Rachel Teller's 2003 model from ''Need for Speed: Underground 2'', a Porsche 911 GT2 (997) based on Rose Largo's Porsche from ''Need for Speed: Undercover'', and what else fits the "Most Wanted" title in this pack but the leading BMW from the 2005 game. Also unique to the cars in this pack is that they have each five different liveries (not colors); [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5evpDu3ic4U "Urban", "Street", "Race", "Abstract", and "Hero".]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Burnout Paradise''. Collectables? Check. Wicked jumps? Check. Menus that can be navigated without pausing? Uh, huh. Big emphasis on online multiplayer? Definitely. Instant repair shops? Yep, and they change your car's paint in single-player. DLC packs that added cars (including a pack that references pop culture icons) and even a new area? You bet. NoPlotNoProblem

* QuicksandBox: After beating the 2005 game

'''''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: Most Wanted''''' is the name of two street {{Racing Game}}s published by Creator/ElectronicArts. The first ''Most Wanted'' was developed by then-main ''NFS'' developer EA Black Box and released on November 27, 2005 for MicrosoftWindows, PlayStation2, Nintendo GameCube, {{Xbox}}, and {{Xbox 360}}, the last of which had this game as one of its launch titles. It gained fame for being the first tuner culture game by EA that lets the player drive during daytime and to be chased by the police. A second ''Most Wanted'', which was a more socially-focused, much less story-driven reinterpretation of the 2005 game, was developed by Creator/CriterionGames and released on PlayStation3, Xbox 360,[[note]]The only-non-PC platform to have received both ''Most Wanted'' games, not counting the release of the 2005 game's PS2 version on PS3[[/note]] Windows, and PlayStationVita on October 30, 2012, with a WiiU version entitled ''Most Wanted [[SuperTitle64Advance U]]'' released in 2013. There was also a mobile version of that game developed by Firemonkeys Studios. Since Criterion's game has less of a story, most of this page will cover the 2005 game.

*** And in Career Mode, where Rog tells you that a lot of people are placing bets in the imminent race between you and Razor, and that "people as far as Bayview are throwin' cash down on this".

** There are ways to increase a car's "lives"[[note]]"Impound Strikes" as they are called in-game[[/note]] and to [[DirtyCop make the police ignore the chase and let you escape scot-free]], but not only Lady Luck decides if you get those or not, but you only have 14 chances to get them.

** Jump is a DLC-only variant of Burn that works better in the air and worse on the ground. The Pro version even produces colored smoke in the air!

**
* ProductPlacement: In 2005, the player uses a Cingular (which today would be AT&T) cellphone, and there's plenty of Burger King ads scattered around: shops, ads, '''blimps'''... There were even some inaccessible garages themed with Castrol branding on them. Also, let's not forget the ''many'' decals of car mod-producing companies such as Brembo and HKS that you can add to your car. At this rate, you can probably create a NASCAR replica!

**

* SecondHourSuperpower: The Lexus IS-300, the Fiat Punto and the Chevrolet Cobalt SS are all options for you at the end of the prologue. Additionally, if you played the previous game (''Underground 2'') on a non-Xbox 360 platform, the Volkswagen Golf is added to the roster.

** GettingCrapPastTheRadar: However, if you approach said police car, '''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything you'll notice that the driver]] [[HesDeadJim isn't inside anymore.]]'''

* [[SlapOnTheWristNuke Slap-on-the-Wrist Stinger]]: Averted. If you put even one tire in the stinger, it's Game Over for you.

->'''Razor''': [[spoiler:[[http://youtu.be/1v-dtFc7O80?t=2m26s I know what your game is, punk. You're sellin' us out, big surprise! I don't know how, but ya are! For that, you're gonna pay! You ain't never gonna get to the top, ever! You can count on that! You're gonna '''burn'''!]]]]

*** The ''Movie Legends'' Pack contains vehicles that were made famous in different films: two [[Film/JamesBond Aston Martins]] (the [=DB5=] and the DBS), the [[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Dodge Charger R/T]], the [[Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit Pontiac Firebird Trans Am]] and the pack's "Most Wanted" car, [[Film/GoneInSixtySeconds2000 the 1967 Shelby GT500]].
*** The ''Need for Speed Heroes'' Pack contains cars that were on the cover of some ''NFS'' games: the Lamborghini Diablo SV from ''Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit'',[[note]]Interestingly the only car in this pack to not come from an EA Black Box game.[[/note]] a Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 V-Spec II based on Eddie's 2000 Skyline from ''Need for Speed: Underground'', a 2006 Nissan 350Z based on Rachel Teller's 2003 model from ''Need for Speed: Underground 2'', a Porsche 911 GT2 (997) based on Rose Largo's Porsche from ''Need for Speed: Undercover'', and what else fits the "Most Wanted" title in this pack but the leading BMW from the 2005 game. Also unique to the cars in this pack is that they have each five different liveries (not colors); [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5evpDu3ic4U "Urban", "Street", "Race", "Abstract", and "Hero".]]

The 2012 game's plot is [[ExcusePlot way more bare-bones]] by comparison. After a woman's voice welcomes you to the city of Fairhaven and tells you a bit about how things work there, you drive your Aston Martin V12 Vantage over Connors Bridge, past an inactive toll booth, through a pair of tunnels, and arrive in Downtown Fairhaven. Coming up to your first Jack Spot, you quickly switch over to a Porsche 911 Carrera S and have a duel with the Aston Martin that you just arrived in. After beating it (hopefully considering it's an easy race), the woman explains about mods, [=EasyDrive=], Speed Points, billboards, speed cameras, smash gates, the police, and the Most Wanted List (this game's version of the Blacklist), you are then free to do whatever you want to go up the ranks to beat and earn the "Most Wanted" cars. Yeah, not much to work with really; ''Need for Speed: Most Wanted -- [[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt A Criterion Game]]'' is really a SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}} Paradise''.

* RoadBlock: Probably one of the best ways to ramp up your Bounty and Cost-to-State in the 2005 game, and Speed Points in the 2012 game. Just watch out for the spike strips.

* ItsAlwaysSpring: Inverted. The game is actually set during autumn for the entire plot, as evidenced by the orange trees scattered around Rosewood and the leaves spanning across Rockport's streets.

* [[AlwaysNight Always Noon]]: The game starts out in midday, goes to sunset, ''skips to sunrise'', and goes back to midday.

* [[ATasteOfPower First Hour Superpower]]: The BMW M3 GTR, before you lose it in the sabotaged race. [[spoiler:Later it returns as the EleventhHourSuperpower in the final pursuit. Comes pre-packed with custom performance mods added by Razor!]]
** SecondHourSuperpower: The Lexus IS-300, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment the]] Fiat Punto and [[OverlyLongGag the]] Chevrolet Cobalt SS are all options for you at the end of the prologue. Additionally, if you played the previous game on non-Xbox 360 platforms, ''Underground 2'', the Volkswagen Golf is added to the roster.

* PopTheTires: Spike strips; losing even ''one'' tire means GameOver.

* SloMoBigAir: As detailed in Camera Screw.
* VanityLicensePlate: All cars have "NFSMW" in their license plates. Even the police.
** Razor also added a vanity license plate to your M3 as shown in a cutscene, spelling - you guessed it - "RAZOR".
* TheVoiceless: None other than the player.

'''''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: Most Wanted''''' is the name of two street {{Racing Game}}s published by Creator/ElectronicArts. The first ''Most Wanted'' was developed by then-main ''NFS'' developer EA Black Box and released on November 27, 2005 for MicrosoftWindows, PlayStation2, Nintendo GameCube, {{Xbox}}, and {{Xbox 360}}, the last of which had this game as one of its launch titles. It gained fame for being the first tuner-culture game by EA that lets the player drive during daytime and to be chased by the police. A second ''Most Wanted'', which was a more socially-focused, much less story-driven reinterpretation of the 2005 game, was developed by Creator/CriterionGames and released on PlayStation3, Xbox 360,[[note]]The only-non-PC platform to have received both ''Most Wanted'' games, not counting the release of the 2005 game's PS2 version on PS3[[/note]] Windows, and PlayStationVita on October 30, 2012, with a WiiU version entitled ''Most Wanted [[SuperTitle64Advance U]]'' released in 2013. There was also a mobile version of that game developed by Firemonkeys Studios. Since Criterion's game has less of a story, most of this page will cover the 2005 game.

[[folder:''Most Wanted'' 2005]]

[[folder:''Most Wanted'' 2012 -- ''A Criterion Game'']]

** The 2012 game has license plates based off of Criterion's previous racing games.

* ProductPlacement: In 2005, the player uses a Cingular cellphone, and there's plenty of Burger King ads scattered around: shops, ads, '''blimps'''... There were even some inaccessible garages themed with Castrol branding on them. Also, let's not forget the ''many'' decals of car mod-producing companies such as Brembo and HKS that you can add to your car. At this rate, you can probably create a NASCAR replica!

* ItsAlwaysSpring: Inverted. The game is actually set on Autumn for the entire plot, as evidenced by the orange trees scattered around Rosewood and the leaves spanning across Rockport's streets.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Courtesy of RubberBandAI.

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: There are an awful lot of lines for the police to use when they're chasing you. For instance, it's reasonable for them to call out when you're heading into a small, specific area, such as the bus station. But there are also different lines if you ever return there. Also, if you hit the car that spots you before its driver can say his first line, rather than chasing you because you're a speeder, he'll say he's chasing you because you rammed him.

* [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist Getting Arrested Is a Slap on the Wrist]]: Averted brutally. You actually have a limit on how many times a car can be stopped by the police[[note]]By default it is 3, but it can be increased up to 5[[/note]], and if you ''do'' get arrested, you have to pay all the fines you accumulated with that car, which, depending on how reckless you are, can render you bankrupt. Let's not forget that, if all your cars are taken by the police, [[GameOver you lose the game]].
** There are ways to increase a car's "lives"[[note]]"Impound Strikes" as they are called in-game[[/note]] and to [[DirtyCop make the police ignore the chase and let you escape scot-free]], but not only Lady Luck decides if you get those or not, but you only have 14 chances to get them.

* [[ATasteOfPower First Hour Superpower]]: The BMW M3 GTR, before you lose it in the sabotaged Race. [[spoiler:Later it returns as the EleventhHourSuperpower in the final pursuit. Comes pre-packed with custom performance mods added by Razor!]]
** SecondHourSuperpower: The Lexus IS-300, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment the]] Fiat Punto and [[OverlyLongGag the]] Chevrolet Cobalt SS are all options for you at the end of the prologue. Additionally, if you played the prequel, NFS Underground 2, the Volkswagen Golf is added to the roster.
* GoddamnedBats: Pretty much traffic. Especially during drag races, as noted in ''Everything Trying to Kill You''.

* NintendoHard: Earl's boss race. Dear Lord.
* NitroBoost: Well, of course...

* OldSaveBonus: As detailed above, you'll get $10,000 if you have ''Need for Speed: Underground 2'' installed on your computer or have a save file on your console's memory card, allowing you to use the Volkswagen Golf as your Second Hour Superpower.

* RoadBlock: Probably one of the best ways to ramp up your Bounty and Cost-to-State in the game. Just watch out for the spike strips.
* SceneryPorn: Averted, considering how Rockport is a city falling apart.
* ShoutOut: Along with the numerous references to ''Underground 2'', the game also has a very famous reference to ''Film/TheProfessional''.
->'''Cross''': I want every single unit after this guy.
->'''Partner''': ...everyone?
->'''Cross''': '''[[VillainousBreakdown EVERYONE!]]'''

'''''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: Most Wanted''''' is the name of two street {{Racing Game}}s published by Creator/ElectronicArts. The first ''Most Wanted'' was developed by then-main ''NFS'' developer EA Black Box and released on November 27, 2005 for MicrosoftWindows, PlayStation2, Nintendo GameCube, {{Xbox}}, and {{Xbox 360}}, the last of which had this game as one of its launch titles. It gained fame for being the first tuner-culture game by EA that lets the player drive during daytime and to be chased by the police. A second ''Most Wanted'', which was a more socially-focused, much less story-driven reinterpretation of the 2005 game, was developed by Creator/CriterionGames and released on PlayStation3, Xbox 360, Windows, and PlayStationVita on October 30, 2012, with a WiiU version entitled ''Most Wanted [[SuperTitle64Advance U]]'' released in 2013. There was also a mobile version of that game developed by Firemonkeys Studios. Since Criterion's game has less of a story, most of this page will cover the 2005 game.

* CallBack: Bayview, the setting of ''Need for Speed: Underground 2'', is mentioned twice in this game:
** In one of the challenge series, when you're actually working for the police and trying to beat the Bayview police's time;
** And in Career Mode, where Rog tells you that a lot of people are placing bets in the imminent race between you and Razor, and that "people as far as Bayview are throwin' cash down on this".

*** The ''Movie Legends'' Pack contains vehicles that were made famous in different films: two [[Film/JamesBond Aston Martins]] (the DB5 and the DBS), the [[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Dodge Charger R/T]], the [[Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit Pontiac Firebird Trans Am]] and the pack's "Most Wanted" car, [[Film/GoneInSixtySeconds2000 the 1967 Shelby GT500]].

** Also, in the United States, EA held a special promotion with Slim Jim. Specially-marked packages of the beef jerky had a code which contained a code that allowed players to unlock content in certain EA games. ''Most Wanted'' 2012's Slim Jim content unlocked a 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 for use in multiplayer only.

After you rise through the ranks and finally beat Razor, [[spoiler:Mia reveals herself to be an undercover cop working for the Rockport Police Department and has the street racers under arrest, having used you as an UnwittingPawn to help bring down the Blacklist. Feeling sorry for stabbing you in the back, she throws you the keys to your BMW, allowing you to escape from being arrested on-the-spot. However, Cross calls for the entirety of the police department to come down on you at Heat Level 6. A few minutes into the pursuit, Mia then calls you to escape the city by jumping over a BrokenBridge near the baseball stadium in Rosewood that has been closed off for the entire game. Your drive your car over to the road, jump over the gap, and leave Rockport for good. Cross has you listed on the FBI's Most Wanted list soon after,]] [[SequelHook setting up the events]] of ''Need for Speed: Carbon''.

* ProductPlacement: 2005 had some inaccessible garages themed with Castrol branding while 2012 had a large drive-through "K&N Workshop".

** By far, however, the worst offender is Ronnie. You have alterady defeated him once in the prologue([[EasierThanEasy In which he wasn't even]] ''[[WarmUpBoss trying]]'' to win), defeated hundreads of racers, mowed down entire hordes of police, and took down ''12 members of the Blacklist'' to get to him, and guess what he says when he challenges you?

* CallBack: Bayview, the setting of Need for Speed Underground 2, is mentioned two times in this game:

* CrapsackWorld: If you take a critical look at Rockport... the ammount of illegal street racers is rampant, there's a lot of damage caused by them, and to top it, there's also a lot of economical unbalances in the city.[[note]]Rosewood Center, North Camden and West Downtown are all richer than South Rosewood, South Camden, East Downtown, and all of Gray Point.[[/note]]

* DifficultySpike: Quite amusingly present in an actual shape of a spike. The first rivals you beat, Sonny and Taz[[note]]Blacklists No.15 and 14, respectively[[/note]], are laughably easy to defeat. However, when you challenge Vic[[note]]Blacklist No.13, as you have guessed.[[/note]], things start to get tough. Eventually, it goes UpToEleven at Earl[[note]]Blacklist No.9[[/note]], who is considered to be the single hardest opponent to defeat in the game. However, afterwards the difficulty begins loosening up, and the later Blacklist members are much easier to defeat than the middle ones(albeit still tougher than the first two).

* DudeWheresMyRespect: As detailed in the ''Bullying A Dragon'' section. The only one who even somewhat mellows down is, ironically enough, Razor himself[[note]]Although that's mostly due to his Villainous Breakdown, as in the end of the game he [[spoiler:refuses to give you the keys to your car.]][[/note]].

* [[InfinityMinusOneSword Infinity Minus One Car]]: If you win Ming's[[note]]Blacklist No.6[[/note]] Lamborghini Gallardo, it comes with most of all of the final performance upgrades available for cars that aren't supposed to be unlocked until after you beat Ronnie. The car unmodified from its initial setup is enough to get you through the next few Blacklist targets easy, and it saves you money so you can buy one of the final cars when you need to. You will definitely want to [[SaveScumming Save Scum]] for this one.

* InMediasRes: The prologue is exactly like this. It starts in the first race between you and Razor, then as soon as Mia notifies you of the [[OhCrap leaking oil]], the game skips back 6 days earlier to show how you got tangled in all of this mess.
** CasanovaWannabe: He constantly tries to use his [=Jerkass=] personality to pry Mia from your side to his. Fortunately, he fails miserably at the job, but he doesn't give up. [[spoiler:He even tries to flirt his way out when she is arresting him, and when THAT fails, he tries to force a kiss on her. Fortunately, Cross appears to her rescue.]]

* MightyGlacier: Challenge No.46 featured a cost-to-state mission where the player has to drive a garbage truck. Sure, it's hilariously slow, but its' huge size makes it very easy for taking down any cop that dares get in your way.

* ProductPlacement: The player uses a Cingular cellphone, and there's plenty of Burger King ads scattered around: Shops, Ads, '''Blimps'''...
** Let's not forget the ''many'' decals of car mod-producing companies such as Brembo and HKS that you can add to your car. At this rate, you can probably create a NASCAR replica!
* RareVehicles: The Porsche 911 [=GT2=], Chevrolet Corvette C6.R and, of course, the BMW M3 GTR ALMS.

** The ''Ultimate Speed'' Pack released on December 18, 2012 added five cars that had [[RareVehicle limited production runs]], although a couple of them are variants of cars already in the games. The standard cars of the pack are the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, the Lamborghini Aventador J, the [=McLaren=] F1 [=LM=], and the Pagani Zonda R, while the "Most Wanted" car is the Veyron Super Sport-rivaling Hennessey Venom GT Spyder. This pack was included in ''Most Wanted U'' as standard, but the Wii U version didn't receive any of the other DLC packs.

** While ''Most Wanted'' game doesn't have the aftermarket customization that Black Box-era fans love, the better, more modern graphics of Criterion's game just shows how gorgeous its cars look. Hell, even the traffic looks good!

** While ''Most Wanted'' 2012 game doesn't have the aftermarket customization that Black Box-era fans love, the better, more modern graphics of Criterion's game just shows how gorgeous its cars look. Hell, even the traffic looks good!

The main plot of the 2005 game involves [[FeaturelessProtagonist the Player]] arriving in the city of [[WretchedHive Rockport]] with his blue and silver [[CoolCar BMW M3 GTR (E46)]][[note]]Which is also a rare ''racing version'' of the car![[/note]] alongside [[MsFanservice Mia Townsend]], in her own Mazda RX-8 Mazdaspeed. After a close encounter with [[HeroAntagonist Sergeant]] [[DirtyCop Cross]], he runs into resident {{Jerkass}} [[BigBad Clarence "Razor" Callahan]], who [[BullyingADragon doesn't waste a second to insult the player]]. Mia tells him to simply race against the player to prove who's better, but Razor simply reminds her that he's Number 15 on the Blacklist, and thus the player cannot challenge him until he has a notable reputation. The player begins building a fame, meeting Rog on the way, and eventually manages to challenge Razor, who reminds him that [[AllOrNothing the winner gets the loser's car]]. Needless to say, Razor [[HopelessBossFight cheated and tampered with your BMW's oil system]], causing your car to malfunction and therefore lose the race. And, of course, to rub salt into the wound, you're arrested by none other than Cross.

The game's multiplayer mode plays differently in terms of progression and events. Cars are unlocked based on your level accumulated through Speed Points earned in both single-player and multiplayer (rather than just finding cars at Jack Spots like in single-player), events are played though playlists of five events each, and public sessions are completely computer-controlled, among other differences.

** The ''Ultimate Speed'' Pack added five cars that had [[RareVehicle limited production runs]], although a couple of them are variants of cars already in the games. The standard cars of the pack are the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, Lamborghini Aventador J, [=McLaren=] F1 [=LM=], and Pagani Zonda R, while the "Most Wanted" car is the Veyron Super Sport-rivaling Hennessey Venom GT Spyder. This pack was included in ''Most Wanted U'' as standard, but the Wii U version didn't receive any of the other DLC packs.
** The other three paid DLC were released on the same day.

** While ''Most Wanted'' 2012 game doesn't have the aftermarket customization that Black Box-era fans love, the better, more modern graphics of Criterion's game just shows how gorgeous they look. Even the traffic looks good!

* ShoutOut: Along with the numerous references to ''Underground 2'', the game also has a very famous reference to Film/TheProfessional.

%%* DownloadableContent: Along with the day-one Timesavers Pack, this game received four DLC packs:
%%** The ''Ultimate Speed'' Pack added four

Later on, Mia comes to pick you up from the police station after you're released due to lack of evidence,[[note]]You don't have a car anymore, how could Cross prove that you're a street racer?[[/note]] but of course, [[YouCantThwartStageOne not before Razor skyrockets to the top of the Blacklist with your car]]. However, you can get [[SecondHourSuperpower your first car]] and have a crack at defeating the Blacklist and evade the police. All you have are your skills, your [[BulletTime Speedbreaker]] ability, your car, Rog, and Mia. You're going to need all that to beat the odds. It's you against the entire city, racers, police and civilians alike.

* CoolCar: None other than the BMW M3 GTR.
** Pretty much any car can be this if you modify them - and the later ones can be awesome even when stock!

* [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist Getting Arrested Is A Slap On The Wrist]]: Averted brutally. You actually have a limit on how many times a car can be stopped by the police[[note]]By default it is 3, but it can be increased up to 5[[/note]], and if you ''do'' get arrested, you have to pay all the fines you accumulated with that car, which, depending on how reckless you are, can render you bankrupt. Let's not forget that, if all your cars are taken by the police, [[GameOver you lose the game]].

->Copy 92, detailing Tropes now.
->Dispatch, the suspect evaded indexing 20 minutes ago.

[[caption-width-right:325:Are you ready to be the Most Wanted?]]
'''''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: Most Wanted''''' is the name of two street {{Racing Game}}s published by Creator/ElectronicArts. The first ''Most Wanted'' was developed by then-perennial ''NFS'' developer EA Black Box and released on November 27, 2005 for MicrosoftWindows, PlayStation2, Nintendo GameCube, {{Xbox}}, and {{Xbox 360}}, the last of which had this game as one of its launch titles. It gained fame for being the first tuner-culture game by EA that lets the player drive during daytime and to be chased by the police. A second ''Most Wanted'', which was a more socially-focused, much less story-driven reinterpretation of the 2005 game, was developed by Creator/CriterionGames and released on PlayStation3, Xbox 360, Windows, and PlayStationVita on October 30, 2012, with a WiiU version entitled ''Most Wanted U'' released in 2013.

The main plot of the 2005 game involves [[FeaturelessProtagonist the Player]] arriving in the city of [[WretchedHive Rockport]] with his [[CoolCar BMW M3 GTR (E46)]][[note]]Which is also a rare ''racing version'' of the car![[/note]] alongside [[MsFanservice Mia Townsend]], in her own Mazda RX-8 Mazdaspeed. After a close encounter with [[HeroAntagonist Sergeant]] [[DirtyCop Cross]], he runs into resident {{Jerkass}} [[BigBad Clarence "Razor" Callahan]], who [[BullyingADragon doesn't waste a second to insult the player]]. Mia tells him to simply race against the player to prove who's better, but Razor simply reminds her that he's Number 15 on the Blacklist, and thus the player cannot challenge him until he has a notable reputation. The player begins building a fame, meeting Rog on the way, and eventually manages to challenge Razor, who reminds him that [[AllOrNothing the winner gets the loser's car]]. Needless to say, Razor [[HopelessBossFight cheated and tampered with your BMW's oil system]], causing your car to malfunction and therefore lose the race. And, of course, to rub salt into the wound, you're arrested by none other than Cross.

Later on, Mia comes to pick you up from the police station after you're released due to lack of evidence[[note]]You don't have a car anymore, how could Cross prove that you're a street racer?[[/note]] - but of course, [[YouCantThwartStageOne not before Razor skyrockets to the top of the Blacklist with your car]] - so you can get [[SecondHourSuperpower your first car]] and have a crack at defeating the Blacklist and evade the police. All you have are your skills, your [[BulletTime Speedbreaker]] ability, your car, Rog, and Mia. And you're going to need all that to beat the odds. It's you against the entire city, racers, police and civilians alike.

!!10-85, we need those Tropes here now!
* ItsAlwaysSpring: Inverted. The game is actually set on Autumn for the entire plot, as evidenced by the orange trees scattered around Rosewood and the leaves spanning the entire Rockport streets.

** Cross also qualifies, although he's more of a secondary villian than a proper one.

* BullyingADragon: The whole crux of the storyline. You have alterady defeated Ronnie, Bull, Rog and two other anonymous racers, yet Razor still continues making fun of you, and his colleagues say you're "all show and no go" ''even though Razor cheated to win''. [[TooDumbToLive And they continue to make fun of you even as they see the Blacklist being defeated one by one at your hands]].

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Drag races. They are ''[[UpToEleven bloated]]'' with traffic comming in and out, changing lanes unexpectedly, and the occasional truck or van crossing the road requiring precision timing to nail the passage. It doesn't help that the entire race requires manual shifting and that the car usually refuses to steer no matter what. [[http://youtu.be/-vX6n1Ps4lM Here is an example.]]

* MsFanservice: Mia has the tendency to wear clothes that don't cover much of her body. This is taken to the apex in the first race against Razor in the prologue, where she is wearing a ''bikini top''. Nevermind that it's autumn, considering how most characters seem to have no problem in wearing T-shirts.

* OldSaveBonus: As detailed above, you'll get $10,000 if you have Need for Speed: Underground 2 installed in your computer/memory card, allowing you to use the Volkswagen Golf as your Second Hour Superpower.
* PopTheTires: Spikestrips. Losing even ''one'' tire means GameOver.

* RoadBlock: Probably one of the best ways to ramp up your Bounty and Cost-to-State in the game. Just watch out for the spikestrips.

* ShoutOut: Along with the numerous references to Underground 2, the game also has a very famous reference to {{Film/The Professional}}.

* VillainousBreakdown: Foreshadowed in the first stages. Rog calls you up to tell that someone is spreading a rumor that [[spoiler:you're working for the police]]. Later on, Razor calls you and [[spoiler:reveals his identity in which he was the one who's accusing you of working for the 5-O. He then "turns the tables" and gets the car you're using to Police Heat Level 5, the highest at the time]]. Then, at the final stage, Razor is so desesperate that he calls you to attempt to insult you, but just demonstrates that he's [[SanitySlippage flipping out]].

[[quoteright:297:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nfsmwcover_1354.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:297:Are you ready to be the Most Wanted?]]
'''{{VideoGame/Need for Speed}}: Most Wanted''' is a street racing game launched in November 27, 2005, by Electronic Arts. It gained fame for being the first tuner-culture game by EA that lets the player drive during daytime and to be chased by the police.

The main plot involves [[FeaturelessProtagonist the Player]] arriving in [[WretchedHive Rockport city]] with his [[CoolCar BMW M3 GTR]][[note]]Which is also a rare ''racing version'' of the car![[/note]] alongside [[MsFanservice Mia Townsend]], in her own Mazda RX-8 Mazdaspeed. After a close encounter with [[HeroAntagonist Sergeant]] [[DirtyCop Cross]], he runs into resident {{Jerkass}} [[BigBad Razor Callahan]], who [[BullyingADragon doesn't waste a second to insult the player]]. Mia tells him to simply race against the player to prove who's better, but Razor simply reminds her that he's Number 15 on the Blacklist, and thus the player cannot challenge him until he has a notable reputation. The player begins building a fame, meeting Rog on the way, and eventually manages to challenge Razor, who reminds him that [[AllOrNothing the winner gets the loser's car]]. Needless to say, Razor [[HopelessBossFight cheated and tampered with your BMW's oil system]], causing your car to malfunction and therefore lose the race. And, of course, to rub salt into the wound, you're arrested by none other than Cross.

Later on, Mia comes to pick you up from the police station after you're released due to lack of evidence[[note]]You don't have a car anymore, how could Cross prove that you're a street racer?[[/note]] - but of course, [[YouCantThwartStageOne not before Razor skyrockets to the top of the Blacklist with your car]] - so you can get [[SecondHourSuperpower your first car]] and have a crack at defeating the Blacklist and evade the police. All you have are your skills, your [[BulletTime Speedbreaker]] ability, your car, Rog, and Mia. And you're going to need all that to beat the odds. It's you against the entire city, racers, police and civillians alike.

* ItsAlwaysSpring: Inverted. The game is actually set on Autumn for the entire plot, as evidenced by the orange trees scattered around Rosewood and the leaves spanning the entire Rockport street.

* Bowdlerize: The game censored a lot of its' music. Which makes sense, considering their nature.