Top 10 Best Need for Speed Games

This is by far one of the most complete racing games I have come across. A variety of racing modes, a story that made you want to get to the top of that blacklist, and a lineup of cars that was fun to look at, but still realistic to use on a street racer's budget all worked together to make a career mode worth playing. The cop chases are fun, but not impossible. Nor is the game too focused on any one gameplay mechanic or type of car. The only thing I think could be better was the customization options. You could still make your car your own, but other games like UG2 and Carbon brought it to the next level. Still, I think this game's career mode is what makes it shine. Working your way to the top of the blacklist, taking your rivals' cars as you go, there is no better reason to race than the one Most Wanted gives you: revenge.

The first Need For Speed I ever played. Although this game lacks overall difficulty with racing it (in my opinion). Is still better than today's Need For Speed titles. The new ones feel unfinished/rushed compared to Need For Speed Most Wanted (2005). The most difficult part of the game is the cops once you get heat level 5 you can have difficulty evading the cops (I have played this game like forever and I still get busted on a regular basis). The graphics are amazing for a 2005 game. Game play is simplistic, you can choose between auto and manual transmissions. As well as the fact your car doesn't automatically drift (it drifts but not like the drifting in the newer games and you have to force the drift). Although the game doesn't have the most upgrades and cars it is still just as good as the undergrounds. And if you want a challenge in this game try the challenge series. Some are very difficult. And if you want to make the story harder try using the Lexus is300 with lvl1 nos and ...more

It's the best Need for Speed to date hand-down, it's high-octane races will really put you on you chairs' edges, it's over the top police chases will surely bring out the hidden beast in you. And with a little topping of reality, you get to have infractions, cost to states and get to rack up bounty.

It also has the best storyline in all NFS, it's well designed, it DOES MAKE SENSE...
Also, when you beat the a Blacklist member, you get the chance to get their ride which illegal peeps do in real life.

The cops are never that smart but, their power comes in number or quantity,
The game never gets old <--- that's the best set of words that describes the game for me.

Simply put, the best of all the games. It had an amazing story, awesome graphics, (for it's time), and REAL motivation. You wanted to climb the ladder and beat the jerk who tricked you and took your car. And to get that, you had to work for it, and work HARD. Unlike Hot Pursuit, where you had all kinds of toys to combat the cops, in Most Wanted, you only had you and your car, while the cops had SUV's, Helicopters, and those god-awful Spike Strips. You really feared the cops, and you needed every single dirty trick you could come up with. Greatest NFS game ever by far.

Plus, there was a good soundtrack, very detailed customizations. You could customize your mirrors, color your engine.. You could customize almost EVERYTHING on your car in this game. And once I unlock a new city, I cry in excitement. I never got to the end, but I hope someday, I play this game once more and reach the ending.
Drag racing, drifting, circuits, sprints.. It was also multiplayer! And it had this thing, were you could go to some race track thing and into a garage, and it would tell you your Wheel Drive. Like, Front Wheel, all wheel and rear wheel. And you could crash into cars and watch them fly. And in free roam, you could do that too, but in that mode, you could take scenic drives across the towns. You could also add under glows and there was this thing where you could take pictures for magazines! And there was this hydraulic thing. I don't remember what it was, but it was fun. Also, in the magazine pictures, you could open your hood, your trunk, and your other doors! ...more

Why is this in 3rd place? It should be the number 1! The music was awesome, game play, graphics, and customization! I like to drive in night time with the Switch/Twitch song going while driving in a lit up, beautiful city. To me, I think the cops get annoying. I like how you just drive everyday cars and not those supercars. I mean, who is going to speed in their Bugatti Veyron when it is a 79% chance that they will crash on the tight turns! NfsU2 had awesome neons, light colors ( Never seen a racing game of where you could do this) and pretty much everything!

People praise the open world in this game, but it actually only slows down the action. In actual race events there's magic walls that makes it linear, so what's the point of the open world? People who like this game actually like Fast and Furious movies, not Need For Speed games.
The real Need for Speed essence is to race with exotic cars in exotic places with some police chases. Also, NO COSMETIC customization. The Hot Pursuit series are the best. Really. Underground and Most Wanted are just hype based.

I loved this game so much! Sure, the graphics weren't that good, but I loved the cars so much! I remember the Navigator, the Nissan 240SX, the Toyota Corolla, the Peugeot 306 and more! Also, when you had Rachel's car in the beginning of the game, there were three races you could attend to for extra money. And when you were to buy a car into career mode, you didn't have to spend a single cent! And every time I unlocked a new car, I'd get so excited, I'd pee myself. Ah, memories.

Carbon is INCREDIBLY good, only beaten by Most Wanted because of MW's length. Still, Carbon is incredibly appealing visually, and the diversity between the car classes was excellent. Tuners could out-turn the others, Muscles just destroyed EVERYTHING in a straight line, and the Exotics were the glass cannons. If you've got the skills, you'll destroy the others. The story aspect is the best out of all the games, even surpassing Most Wanted. The amount of cars was massive too, and the driving engine was so smooth. Also, you can drive the BMW M3 GTR! Get this game and PLAY IT.

I've been playing this game for what feels like all my childhood life. I play this on the wii and will always love it.
I have an Xbox one now with all the best graphic games to date, but I still love going back and playing this game, it will always be my favorite for life. Super cool open world with amazing free roam cop chases. Has every car I've ever wanted. TONS of customization options in every aspect. And I LOVE the characters/storyline, that's what puts meaning to the game. Neville will be my friend for life!

Very good story, and of course, the best cars for the moment. The persecutions were really good and so were the Challenge Series. The only thing in which I would complain is that on the standard version you ran without the "normal" cars on each races, loosing realisticcity and that when you earned a car, you could only use it on career. Whats more, I considered the BMW M3 GTR the best car of the game, but at least it was not the enemy's cars, as in Most Wanted. I really lked that the car was too damaged for your use and so, you could only earn it on the pink slips' section, as Cross' car. Overall, a really nice in game in which I liked to spend time with. I only wished the ending was as good as in Most Wanted :(

Much better than Most Wanted. Seriously it doesn't drag on for ages like Most Wanted, the customization is better, the cars are better, the cops aren't as aggressive, there is more variety on races and I haven't even mentioned the reward cards and challenge series yet. It means you don't have to go through crap like milestones in career and just get racing.

Definitely the best Need For Speed game till date. The graphics are outstanding, gameplay scintillating and the cars are the best. Criterion Games certainly did an excellent job with this one. Each race is challenging and the pursuits are bound to keep you thrilled. Car range is very vast and the option to play both as racer and cop makes the game even denser. After this, probably NFS just degraded over time. Play it the way you want - earn bounty as a racer and reputation as a cop and go up the ranks, unlocking vehicles as you progress. Another striking feature is that you get cars by increasing your bounty, rather than earning and spending cash. Probably one of the best racing games made ever. No driving experience is complete without playing this game.

Best Need For Speed game ever for me. I played it so much, I had so much fun, the graphics are excellent and the soundtrack is pretty great. Also the car list is amazing and same thing for the DLC. You can play as a cop (a feature that hasn't came back since Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2) and Seacrest County has a lot of different areas which makes it really great. This is the best Need For Speed game I've ever played and it's also the best game of 2010. Hands down!

An absolute gem. Deserves to hold the name of Hot Pursuit and the last enjoyable NFS made. Graphics were eye popping, the car lineup stunning, music fits the game so well, a nice long and challenging career mode and online races a giant step ahead of titles before it.

Rivals tried a similar idea, but failed, it simply didn't hold the badass feeling that Hot Pursuit (2010) had, it had a boring car lineup and a not so challenging career mode, online was not as much fun either.

This game would probably be the best of all arcade racers if they did away with the cinematic crashes. I'd like to see my car flip in real time and get my car back on the road without having it automatically put back on the road. My only gripe, but this is the best arcade racer in the way it controls.

The very first NFS I've ever played. I remember my Dad bringing it home and saying "This game has a Honda Civic Si son! " I got so excited and it was also for the Gamecube. I played it when I was 8. (Very difficult) I always got so far to when I would be able to have a Nissan Skyline GTR R34. That was it, I never went any farther because my Gamecube broke. Saddest thing ever, anyways the cars, customization, graphics (Awesome back in 2003), races, gameplay. Definitely a 10 star rating NFS.

I am playing this through for the first time in 2014. I actually enjoyed it. I really see why it was selling so good. The gameplay, customization, music all of it is awesome. I was kind of surprised that it was number 7 on the list. I thought it was going to be in the top 4. Though people probably don't like it becuase it's old and they can't take that old games can be good too. If they don't have the latest graphics the games are not good. Facepalm. But that does not prevent it from being good in a fact. Gg Black Box that does not exist for NFS anymore :(

I simply loved this game back in the day, it was so full of color and awesome races, it's probably the Need for Speed that I enjoyed the most and would always gladly replay. Maybe we'll get a remake of this wonderful game some day, a really good remake, not something just for the grabs.

NFS Underground is one of the better overall NFS titles, and one I really enjoyed!
This actually had better physics than the more popular sequel, the cars handled great, but not near as much content in the game, graphics were quite nice, cars looked bit too shiny and reflective though, the car selection was nice as well, this is the least popular game of the golden era, but still makes most of the newer NFS titles look like garbage.

I have had every single need for speed yet, and I think most wanted 2012 is the best. The reason being is that the dynamics in the game are absolutely awesome, the speed is great and the cops are more aggressive than ever.
There are a few things that can be improved for example, the graphics and a few glitches within the game.
I think most wanted is probably the best need for speed, due to one of the facts that there are numerous astonishing cars in the game that do not require to be unlocked but just to be simply found. For the first time, there is a withe range of cars from muscle cars, to exotic cars, to super machines like the ariel atom and also 4x4 vehicles.

Another great aspect of this game is that you can switch from one car to another car just by pressing triangle or jumping straight to the car anywhere from the city. Moreover, when the next rival car is introduced ; the art work and animations are absolutely brilliant.

Excellent production from citreon ...more

Great graphics, great gameplay, great cars. I think this game is extremely realistic, as a lot of attention was paid to details for example civilian cars type of road surface ( tarmac, off road), and the surrounding area like the buildings. Also the free - roam city is just HUGE! You can mess with cops for hours. The only bad thing about this game is that it doesn't have so many modifications on the cars you get like it had on NFS Carbon for example, but mind this. The cars you get are mostly exotic or super with a few tuner and muscle cars. What really big modifications could someone do to a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 or a Koenigsgegg CCXR? Anyway, I believe this game is the best due to the fact that the cars handle so realistically and the speeds that you can achieve are exactly those you can achieve with those cars in real life. It is not the hardest NFS game but nor the easiest. It is very well balanced and super realistic.

This NFS was terrible.
I actually feel opposite to the most up voted comment. The idea of getting any car at any time was horrible, and made me bored in a few hours of game play. There was no reward system from this, and it also was very limited in large aspects. For instance, you had no garage or customization. It's a dull Burnout clone that doesn't deserve the title Most Wanted. That guy who said it's better than the original makes me want to puke! Anyone who voted for this game must have not grown up in NFS's golden age.

Loved this game, loved the soundtrack, loved the cars, loved the car packs, loved everything about this game, and hey, the PD was smart. Online was set up great in this game. Loved some of the landmarks in the game like the lighthouse which was great for drifting around, and the overlapping circles (don't know what to call them) that were in the middle of the city, they made for great jumps and overall fun. This one has to at least be in the top 5 let's get the votes going!

I agree with the game in first place right now but I also think this game should be directly under it, it has the best looking graphics of a racing simulator I have ever seen, the story is pretty good but the idea of racing a 3, 000 mile endurance race in one sitting is to me, a pretty fun idea. It does take place in events but that doesn't mean you can't play it from start to finish in one go

Not one racing game has ever got my adrenaline pumping like this game. Such a feeling of intensity on almost every mission. The stakes are high and you can feel it. This game should definitely be rated higher. I look forward to a sequel or spiritual successor.

I'm super bias because I have only played The Run, however I love the scenery and the way the cars handle. Granted, The Run does not support local multiplayer, but it's intense and the sound design, graphics, and handling are fantastic.

The Game is great, I like the fact that the game costs 60 bucks an you can finish its campaign in 3 Hours. Pretty good, the lens flares are pretty good. Directly from Battlefield 3 and they don#t interfere with the racing experience... However you are unable to see anythimg because the sun is always shining into your car.

Given EA's trouble in the past it was quite hard for them to top a great game like the classic NFS most wanted, but thanks to their partnership with Ghost games they have reached new heights with Rivals. I believe Rivals deserves a spot right next to most wanted (the 1st most wanted). It has only the best racer and cop cars. And topping that of with Ferrari also being back after a 7 year absence. Couple all this with a Frostbite 3 engine and you have the best racer chasing, cop smashing arcade racer ever.

To imagine this game... think of need for speed most wanted (2012) and hot pursuit (2010). It is by far the most entertaining of all the nfs games and this latest instalment will blow your mind with awesome graphics and insane upgrades... Being a cop as well as a racer just tips the bucket. Absolutely Awesome!

I enjoy two racing games, gran turismo 3, and NFS Rivals. By far the best racing game I have ever played and I think it deserves at least top five. As good if not better then most wanted and definitely better then underground. (put me off racing games for a long time. Underground sucks)

Rivals is a brilliant, fast paced and tense game, which has combined the best elements from hot pursuit (2010) and most wanted (2012). Could do with a pause button, but apart from that it's incredible.

I had this game for years and never sat down and focused on completing the career mode. I used it for pursuits and sprints. Boy was I an idiot for not working harder on the career! It's fantastic! My only complaint is the career mode is too short...I beat it in roughly 4 hours playing time. Regardless I've started a new career and making different choices in cars this time and even though I know the stories and the roads well, it sora feels new again! LOVE THIS GAME!

Undercover had everything, from the not so bad story to the graphics to the wide paint selection and amazing Autosculpt customization, even had one of the best and most varied car lineups in the franchise. It was set to be the best NFS... but it wasn't even close.
What Undercover was missing is the most important part of any racing game; the physics. Undercover's physics were drastically bad, the cars handled like jet-skis and its really sad knowing they got everything else in the game right, I spent most of my time in this game tuning cars.

Honestly, I have watched and played many racing games, and NFS games, and none of them is really really better than this one. Besides the graphics and availability of the cars, this game lacks nothing. This game features the actual "customization" rather than just color changing and tuning. For people who want to feel the "street racing" like in real life, this game is for you. Also, the fun part comes in when you are able to modify you cars. I think we have to give more credits on this game. In fact, I still play this game

Customization, Autosculp, Free Roam, Infinite visual customization, Cops, Multiple racing styles, Excellent storyline, great variety of cars, Real Cutscenes, Okay Graphics. This is THE Best NFS game I have ever played. Just because of this.

Only thing needed was the environment from "The Run", Blacklist from "most wanted 2005" and graphics from "Rivals".

UNDERCOVER > Most Wanted > Carbon > Underground 2 > The Run > Pro street

Very few people realise this, as NFS stretches across such a long time period (of course a 2010 game has better graphics than one that came out in 2000), but the Porsche Unleashed is the best game of the series. Striking the perfect balance between street racing and organised races, realism and fun.

The car-accident-damage model of great. One can not just accelerate headless.
Calculated driving, drifting, overtaking. You have to repair the damage you did.

And the realism in speed, without the flashy effects, one could feel the speed.

The factory driving mode was perfect

The best balance between realism and fun. The first NFS game with a decent physics model, you felt horrified driving that 911 turbo or Moby Dick.

It's the only game in the NFS series where the race can't be restarted or aborted, and you gotta repair your damages. This added tons to the risk feeling, making you drive to your limits but not exceeding them. Almost giving you the feeling that the car is really yours and you don't wanna crash it. I've never felt that way in any other racing game.

The "factory driver" mode was far from perfect, and there a few bugs here and there, but it's still my favorite.

Still one of my favorite racing games! There have been a few others come since but this games made me feel the most involved in the race. I loved the fact there was actual damage you had to repair, if you didn't have enough money you just fixed what you needed.
Another plus was that you could buy used cared, fix them up, and sell them to make more money, that was handy!

Most of those who vote here, are very young and haven't had the chance to play Porsche Unleashed.

That was the most balanced and entertaining racing game that I have ever played.

I found this Need For Speed to be very good in fact, on par with its predecessor. I have never been fond of the direction the Need For Speed took after the first Underground, the games were too much arcade-like. This one is not and even though it often posses enough challenge, it still is a great fun.

It is the best driving simulator ever! Move over Grand Turismo!

NFS rock... I really enjoined the game... Its one of the my most favorite game...

Why they have put this game to last it is the best game ever in the world

I've been playing this game since I was 4, now ten years later it's still my favorite Need for Speed game. Great cars and great graphics, this game never gets old.

I hate it... I tried the lite version on my Xbox 360 and it sucks, because Icant even change the view, and my screen is just flashing because I crash purposely a lot.

Great online racing game

Best nfs game in my opinion. It's so realistic none of those new nfs games have such a high level of realism.

How can this game be at a such a low spot?! This game is awesome! It's the first one I've played, the soundtrack is badass, the controls are smooth, and the cars were great. And I'm not talking about the PlayStation 1 version, I'm talking about the PC version. No game get's better then this one. I just wish EA would make remastered versions of the old Need For Speed games. Maybe add new cars, and remix the soundtrack...

This game has everything you need about cars. Pictures from cockpit, slideshows and lots of things. Gameplay is very good too. And it has the kind of music what a race game should have.

For a 1998 game, this game sure is a masterpiece.

The best of all need for speed games.

Prostreet rocks! Only true car racing fans and fanatics will appreciate this wonderful game. No other game offers this level of customization and modifications. You can sculpt your body in every possible way and there are unlimited tuning options. I just love it! Finished it thrice.

Great game, with sth new in this series, called "destruction". Yeah, when you hit wall or another player you loose parts of your car that was awesome in this game. It also have great graphics, and long "story". You can personalize your car as you want to, stripes, tribes and stuff like this.

Very good game, I had a lot of fun when beating the kings and getting 9k+ points in Drift races. It might seem IMPOSSIBLE but it is not! I did it. Maybe because I played it too much? I don't know, what I do know is that If you haven't played it yet, you should do it now!

The reason why I think this game is cool because it is one of the longest need for speed games games and it has great graphics and cool cars and mean ass modifications for your cars.

Now that the game is out, there is many cars to choose from (In the beginning you only have 3 to choose from which is good for starting out in my opinion), it's true what others say about bringing back customization like Underground and police chase like Most Wanted (Even that underground is considered rice nowadays, which the type of customization should not be compared with the current in the game). When it was launched, in rare occasions when passing a cop lets just say at 15mph, they will go and pull you over/pursuit (one con).

Why is this game not in the top 10 or close to the top 10, do y'all know what good games are? Car customization and mechanics are one of the best in the series. Campaign is pretty solid, and the races are fun. The Characters are cool, and car legends are in. The only setback has to do with the cops.

Even though its not out yet,This is the best racing game, it has custom cars, police chases, racing, drift racing, very good graphics, very cool cars, at night time only. Everything you need for a racing game. They brought stuff back from the old nfs games like most wanted and underground such as customization and police chases.

This game is gonna be beast when it comes out! Huge open world and the customization of UG2. It will be online only so sorry poor people! (don't take that seriously) I know this will be the best NFS to date!

Having owned most of the need for speeds this was my favorite. People forget it because it is sandwiched between the Hot Pursuits, hasn't been remade and is pre underground, but it was the best iteration of Hot Pursuit, deeper than its sequel, more polished than HP. No way porsche unleashed should be beating it. I owned both. Also more fun than Shift. I owned or played every game listed above this save Carbon, and would rank this ahead of all of them.

On PCs, among those who have actually played NFS since the 90s, it is undisputed that High Stakes was and still is the true, definitive, and best NFS of all time. You will not find more perfect gameplay or a more perfect menu system. The cars are perfect, the maps are perfect. Later games can only dream of reaching this level of excellence. The music is top-notch, and the cop A.I. is perfected. The car selections are superior. It may have been forgotten by the younger generation, perhaps deemed too dated for them. However, I assure you all, even in 2018, High Stakes is the best. It still runs on Windows 10 using software rendering and looks amazing. It works flawlessly with the DS4 controller, with the triggers functioning like proper triggers, unlike modern NFS games that treat triggers as buttons. I own modern NFS games, and while some are good, most are laughable (cough SHIFT cough). Forget those "realistic" NFS games that try too hard and end up being unrealistic in the ...more

Being able to drive police traffic police cars, like Crown Victorias, Caprices and Eagle Talons is a touch that only Need for Speed 4 has really delivered well. Also, the idea of a 5 member police squad and being able to switch between the cars was genius!

This is the best by far, of course its down the list cause its old no respect this game is amazing, music, racing, difficulty, gambling your car, dealing with the damage repairs, how weather completely alters the gameplay. to be honest there is no comparison in later games

This is the best because it had the best track designs, innovated car damage, had interesting races. It was more of a simulator than an arcade racing game. I'd put this up in the Top 10, because this is what made the Need For Speed series.

Insane arcade game that doesn't feel like Burnout! (Wich is good)
You also have the option to play in less arcadish physics in simulation game style. This game was a just about the true racing experince with exotic cars and exotic tracks, things that recent NFS lacks! Crash here is very dangerous and you can actually spin and roll your car, crashing in MW and Carbon is like nothing compared to this!

Why is this so low? The game was near perfect! Perfect story line, perfect gameplay, perfect graphics, perfect amount of cars, perfect customization, what is not to like? However, there is one little complaint I have: when you finish the story then what? After finishing the story line there isn't much to do apart from driving around collecting parts and chips. The derelicts were a fantastic addition.

Why 31? This is my favourite need for speed BY FAR, the price is no where near as expensive as some people are saying, and the graphics are AMAZING, cars and customisations are THE BEST in the need for speed series, I like doing freeplay and redoing races after I finish the story, therefore even when you are done, the fun just doesn't end! also the derelicts are a cool way to drive around more and get cars. I love NFS Payback and it definitely deserves at least the top 5 spot on this list.

Solid story, amazing customization, cool concept of switching people for different builds, and huge selection of cars.

This game is very good, but the cards is a letdown ( minor issue though) great story and nice cars.

Most realistic Need for Speed ever. It's a shame the series turned to a more arcadey experience, though I can understand it from a commercial perspective... But none of the sequels ever managed to be as impressive in terms of graphics and state-of-the-art as this one was back in 1994. The first Need for Speed was a technical marvel and one of the most enjoyable racing simulations I've ever played.

The first NFS, still the best along with Porsche Unleashed and NFS3... looking at the votes I'm pretty sure that too many younglings are here, not knowing the true roots of the series...

This is an upcoming reboot. It's gonna be the best ever. I know it!

Good game but the music annoys me.