Need to go Fast

This starts with a reminder for readers-cum-players. Please note that, do not take this kind of driving to your neighborhoods and streets as real cars never comes with a "save and load" button.

Electronics Arts(EA)

As usual, the official publisher for Need For Speed(NFS) series is Electronic Arts(EA) and the studio that is responsible for the series is EA Black Box. As shown above, that is the new Heroes TV series-lookalike logo.

Black Box (EA)

The NFS series was originally developed by Distinctive Software. The company's name was then changed to Electronics Arts(EA) Canada, as the bigger EA bought them over due to their popular racing games Stunts and Test Drive II:The Duel. EA Canada continued developing the NFS series up to 2002, when another Vancouver-based gaming company, named Black Box, and was contracted to continue the series with the title NFS:Hot Pursuit 2. This was the game that changes the racing game genre. Other than Gran Turismo, NFS: Hot Pursuit 2 was addictive, enjoying, fresh, good looking and beautifully done. Who could have forgotten it's versus mode, the maps, the short cuts, the cars and the awesome soundtracks- Fever For the Flava. It just never gets boring, and this was the games that nobody missed. After that, it NFS series goes on-Underground, Underground 2, Most Wanted, Carbon and Pro Street.

Need For Speed: Undercover

Here comes 2008, the latest installment for the NFS series is Need For Speed: Undercover. The main menu interface is simple and easy; just a click , and there aren't any option to choose the difficulty level for the game.

Main menu

The intro cuts scenes started off like a Hollywood-action-style movie; the studio that developed it, the producer, the cast.

Intro cut scene 1

and here it is the cast; Maggie Q. Do we play as her? Is she driving? It would be cool if we can control her. Yea rite..!! by the way she the hot-young-lady from Die Hard 4, Mission Impossible 3, and Balls of Fury.

Intro cut scene 2: Maggie Q as player?

Continue with the Hollywood-action-style intro. There are helicopters, flying into the city, which in one awesome scenery. The intro theme is actually good, and worth mentioning as it helps to build up the intense feeling in a player; cant wait to start.

Intro cut scene 3

Then it comes to car chase which is of course the main theme of the game ; cars, race, police. These scenes remind us of a scene from Bad Boys 2 the movie by Micheal Bay, or Bourne Supremacy. Again, the intro theme does well by uplifting the mood.

Intro cut scene 4

As the camera focus on the car that is speeding away from the police, players can start to control the car. How exciting can this be.

Intro cut scene 5

Other than those computer generated cut scenes. There are also "other type" of cuts scenes, which is a real life acting; like watching a TV series. Another game that using this style is the Red Alert game. Here are a few screen shots from the NFS: Undercover.

Cut scene 1: Maggi Q and Somebody

Cut scene 2: Maggi Q (zoom in x 2)

Cut scene 3: Maggi Q (zoom in x 4)

Cut scene 5: Some guys

For the game play, the game modes consist of;link

Circuit

The player and 3 opponents race around a certain route through several laps.

Sprint

The player starts at a certain area and races opponents to the finishing point which can be anywhere in the city. A path to follow is highlighted on the GPS map.

Highway Battle

The player races against another on a long stretch of highway with varying traffic and police activity. To win, a player must stay ahead of the opponent for an amount of time and/or lead by 1000 feet/300 metres.

Cost to State

This mode has players causing damage by racing through the city and knocking over lamp posts, signs, barricades, activating pursuit breakers and even disabling pedestrian vehicles and pursuit vehicles to add to the cost to the state in damage and then elude any pursuing police to win before the timer runs out.

Escape

Lose the police through either disabling them or evading them as the clock ticks down.

Checkpoint

The player must race the clock, being awarded more time for each checkpoint passed.

Mission

There are many missions that become available during the course of the game. They typically require the player to return a stolen car to a garage without filling the damage meter. There are also missions were you must race other drivers, or protect drivers from other cars attempting to disable them. In some missions you must ram specific drivers until they are disabled.

Cops 'n' Robbers (PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii only)

An online mode. For the Wii version, it is an offline mode as part of its "Party Play" mode. The player is either a cop, trying to stop the robbers from getting a package and dropping it off at a drop point, or a robber, trying to avoid the cops while getting and dropping off the package at the drop point.

The Heist (PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii only)

An online mode. For the Wii version, it is an offline mode as part of its "Party Play" mode.

Criminal Scramble (Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable only)

Players are the cops and chase criminals.

Chasedown

Players are the cops as they tear down Tri-City's highways and chase down and bust criminals.

Cut scene 6

The police in NFS:Undercover are brutals, aggressive, physchotic-NISSAN-GTRs and they can perform PIT maneuvers (a method by which one car pursuing another can force the pursued vehicle to abruptly turn sideways to the direction of travel, causing the driver to lose control and stop.)

Cut scene 7

In this game, it features a GPS system when player can view the map of the city ; called Tri-City, and consists of four boroughs called Palm Harbor, Port Cresent, Gold Coast Mountains, and Sunset Hills. Drivers can also teleport to any designated shops or event anytime and anywhere.

GPS system (map)

For NFS: Undercover, it come with a plot where "spoiler" and "spoiler, in the end "spoiler". The storyline is rather interesting player will be assigned with plenty of task, Ala Grand Theft Auto. By following the main story line, players will have the opportunity to drive various types of cars; again, various types of extremely FAST and unaffordable(in real life) cars.

The game is fairly easy, and sort of addictive. Well it is definitely easier then Gran Turismo and GRID. The soundtracks are fresh, not punk, not classical, not easy listening, not trance, not boring,not pop, a bit of rock, not sure which category it is, but they are surprisingly good. The developer has definitely tried their best to make it as comparable as the big hit NFS: Hot Pursuit 2, nevertheless Undercover is not a failure and perhaps, it has it's own specialty with new range of cars; extremely very fast cars, crazy police driving Porsche banging from behind and....(you name it).

Need For Speed: Undercover