The Xbox 360 Factor

Like several games during this launch period, Need for Speed™ Most Wanted releases for the original Xbox® and Xbox 360™. One question to be answered is what exactly does Xbox 360 bring to the table? What spectacular effects and visual handiwork can be noted over its current-gen cousin?

The Basics
Massive graphical upgrades notwithstanding, don't forget the Xbox 360 standards for every game. Here are the highlights:

• HD and 16x9: Provided you have a TV that supports high-definition, all games are capable of outputting up to 720 progressive scan and 16x9 widescreen formatting. Get more details on hi-def features here.
• Guide Button: Whether you're connecting someone with the one-on-one chat feature, checking your achievements, loading a music playlist, or seeing who's online with what game, the Guide button standardizes all these functions, so you can be sure you can use them all with every game.

It fuses the Underground and Hot Pursuit
versions of the series into a cohesive whole.

Presentation
Naturally, the most visible bump in quality can be found within the game's massive visual overhaul, and while I could enumerate what you'll see in the game, it's an easier point to make with high-definition widescreen visual aids.

Check out the light and shadows.

Notice not only dust being kicked up, but also the light that is streaming onto it, allowing it to bloom. Take a good look at the stunning clarity for the vehicle models. Just look at the back of the Lexus in the foreground. Notice also the depth of field focus in effect. Like movies, Need for Speed Most Wanted puts elements of the environment that are far away or in the periphery in a softer, more natural focus.

No more need for full-motion video.

In an intriguing creative decision, Electronic Arts has chosen to film actors directly into the game, allowing for all the nuances of the movement and action to be captured and authentically replicated. However, in an effort to ensure that the visuals match the artistic direction of the game, EA has layered different graphical effects over the actors, to make them appear more natural in the game's setting.

Detail, detail, detail.

It has been a staple among high-speed racing games to skimp on detail to achieve a maximum sensation of velocity, but with the horsepower Xbox 360 provides, Need for Speed Most Wanted is able to create a breathtakingly detailed world, complete with individual fissures in the road, pockets of leaves that are launched into the air by a spinning tire, and even minute texture detail on the dividing line in a road. The best of speed and detail meet here.

Day to night.

Need for Speed Most Wanted also boasts a dynamic day-night cycle, and you can see the effects of its gorgeous sunsets here. Not only is the lighting beautiful, but the softness of the glow changes depending on whether the light is piercing through trees or the view of the sky is unfettered. While the shadows are deep, they don't obscure the detail of the textures they're covering.

Most Wanted is a stellar game that fuses the Underground and Hot Pursuit versions of the series into a cohesive whole, but it also takes full advantage of the power Xbox 360 wields to give you an experience that can only exist on the next-gen console.

Article by Alex McLain