• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Need for Speed Most Wanted 360 hands-on

D

DMczaf

Member
http://xe360.com/article/Need_for_Speed_Most_Wanted/2504.html

I had a chance to the play the game on Xbox and Xbox 360 for a few hours a week ago. The best way to sum it up is think Hot Pursuit mixed with Underground along with a whole slew of other new features.
Click to expand...

There will be plenty of online modes in the game, but I didn’t really get a chance to see what they had. All I know is there will be some nice little surprises, and probably be able to race at least four people at a time on either the Xbox or Xbox 360 version of the game. The team is looking into downloadable content, and for the Xbox 360 exploiting team type play, micro-transactions, and perhaps letting players exchange parts and cars online. Also while I can’t say much about it right now, expect there to be competition surrounding the single-player portion of the title online as well.
Click to expand...

When I first started playing the Xbox 360 version I thought I was actually driving around in later environments because initially I didn’t recognize where I was. About five minutes into it I realized I was racing around in the same areas I was just racing around in five minutes ago on the Xbox. Tons of objects have either been slightly remodeled with better textures or just completely redone to better show the Xbox 360’s power. In the 360 version you will get more cars on the side of the road, much better textures and so on. The buildings are also very well detailed. When going out of the car and looking around in the debug version of the game, you can see that the buildings have bricks that make bumps out, windowsills that are pulled in, ladders with fire escapes that are actually sticking away from and look fully three-dimensional, with a high-resolution billboard on the other side of the building. Here is the kicker—when you go into wire-frame mode of the game the building is all one polygon! This is made possible by a very advanced visual technique called parallax-mapping. I might have mentioned this technique in other previews of Xbox 360 titles such as Perfect Dark Zero, as it is the new technique buzzword of the next-generation of games. You get a better since of you are actually out in a major city when the draw-in distance is none. You can see every single building that should be within view, even seeing over five miles away. You actually start to see buildings in the background have a strange haze to them, and for me at least, gave me the chills because of how realistic the atmosphere was. Most of the game is modeled after Vancouver, Canada, New York City, and some other places with iconic and memorable streets and buildings. There are also plenty of bump-mapping, normal-mapping, mip-mapping, and completely high-resolution textures that display wonderfully in high-definition, or normal-definition televisions.
Click to expand...

The answer is—this game will definitely topple your expectations for a 360 title and just isn’t the same game with HDTV support. You are getting visuals that effect gameplay, more Live options, and overall a more superior product. The Need for Speed fan with a 360 will need this game.
Click to expand...
 
No custom soundtrack in the Xbox version, custom soundtrack as mandated by MS in the X360 version... and more than just a bump in resolution of the graphics(stuff is actually remodelled?) between the X and X360 version... interesting.
 
Extra modes for the x360 version and a host of improvements. Glad I'm jumping on the next gen bandwagon. Current gen Need for Speeders am cry. :D
 
newsguy said:
If they do this for BO3 I will be so very appreciative.
Click to expand...

Revenge, right? BO3 was last year

Sho Nuff said:
Good to hear. When done correctly Parallax Mapping looks REALLY FUCKING COOL.
Click to expand...

WHat kind of hit does this have on the GPU? THat sounds crazy, 1 poly? PD0 is supposed to feature that extensively, right?
 
Agent Icebeezy said:
Revenge, right? BO3 was last year
Click to expand...

Yeah, I meant revenge. After playing the sexy demo on Madden I need my Burnout fix. If they can make all of these enhancements (and they should considering it comes out in 06) BO revenge will be one to remember.
 
DarienA said:
No custom soundtrack in the Xbox version, custom soundtrack as mandated by MS in the X360 version... and more than just a bump in resolution of the graphics(stuff is actually remodelled?) between the X and X360 version... interesting.
Click to expand...



I guess I pod and Iriver owners are in luck?
 
Very nice. It better friggin' live up to this preview!

For all the disappointments from 360, it's nice to hear good stuff like this once and a while. Hopefully the wait between Xbox and Xbox 360 versions isn't large (especially with Burnout).

I just hope they don't end up being $60. :\
 
I am absolutely shocked and awed at the fact no one has trolled or even mentioned the dreaded "microtransactions" part of that writeup.

*double-checks to see if he's on GAF*
 
Is this a good example of parallex mapping?

mapping.jpg
 
This might be the first NFS game I buy in DECADES!!

But here are my questions...


1)Is it scheduled to be a launch title?

2)Any word on if it'll run at 60fps?

3)When is BO4 supposed to come out for 360?
 
A 1 poly model looks that good with parallax-mapping wtf...that means huge worlds HUGE GAMING WORLDS without loss of quality.

SWEET

Game looks nice btw
 
The answer is—this game will definitely topple your expectations for a 360 title and just isn’t the same game with HDTV support. You are getting visuals that effect gameplay, more Live options, and overall a more superior product. The Need for Speed fan with a 360 will need this game.
Click to expand...

the answer is - the game will deliver all to your current need for speed expectations - below 15fps racing... :lol

the hands-on is a pure joke.
 
at what point does it become cheaper (power wise) to just draw a few polys for a window sill rather than parallax map the entire facade of a building?
 
I own all 3 consoles and a pretty decent PC but I just might pick up a Xbox 360 for this alone. Please tell me I'm not crazy....
 
jet1911 said:
HDR lightning ?
Click to expand...
Not at all. Although a HDR pipeline may make for better results for this effect, it's very much doable without it. MGS2 did it to good effect, and I've seen a couple of racers this gen do it as well. Wipeout Pure is the most recent example.
 
....speachless, although i must say i can see EVERY next gen game doing this, imagine Tetris with this tech :lol TetrisSphere with soft shadows, drynamic lighting and parallex mapping :D

DCX
 
sangreal said:
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/635/635012p1.html
Click to expand...

Uh, what was the point of that? To back up what I said or try and make it look like my link was wrong? Because your link only backs it up.

Oh, and makes IGN look retarded.

IGN said:
Having been purchased by EA last year, Criterion, once a one-game-a year developer, is now in development with at two games, Burnout Revenge and Black, due in February 2006, plus a 360 version of Burnout Revenge for 360 in 2006.
Click to expand...

Guess they pushes up Revenge quite a bit.
 
Ninja Scooter said:
why not just build the lions head and pillars out of
polygons?
Click to expand...
Polys can be put to better use elsewhere while giving you much better draw distance.
When going out of the car and looking around in the debug version of the game, you can see that the buildings have bricks that make bumps out, windowsills that are pulled in, ladders with fire escapes that are actually sticking away from and look fully three-dimensional, with a high-resolution billboard on the other side of the building. Here is the kicker—when you go into wire-frame mode of the game the building is all one polygon! This is made possible by a very advanced visual technique called parallax-mapping. I might have mentioned this technique in other previews of Xbox 360 titles such as Perfect Dark Zero, as it is the new technique buzzword of the next-generation of games. You get a better sense of you are actually out in a major city when the draw-in distance is none. You can see every single building that should be within view, even seeing over five miles away.
Click to expand...
 
Parralax mapping is the shit. There's a video of DOOM 3 with and without paralax mapping (or was it something even better than Parallax, I don't remember?). The difference is striking. It's like someone added whole new geometry and stuff.

I believe the only problem with these mapping systems is that they don't quite work on deformable / animated / destructible geometry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Famitsu - Most wanted games
10
298
Edmund replied
PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for January: Need for Speed Unbound, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, Core Keeper
2
56
509
Ceadeus replied
Rumor: EA has shelved the "Need for Speed" franchise
2 3
119
2K
ShaikhCroft replied
PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2025 | Dec 4th, 2025
Event 
14
366
SolidQ replied
Modern Vintage Gamer - 20 Years of Xbox 360 - Most Memorable Games
18
437
xenosys replied
Top Bottom