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The game takes on the gameplay style of the first Most Wanted title in the Need for Speed franchise. Need for Speed: Most Wanted is set in an open world environment.
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This pre-release screenshot also depicts the use of simulated HDRR on the sunny sky and surface lighting The player's car being pursued by several police cars during a racing session.
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Following its release, the game won several awards including the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards for Best Driving Game and was nominated for Best British Game and Best Online Multiplayer at the 2013 BAFTA Awards, and was repeatedly recognized as the best driving/racing game of 2012 by several outlets. Need for Speed: Most Wanted received positive reviews, which focused on the world map that blended the styles of previous Burnout and Need for Speed games, and the social features, while criticism fell on the single-player mode. The game picked up on the Most Wanted intellectual property, as opposed to the Hot Pursuit reboot that Criterion Games developed previously. Most Wanted is the nineteenth title in the Need for Speed series and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Vita, iOS and Android, beginning in North America in 2012, with a Wii U version following in 2013 under the title Need for Speed: Most Wanted U. Need for Speed: Most Wanted is an open world racing game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts.
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