About the Blacklist Tournament
The Blacklist is a list of the most notorious and elusive drivers to ever test their mettle on the streets in the upcoming release of Need for Speed™ Most Wanted. These racers know their limits and push them regularly. Are you one of them?
 
The Blacklist Tournament is your chance to enter into a single elimination competition against 100 other drivers during the final four dates of the Need for Speed Formula D tour. Tournament rounds will be played in Need for Speed Most Wanted on Xbox and will consist of "Toll Booth" races and Heat assignments in which each participant must compete against other participants in a simultaneous virtual race to reach the in-game Toll Booth in the fastest time while evading cops and other in-game obstacles. How’s that for pressure?
 
If you think you can handle it and got the skills to back it up, you can score a number of prizes including a Need for Speed Most Wanted T-Shirt and EA games.
 
The best racer from each event goes onto the semifinals for the whole booty including an Xbox® video game system, a Need For Speed video, their name & hometown included on a Need for Speed Blacklist billboard, an on-track drift ride-along with a professional Formula D driver and a trip to the Need for Speed Most Wanted video game World Launch Event!
 

Need for Speed Most Wanted Adds Intelligence to Police Pursuit
By Micheal Mullen
 
So there are two types of Need for Speed players that I’ve met. First, there are those that just love high-speed street racing in the fastest cars on the planet. And then there are those that love the thrill of being chased by the police.  
 
Believe it or not, a lot of people love being chased. Whenever I mention that I work with the Need for Speed team, the first thing I hear is, “Please bring back pursuit mode.” For the uninitiated, pursuit mode was first introduced in Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and allowed racers a new adrenal boost as they not only fought to out-rev other racers, they had to dodge police pursuits, spike strips, and missile firing helicopters... standard police protocol for any high-speed pursuit.  
 
Yesterday, those same players that have dogged me at any party can rejoice as EA has announced Need for Speed Most Wanted – complete with flashing blues in the rearview mirror.  
 
This is not the same Pursuit Mode you’ve played again and again as you’ve waited for the popular gameplay mode to return. The development team has decided to evolve Pursuit Mode from the realm of bumbling cops trying to pull you over after you’ve smashed into a wall to modern police strategies that are used in real-life high-speed chases (the OJ chase is still an exception to any rule). They even hired chase experts to make it realistic. That means you’re going to have to upgrade your evasion skills too.  
 
Due in November, Need for Speed Most Wanted is a departure from the street whips in Need for Speed Underground 2 but adds the latter game’s best features: open world and customization. From tuners, supercars, muscles and sports cars, you’ll be able to build the ride you’re looking for or the ride you’re just dying to have in real life.  
 
New to the series will be the Blacklist, a list of the most wanted racers in the game. As you race through the game your Rap Sheet and street cred moves you up the illicit racing ladder to go head-to-head with other racers or test your skills against up to half a dozen cops looking to ask for your license and registration.  
 
Need for Speed Most Wanted will deliver the fast-paced experience you desire on just about any console you have including a next generation console as well as the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox® videogame system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance, PSP™ handheld entertainment system and PC.  
 
We can’t say when in November Need for Speed Most Wanted will arrive but you might want to cancel any events in November just to free up your schedule... school, Thanksgiving, etc.  

Shifting will be an important part of the driving experience. Located on the left side of the screen is a speedometer with an arrow that moves up and down depending on whether the car is accelerating or braking. As the arrow gets higher shifting into the next gear is required. There is a trick to this though. Shift too early and some speed is lost; shift too late and the engine literally explodes under the hood, bellowing out an immense amount of black smoke. It’s unknown if Most Wanted will have an automatic shifting setting or not. Either way it adds a nice fresh element to the racing.