The sixth entry into the long-standing Need for Speed series, Undercover, has appeared on the streets and the early impressions are, to put it mildly, mixed, with a heavy bias toward disappointment and despair. Following the more track-focused ProStreet, many of us were hoping for a glorious return to the cops-and-robbers Bedlam that was so much fun in Most Wanted. Sadly, Undercover looks like it lost its grip somewhere on the freeway.
Style Over Story: The Cutscene Conundrum
One of the very first things you're likely to notice is the live-action cutscenes. They look slick, completely with brooding looks and fast cars, trying so hard to sell this gritty undercover cop narrative. You play a silent hero thrown into the criminal underbelly by a stoic FBI handler, played by Maggie Q. Infiltrate street racing gangs to uncover...something. Honestly, it feels like an afterthought: A pile of cool cop jargon with some vague objectives tossed in.
"You're not good, and you're not bad."
This line, which recurs throughout loading screens, is meant to position you as this undaunted anti-hero. In reality, however, it is a story confused enough to appear beyond cool. The high production value of cutscenes ultimately renders everything even shoddier; mainly it's Maggie Q messing with some serious lines in an empty room, with the rest of the cast barely emulating any recognition. A pity, because where other games gave us kitsch B-movie charms, this is downright cliché, while trying ever so hard to be serious-and failing miserably.
Tri-City Bay-A World That Chokes and Articulates
The game is set in the Tri-City Bay Area, a sprawling map that connects three separate cities via highways and backroads. Sometimes it does look good. With some heavy special effects, the orange-and-blackish theme works well and feels impressive. It sure sets a mood for that stylized crime drama.
Now, this is where it hits a brick wall in all performance terms. Frame rates, for lack of a better expression, are put to a serious test. It stutters, crawls, and during intense moments, it almost feels like a cash-in version of a slideshow combined with a high-speed race. This is not a minor hindrance since it becomes murderous to the sense of speed and actually make it a horror to build up any semblance of car control. The situation only worsens as the cars accelerate, adding yet another huge nail in the coffin of what should have been a blast.
Racing on Easy Street (Really Too Easy)
Undercover rolls out familiar race types-street races, checkpoint challenges, and missions of mayhem and police escaping. The brand-new "highway battle" mode, a while-you-are-at-it straight-line dash with an opponent through traffic, provides some brief entertainment. Cars do feel somewhat floaty, however, I love the slippery handling, which would match the theme of an action movie.
What completely disappoints, though, is the difficulty-or rather, its complete absence. The AI rivals seem to quit halfway through a race, and the cops are too easy to lose. Even with a few minutes to lose them, in well under a minute, I regularly found myself free. The lack of an obstacle takes most of the possible fun away from this core loop. The open world feels left underutilized, as one can virtually select missions right off a map with almost no incentive to explore.
Aggressive Monetization and Just Weird Decisions
A few of the other things just feel-off. The "domination" system, intended to reward you for noticeably winning events, seems arbitrary; sometimes you totally destroy the competition for nothing; sometimes you barely win for full rewards. It is a bit confusing.
More irritating, perhaps, is how much it pushes microtransactions down your throat. Whenever you're trying to buy cars or upgrades (with in-game money called confusingly "cash"), it asks you all the time if you'd rather use Microsoft Points (which is, you know, *actual* cash). Since it's pretty darn easy to earn in-game bucks, that felt just so unnecessary and a bit cynical.
The Initial Verdict: A Disappointing Detour
Maybe I'm just struggling to keep my expectations in check owing to my fond memories of "Most Wanted", but "Need for Speed Undercover" appears to be one in need of a major overhaul at this point. Performance inequity has ranks high on the unfortunate list, while the mediocre story and undemanding difficulty just ensured that everything was dull. Among the multitude of quality racing titles out there, Undercover already feels like it is losing its way barely days out of the gates.