Need for Speed: Most Wanted U

Need for Speed: Most Wanted from 2012 was a restart of the legendary sub-brand by Criterion Games, which brought the philosophy of its own Burnout series to the open-world city of Fairhaven - police chases, jumps, shortcuts, and unlocking cars by exploring the map instead of a classic career mode, all tied together by the Autolog social system that compares results with friends.

The Wii U version was released under the modified title Need for Speed: Most Wanted U as late as March 2013, roughly half a year after the other platforms, and used the GamePad's second screen as an interactive city map with routes and an overview of challenges, so the player didn't have to glance away toward the main TV screen. The game also supported so-called off-TV play directly on the GamePad's display without the television switched on, so it could be played even without access to a screen. Because it was released later than the other editions, it already contained content from the start that owners of PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 had to purchase gradually as paid add-ons, including the Ultimate Speed Pack with additional cars and tasks - making the Wii U version, in terms of content, the most complete edition of the game on release day, without the player having to pay anything extra.

Reviews praised the clever use of the GamePad for navigation and the clarity of the menus, but at the same time pointed out the noticeably weaker graphical performance of the Wii U compared to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, which showed up as lower resolution, simpler effects, and in places a shorter draw distance in the city. Still, for Wii U owners it was one of the few genuinely open-world racing titles available on the console, and thanks to the bonus content included from the start, also the most content-rich version of the 2012 Most Wanted, even though it reached stores with a noticeable delay compared to the other platforms. Since it was one of the few major third-party publishers to release a fully-fledged open-world title for the Wii U in its first year, the game was also, thanks to that, one of the more notable entries in the console's still-thin library at the time.

Why play: Worth a look for the clever use of the GamePad in navigation and the most generous content package of the 2012 Most Wanted, despite the Wii U's weaker graphical performance and later release.