Before Electronic Arts' Need For Speed series took the Underground route, the series was known for its plain and simple high speed roots. So much, in fact, that EA made police pursuit a pivotal part of the game with the release of the Hot Pursuit games, with Hot Pursuit 2 making waves a few years ago across all three major consoles. The police element has since gone away, and EA has focused more on the thrills of straightforward street antics. But not to worry. What goes around comes around, and the cops are wising up.

Need For Speed: Most Wanted seems to be a blend of some of the best stuff from both Underground and Hot Pursuit 2. In the game, you'll still engage in some of the dirtiest, shiftiest nighttime races you can find, customizing your ride and challenging riders who insist you haven't got what it takes. However, it appears that your antics have now gotten the attention of the police, and evading them has become a huge part of the game once again. That should definitely pick up the excitement.

Customization will still remain a huge part of the game, and that bundled with your attitude in racing will help you establish what's known as "street cred", short for credibility. As your "street cred" goes, so does your reputation and your movement along the "Black List", a list of riders that the police are specifically looking for. Consider it a Most Wanted list of sorts, and your goal in the game is to move to the very top while slipping through their fingers and avoiding jail time.

The game areas will be much wider this time around, so you can elude through pursuits very carefully and still remain in the race event at hand. There will be a series of new events to take part in also, including the return of some drag races, drifting events, and so much more. But the stakes are much, much higher, and with each race you win more parts to customize with and access to all new rides. It looks to be a good revamping of the Underground series, slightly moving away from the stuff that flawed last year's Need For Speed Underground 2.

Need For Speed: Most Wanted looks to be a stellar effort, and should have us all outrunning the smokies come this November. We'll have a closer look at the game come E3, where EA is likely to grab attention with it. Hey, they've got "street cred" to earn with this title, y'know.