Need for Speed: Undercover

By Daniel Needham

The Need for Speed series is now in to its third consecutive generation of console games, and has really carved itself a niche in racing games, and will go down in history as one of the strongest videogame franchises, with the soon to come Need for Speed: Undercover to be the seventeenth iteration of the series.

With a longer development cycle now that the Need for Speed development team has been split up into two teams, EA CEO John Riccitiello has publicly stated that he’s expecting bigger and better things from the series, after commenting on ProStreet being just “an okay game”.

The premise of Undercover has you playing as an undercover cop attempting to fit in with low-lifes in order to infiltrate and take down a crime ring. From trailers that have been released, the game looks set to have plenty of highway battles and missions where you crash into enemies while dodging your own allies (unbeknownst to them of course) .

Undercover takes place in the fictional Tri-City Area, which EA divided into three parts: Palm Harbour, Port Crescent and Sunset Hills. You're the driver in the middle of all of this, and you'll get your orders from Chase Linh, played by Maggie Quigley, who is of Mission Impossible III and Live Free or Die Hard fame. She'll not only give you missions, but also helpful advice on your surroundings and tips for defeating enemies.

One of the most touted features of the game will be the live action cutscenes in between races, which will help further the storyline. EA have worked hard creating numerous sets, the goal to blur the line between film and game, although hopefully the overly cheesy tone of Most Wanted doesn’t make a return to Undercover.

As expected, the game has real time damage to all of the vehicles, so you’ll be able to dent your rides and scrape the paint, although whether full-scale damage occurs is yet to be seen. But as seen in the trailers the damage that is included thus far looks extremely realistic, as does most of the graphical detail, with the environments really standing out.

Set to be released in November on all consoles, handhelds and PC, Undercover looks set to forge a new track in the Need for Speed series, while maintaining all the core gameplay that has made the games so enjoyable since the initial release way back in 1994.

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ReplyPosted by Ruptunex on 19 September 2008, 12:37PM

Enthusiasm scale is feeling very floppy

 

ReplyPosted by alienhominid on 19 September 2008, 01:10PM

not another one...

 

ReplyPosted by tim705 on 19 September 2008, 04:48PM

Sick of Need for Speed, there is way too many.

 

ReplyPosted by Asteviza on 19 September 2008, 05:09PM

Cool, can't wait for this one.

PS: The Ford Mustang is mine everybody !!

 

ReplyPosted by Genocide on 21 September 2008, 10:34PM

Well ProStreet was complete and utter garbage. They've become progressively worse since Underground 2. Actually I dont think they can even be called Next Gen games now.

 

ReplyPosted by primeelfkilla on 24 September 2008, 11:47AM

I have enjoyed all my need for speeds but find them hard to compare the last three to the others my favorite is carbon I have read some grumblings of oh no not another cops and boy racer style but myself I dont care if it is illeagal street racing or pro as long as I can customize all of my car and the story line dosnt present it self as a porsche 911 but really is a morris minor

 

ReplyPosted by Dylan1234 on 29 September 2008, 03:28AM

Bring back free roam

 

ReplyPosted by kiwi161 on 2 October 2008, 07:56PM

After ProStreet i don't think ill bother getting my annual dose of Need for speed... maybe a rent at best.

 

ReplyPosted by Oliver on 7 October 2008, 04:10PM

I hate Need For Speed's current art style - The shiny, mirror-effect on the cars actually looks pretty bad, especially in orange, and I hate how the lighting is always overly bright to the extent where you get an effect like over-exposure in a photograph. I'm skipping this one unless the majority of review sites give it an 8 or better.

 

ReplyPosted by 0lance0 on 1 December 2008, 08:48PM

STAY AWAY CRAP GAME OF THE YEAR