Need for Speed: Undercover (PS3)

I was a big fan of the 'Need for Speed : Underground' games, back when all you had to do was get to the starting point and then race. There was no story and there was no running away from the cops every five minutes. After 'Need for Speed : Underground 2' I stopped playing these games. because it moved away from the original idea of the game and because the far better 'Juiced' was on the market. But I finally decided to give one ago and here's the ...
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I was unaware that the 'Need for Speed' games had a story nowadays, so I was surprised when the game started with a cut-scene featuring real actors and actresses. I was sceptical of how much this could add to the game.

The plot to the game is that you are an undercover cop trying to gain the trust of some gangsters involved in the street racing scene, in order to take them down.

The story itself is ... more

I was a big fan of the 'Need for Speed : Underground' games, back when all you had to do was get to the starting point and then race. There was no story and there was no running away from the cops every five minutes. After 'Need for Speed : Underground 2' I stopped playing these games. because it moved away from the original idea of the game and because the far better 'Juiced' was on the market. But I finally decided to give one ago and here's the review for it.

~~~ Story ~~~

I was unaware that the 'Need for Speed' games had a story nowadays, so I was surprised when the game started with a cut-scene featuring real actors and actresses. I was sceptical of how much this could add to the game.

The plot to the game is that you are an undercover cop trying to gain the trust of some gangsters involved in the street racing scene, in order to take them down.

The story itself is quite weak to say the least. Each cut-scene usually involves your link to the police department, Chase Linh (Maggie Q), telling you that you "have to take them all down !"

The cut-scenes are acted out okay by all members of the cast and are shot in a golden glow, in a bid to make it look more professional. It works to an extent, but I got the feeling the makers of the clips were more interested in you looking at the women (lots of close-ups) then listening to what they have to say.

All in all the story definitely isn't the selling point of the game, the ending is a bit better than the lead up.

~~~ Gameplay ~~~

As usual the game takes an arcade style approach to racing around the streets at 200mph. I like arcade games, there's enough simulation racers out there and I usually find arcade games more enjoyable.

The first thing I noticed when I started racing was that almost any corner could be turned without easing off the accelerator, no corners require the use of the brake. At one point in the game your brakes fail - it makes absolutely no difference.

As you progress through the game ans start using various cars, you will also notice that there's very little difference in the way each car handles.

Cars do take damage, but it's purely visual unless you go through tyre spikes which will make your car very difficult to handle.

As far as the opposition cars are concerned, I was quite disappointed. They don't seem to take any notice of what you're doing and regularly smash into you. This could be seen as normal as it's part of street racing, but I find it hard to believe it's planned.

~~~ Graphics ~~~

The graphics in the game are pretty good, but so are most games these days. So in that sense the graphics aren't at the same high level as other games such as GTA, COD or Assasins Creed.

The cars all look excellent. They're all very shiny and look exactly like the full size models. The damage on the cars also looks good, but it focuses slightly more on the front than on the sides. The damage is also automatically repaired after each event.

The surroundings also look quite good from a distance or when your speeding past them. However, if you're stationary and look closely at them then there quite basic and a little blocky.

You can crash through pertol stations and cranes, etc. Watching objects tumble onto police cars is quite enjoyable. Slow motion scenes also take place for big crashes, but aren't that good. Definitely not in the same league as Motorstorms.

Now onto the main flaw in the game. When you're taking part in an event, sometimes the road in front of you just disappears or goes blue or white. The game then pauses for a second to find the road that should be there. These pauses also occur when the road is present. Both occur very frequently.

~~~ Sound ~~~

The most important aspect of sound in a racing game is the sound of the cars. The game fails to produce on this level, with most of the cars ranging from an Audi TT to a Bugatti Veyron sounding the same.

The music which gets played through the game is quite enjoyable, with a few good songs to help cure the boredom which can occur. I didn't really notice the music once I got properly into a race though.

One of the best aspects of the game (doesn't say much for it) is listening to the police communicate through the radio. Telling each other your location and the vehicle your driving. Other comments are also thrown in, my favourite being "I've seen this guy before, he aint gonna stop".

~~~ Courses ~~~

The races take place through closed off roads throughout the city centre and also in the hills. Other cars are also on the road at the same time, this has one major problem. The roads which have been blocked off so that you don't stray off course is still open to pedestrian cars. So you can be driving along when suddenly a non-racing car in front of you turns to go off into a blocked off road - going through the barrier like a ghost.

There are really only 2 kind of courses. One going through the city centre involving a lot of small twists and 90 degrees turns. And there's the hill routes which involve hair-pins and long winding roads. Both become repetitive and boring after a while.

~~~ Race Types ~~~

Job - these progress the story and usually involve delivering a car or taking someone out.
[These can be quite boring and can become frustrating if they drag on.]

Sprint - racing against 7 opponents from 'Point A' to 'Point B'.
[My second favourite type of race, less boring than most others]

Circuit - racing against 7 opponents completing laps.
[Following the theme of the rest of the game these can become boring. One of the easiest races]

Checkpoint - no opponents, just you and the clock.
[My favourite, nobody bashing into you.

Outrun - a 1 on 1 race where you have to stay ahead of your opponent for a set amount of time.
[By far the easiest race]

Highway Battle - another 1 on 1 race, this time you have to get 300m ahead of your opponent.
[The most difficult in my opinion, luck plays a big part]

Evade - escape the cops
[Usually over quite quickly]

Takedown - take out a set number of cop cars
[Gets tougher as the game progresses, as the more you have to take out the harder it becomes to escape afterwards]

Cost to State - Cause a certain amount of damage to the city
[Very similar to takedown. Inconsistenct kicks in here - a lamp post cost roughly $100, but a petrol station only costs roughly $1000, doesn't seem right to me]

~~~ Online ~~~

The 8 player races ar all available online,as well as another known as 'Cops & Robbers'. I don't have experience of this, because when I went online I couldn't find a race.

I've since managed to find both games of Cops 'N' Robbers and normal racing. Cops 'N' Robbers is a fun game. Being a robber is a lot more fun than being a cop. The object of the game is to collect money from a location then get it to the safehouse (if you're a robber). If you're a cop the you have to stop the robbers getting the money or if they do get it then stop them from reaching the safehoue with it.

All features of online play smoothly, without any kind of lag. There isn't a whole lot of people online though. I was happy to discover that not everyone who plays online are exceptionally good at it, which I usually tend to find with racing games.

One annoying thing is that once you finish a race you have to go out of online then back in again if you want to race with different people.

To play online you have to link your PSN account to the EA Sports website. This is an unnecessary hassle, fortunately I already had mine linked. It didn't work straight away though and some online account tinkering had to take place.

~~~ Cars ~~~

There is a decent variety of cars available, but not lots of individual cars.

The cars which I would have wanted in the game are there, such as the Bugatti Veyron, Pagani Zonda, Lamborghini Gallardo, McLaren SLR and Porsche Carrera GT. There are also everyday cars represented such as Mazda's, Audi and BMW's.

~~~ Car Modification ~~~

This has always been one of the things which appeals most to me in these sort of games, but again I was left disappointed.

Very little can be done. You can change the hood, roof, spoiler, wheels and bumpers, but there's very little choice. Most of the cars look better as they are sold, especially the supercars.

You can also upgrade the performance of your car, which you'll almost certainly have to do if you want to succeed.

~~~ Other ~~~

Difficulty - the story missions are quite easy, but some of the races can be very difficult. Some advice I would give is don't buy any cars until you can afford at least a Porsche. Your better sticking with the cars you win, because if you buy a better car then the oppositions cars getter better as well.

Controls - the controls are very simple to get the hang of, although you don't get a tutorial at the beginning. You'll have to either work them out for yourself or look in the control menu / instruction book. One minor problem I had was that CIRCLE is for the nitrous oxide and X for the handbrake, I would have expected them the other way round.

Downloadable Content - you can download a free challenge series pack which includes 60 new events and 3 new cars for completing them. There also a new game which merges checkpoint, highway battle and sprint elements.

Loading Times - everything takes so long to load. Races can take over 10 seconds and even the GPS map requires loading.

Cut-scenes - both cut-scenes for the story and before events are unskippable, annoying if you have to restart a race. Cut-scenes when you get busted are quite good.

Vibration - I'd recommend turning off this function. You'll often be off road and this is when the vibration kicks in - it quickly uses up your battery.

Trophies - reasonably easy. I've got 70% by just playing through the story.

Time to Complete - it'll take about 24 hours to complete the game to 100% (win every event), a lot less if you just focus on the story.

~~~ Summary ~~~

Not as good as the originals, but a decent game none the less. The arcade handling is enjoyable, but there are many glaring flaws in the game. It felt a bit rushed, like they're trying to churn out a game per year instead of taking there time on one game.

Available for around £10 I'd say it's worth giving it a shot, but if I'd bought it on release I wouldn't have been as happy.

6.5/10

 

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