Presentation-wise, NFSMWU is one of the prettiest, most artful titles on the Wii U bar none. Fairhaven positively shimmers with indulgent sun-halos, reflections and effects, and the world itself is impeccably modeled and textured. It’s the cars, however, that really stand out—the term auto erotica takes on a whole new meaning here as each vehicle, even the Ford pickups, has been rendered in loving detail with some truly jaw-dropping reflections and specular mapping. Of special note are the event intros, which range from range from lurid, almost hedonistic pan n’ scans of the cars to what can only be described as arthouse fare. It’s both funny and welcome to see some creative cutscenes in a racing game.
Even more impressive, in my time with the game I never encountered a single framerate hiccup or annoying loading screen—the whole experience was smooth as silk. Considering the Wii U has been plagued with some pretty awful lag, draw distance and framerate issues in almost every port so far, I have to wonder what magic sauce Criterion is using to make such a fast, audaciously gorgeous game run so smoothly on Wii U…or rather, what everyone else is doing wrong.
