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Need for Speed Undercover
November 23, 2008 | 10:18 PM PST
Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game's About
Need for Speed: Undercover is a game that's all about racing. You are trying to infiltrate a criminal ring of car thieves by assimilating into their culture and living life in the fast lane, literally. Driving through the sunlight and neon soaked city, you immerse yourself in the underground street culture, hoping to make the big catch sooner rather than later.
What's Hot
We all can agree that Need for Speed had a rough year last year with ProStreet releasing to an underwhelming response. Thankfully, Undercover gets it back on the right track. The first thing done was they took the franchise back to what made it successful in the first place, a large open world that puts you behind the wheel of many exciting races in the heart of a metropolitan area. Like all NFS games, the presentation is done with flair and style pouring out of every normally-mundane menu option. The production values impress before you even hit the gas pedal.
The race modes themselves are the star of the game. Picking a type of race via the "GPS" menu, you can transport to any event on the map. It saves times rather than having to trek through intersection after intersection. When you enter a race, Underground displays its roots by offering a closed circuit system that accentuates the arcade nature of the NFS series. Undercover is at its absolute best when you are dodging out of traffic with cops trailing your every movement while you attempt to maneuver yourself so you don't get busted.These are some truly magic moments. More standard races are also thrilling because the tracks are smartly designed with an ample amount of twists and turns will keep you guessing all the way until the finish.
Undercover features an extensive leveling system that many RPG gamers will immediately grasp and recognize. If you "dominate" races as you win them, you'll be granted points into special categories which improve your driving skills. You also get other kinds of points that level your own driving abilities further and unlock more races and parts. These upgrades will help you squeak out some next-and-neck wins. It gives you a reason to retry races and beat your old scores -- so you can unlock more potential out of your car.
The customization feature has been extremely strong in NFS since the dawn of Autosculpt in Carbon. It makes its return along with an array of other customizable features that will make sure you have the best-looking ride on the road. This feature sets it apart from some of the more recent racing games just by the sheer depth of being able to modify.
What's Not
Undercover is facing many competitors. Even EA has another racing game in its portfolio, Burnout, which competes with the NFS series now. Undercover tries to do things a little differently than other racing games that have many of the same features, but there are plenty of areas where Undercover feels like a little borrowing from other successful racing games wouldn't have hurt. The world you drive in doesn't feel very vibrant, for example.
You don't see much traffic or any pedestrians, either. As a result, you don't feel particularly connected to the world you are presented. The warm glow of the sun was a nice touch, but it doesn't cover the fact that the city at large feels lifeless. Part of the reason for this is that you are given a huge open world to drive anywhere you want, but you can't activate racing events by being near markers. You can hit down on the d-pad the entire game and never drive anywhere, being carefree and seeing the sights. Throw on top of that some spotty areas where framerate drops and it kills the mood.
Undercover's story could have been really cool. But it's not. There isn't much substance to the cut scenes or the characters. You are given relatively little information, and you'll only really understand that you are an undercover cop looking to stop thieves. Beyond that, you aren't given much else to chew on.
The game starts out incredibly easy, and it is curious that you can win so many races without having to do some hefty tuning. After you gain some levels, the AI turns difficult and knocks you all over the road like a Matchbox car. Smoother pacing would have benefited Undercover and kept a sense of excitement alive.
Final Word
Undercover is a great way for the NFS series to get back on track. The whisper under a lot of people's breath is, "Is it better than Burnout Paradise or Midnight Club?" In straight mechanical terms, no, the city is dull and the aging game engine needs some work. In stylistic terms, the correct answer is that Undercover is doing something different than what those two games offer. It's a more traditional approach that brings in some other elements to spice up the gameplay formula. In other words, Undercover keeps the arcade roots of the series together while plotting a new course for the future evolution of NFS.
What the Game's About
Need for Speed: Undercover is a game that's all about racing. You are trying to infiltrate a criminal ring of car thieves by assimilating into their culture and living life in the fast lane, literally. Driving through the sunlight and neon soaked city, you immerse yourself in the underground street culture, hoping to make the big catch sooner rather than later.
What's Hot
We all can agree that Need for Speed had a rough year last year with ProStreet releasing to an underwhelming response. Thankfully, Undercover gets it back on the right track. The first thing done was they took the franchise back to what made it successful in the first place, a large open world that puts you behind the wheel of many exciting races in the heart of a metropolitan area. Like all NFS games, the presentation is done with flair and style pouring out of every normally-mundane menu option. The production values impress before you even hit the gas pedal.
The race modes themselves are the star of the game. Picking a type of race via the "GPS" menu, you can transport to any event on the map. It saves times rather than having to trek through intersection after intersection. When you enter a race, Underground displays its roots by offering a closed circuit system that accentuates the arcade nature of the NFS series. Undercover is at its absolute best when you are dodging out of traffic with cops trailing your every movement while you attempt to maneuver yourself so you don't get busted.These are some truly magic moments. More standard races are also thrilling because the tracks are smartly designed with an ample amount of twists and turns will keep you guessing all the way until the finish.
Undercover features an extensive leveling system that many RPG gamers will immediately grasp and recognize. If you "dominate" races as you win them, you'll be granted points into special categories which improve your driving skills. You also get other kinds of points that level your own driving abilities further and unlock more races and parts. These upgrades will help you squeak out some next-and-neck wins. It gives you a reason to retry races and beat your old scores -- so you can unlock more potential out of your car.
The customization feature has been extremely strong in NFS since the dawn of Autosculpt in Carbon. It makes its return along with an array of other customizable features that will make sure you have the best-looking ride on the road. This feature sets it apart from some of the more recent racing games just by the sheer depth of being able to modify.
What's Not
Undercover is facing many competitors. Even EA has another racing game in its portfolio, Burnout, which competes with the NFS series now. Undercover tries to do things a little differently than other racing games that have many of the same features, but there are plenty of areas where Undercover feels like a little borrowing from other successful racing games wouldn't have hurt. The world you drive in doesn't feel very vibrant, for example.
You don't see much traffic or any pedestrians, either. As a result, you don't feel particularly connected to the world you are presented. The warm glow of the sun was a nice touch, but it doesn't cover the fact that the city at large feels lifeless. Part of the reason for this is that you are given a huge open world to drive anywhere you want, but you can't activate racing events by being near markers. You can hit down on the d-pad the entire game and never drive anywhere, being carefree and seeing the sights. Throw on top of that some spotty areas where framerate drops and it kills the mood.
Undercover's story could have been really cool. But it's not. There isn't much substance to the cut scenes or the characters. You are given relatively little information, and you'll only really understand that you are an undercover cop looking to stop thieves. Beyond that, you aren't given much else to chew on.
The game starts out incredibly easy, and it is curious that you can win so many races without having to do some hefty tuning. After you gain some levels, the AI turns difficult and knocks you all over the road like a Matchbox car. Smoother pacing would have benefited Undercover and kept a sense of excitement alive.
Final Word
Undercover is a great way for the NFS series to get back on track. The whisper under a lot of people's breath is, "Is it better than Burnout Paradise or Midnight Club?" In straight mechanical terms, no, the city is dull and the aging game engine needs some work. In stylistic terms, the correct answer is that Undercover is doing something different than what those two games offer. It's a more traditional approach that brings in some other elements to spice up the gameplay formula. In other words, Undercover keeps the arcade roots of the series together while plotting a new course for the future evolution of NFS.
February 8, 2010
