Electronic Arts' On The House program might be the most positive aspect of the Origin platform, which is still struggling to attract more users. Since its debut in 2014, EA has offered eighteen free games, and this past Tuesday it added the nineteenth: Need for Speed: Most Wanted, the 2012 edition developed by Criterion Games, the studio known for the Burnout franchise.
The Need for Speed saga spans 22 official games, and there's a reboot that received a colder reception than expected on consoles, which will be available for Windows at some point this year. I'm sure our readers have their own unforgettable favorites within the franchise. In my case, I think Porsche 2000 (also known as Porsche Unleashed) and Underground were the ones I enjoyed the most, but over time I moved away from racing games in favor of other genres.
That said, anyone wanting to relive good memories or try another Need for Speed title just needs to create an Origin account and take advantage of the On The House promotion, which gives away a free digital copy of Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
If we jog our memory, Most Wanted has two versions: the first developed in 2005 by EA Black Box and Redwood Shores, and the second from 2012 by Criterion Games. What EA is offering this time is the second version, known especially for its extensive soundtrack and emphasis on online modes. EA states on the page that it's the standard edition, so anyone who decides to download a copy will likely need to look for the DLC separately. As a game that's three years old, the hardware requirements are more than reasonable.
Is this enough for EA to gain more users on Origin? After all, that's already 19 games given away through On The House, among which stand out Dead Space, Battlefield 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Jade Empire, and classics like Theme Hospital, Syndicate, and SimCity 2000: Special Edition. We have no idea how long the offer will last, but the final decision is always up to the user.
