Need For Speed: Undercover

I've heard a lot of negative comments about this game. It has been said that it looks bad, the story is weak and confusing and that it's the worst nfs game ever. I feel i must jump to its defence.
Graphics: While they're not as good as grid they're not bad. They do suffer from some strange anomalies, weird moving shadows, over bright glare and an over active sun that constantly changes its position in the sky (even if you are driving straight) but they're not bad. Good graphics don't make a good game anyway.
Story: It's a driving game! Story isn't important! Is there a story in the original nfs? Does any driving game need a story? No, it needs great cars that are realistically modelled and handle well, they do. Nobody is disputing this.
Worst nfs game ever: No, i'm old enough to remember nfs 2 and porsche challenge.
Before you all jump on me and flame me for being a fan boy, i'm not. I'm a forty year old man who's old enough to appreciate that good game play is far more important than graphics or story.... Because it's a game i'm playing!

After the less than good Carbon and the complete flop that was ProStreet, things were looking bad for the NFS series... Being a complete fan of the early games such as Hot Pursuit and Porsche 2000, I've always had high hopes and they were all realised in Underground 2. Things got even better with Most Wanted, and that, to my mind was the last proper NFS title.

Reading all the hype before the game came out, it was easy to see that EA had learned their lesson from ProStreet, no more legal street racing with no world to roam in; it was time to get back out on the streets with cops and women. Lovely.

With this in mind, I pre-ordered my copy from Play.com and steadily grew more expectant as the release date came, but was I disappointed? Was i hell. Play.com being the legends they are got the game to me the day before the official release so everything was installed and ready to go.

First impressions were brilliant, good movies and trailer clips and then straight into the action trying to lose the cops and the biggest smile broke on my face, outrunning the cops in a 240SX, could life get any better? Another reason behind my delight was that the new game engine WORKS!!! yes, as one person so ably put it 'you don't have to drive through a vat of treacle like you had to in ProStreet.'

Although totally unrealistic (who cares) the handling is fantastic, as you can now be a complete pratt and drift everywhere, put it in reverse when your doing 180 on the highway and generally burn a lot of rubber; whilst listening to a great soundtrack. Drum and bass is the order of the day with Pendulum providing the backdrop to my burning tyres as I outrun the cops, who I might as well add now are viscous! Until the very end of Most Wanted, you were generally safe if you drove down the highway, but in Undercover they'll pit manoevure you, ram you, block you right from the word go. Fantastic.

Last thing to mention therefore is the cars. Great wide choice of usual NFS suspects, from the 240SX to the now standard Escort Cosworth (my car!) with loads of Audi's, BMW's, Pontiac's and Ford's thrown in too. Classic field of Japanese stuff too including the new GTR and top editions of the Skyline and EVO series. Good looks on the exotic front too as NFS says hello to the Veyron and the Murcielago LP640 which again, makes me smile. Good few classic muscle cars too, Shelby GT500, Pontiac GTO etc.

In conclusion, i personally think the game is awesome - a couple of holes in the graphics but im sure an update patch will get released to fix the small niggles - but a superb drive, mod and cop chase title, and for £25, why not!!!!!

Over and out, TheMez

This game has to be the best to come out of the nfs factory, its using the same engine as pro-street, so all the sexy graphics and cars are there, you can get a bugatti veyron.

The game itself plays just like most wanted, with extras, for example, your 'job' you need to do races and nick cars to progress in game!

All in all buy it

Its amazing!

As so many other reviewers have said this coulda been very good. I have a pretty high spec pc built by myself to play games and this just looks and plays terrible. It stutters along and the motion blur seems permanently on and the graphics are washed out with very bright sunlight effects. Ya know, it's almost like ea said oh sod it that'll do and couldnt be bothered with refining the code etc. Get it on the 360 its much better and much smoother. Cheers.

I have to say I don't get any frame rate problems (but this is using 8800GT and quad core). Graphics good, gameplay very fast and it gives you a good sense of speed. Soundtrack awesome (especially pendulum). Addictive game. Anyone know how many levels there are?