Need for Speed Most Wanted (2005) – One Sweet Ride
“Hey, my names Josie Miran and I play Mia in Need for Speed Most Wanted…”
If you were born between the early and late years of the 90s then it’s likely you would have heard this iconic line from 2005’s racing installation from world-renowned franchise, Need for Speed. What you would have also heard was the legendary soundtrack as you dodge the cops, street race, and pink slip your way through Rockport, the fictional city in which you are tasked to take down the 15 top street racers to claim your title (and get your BMW M3 GTR back).
Need for Speed Most Wanted (2005) has you speed your way to the top in this bonified Hollywood story line, competing in street races and high-speed pursuits escaping from Rockports finest. After Razor [the main antagonist, and #1 on the most wanted list] sabotages your car and takes it from you in a pink slip race, this is the catalyst for one of the best racing game tails ever made and sets the premise of the story.
You work alongside undercover cop [and childhood crush to thousands. You know who you are], Mia Townsend to then work your way up the most wanted list and beat Razor to claim back your honour, and Beamer.
And as if the gameplay or lovingly cheesy story wasn’t enough, complementing the fast-paced velocity of the gameplay is the soundtrack. The list offers us 2000’s hip hop and punk slappers, hardcore steppers, and metal tracks that keep our heads bopping and our fingers tapping. Tugging on all the nostalgic strings, listening back to this soundtrack brings back great memories of nitrous fuelled long nights in front of the TV.
Being the 9th in the series to bless our screens and being one of the best-selling games of the franchise hitting 16 million copies sold worldwide, it’s to no surprise that many of us adored this game growing up. We don’t think another street racing game will ever take the crown. There’s no denying each element of this game is great, but having initially come for the racing, it’s safe to say we stayed for the music. And with 8.4 million views on the soundtrack uploaded to YouTube so far, we aren’t alone in thinking this.
