Put three words in the right sequence – like “Need for Speed” – and the memories come flooding back. It was in the ‘90s and a friend wished to show off a game he had for his PC. It was really the first time that a PC game had been seen – sure, there were the cursory times spent with a Commodore 64 and an Amiga – and that Need for Speed game left an amazing impression. I distinctly remember driving home afterwards, obeying the 55 mph speed limit on the country road and thinking that the vehicle was moving way too slow.

The EA/Black Box franchise has been through a dozen or so iterations (more if you count two V-Rally titles, Motor City Online – which had the NFS subtitle attached – and Underground Rivals), and not a whole lot has changed over the past years. The driving mechanics are seemingly locked down, the races themselves have not changed all that much from previous releases and the game still treads that line between arcade and simulation.

Burnout Paradise raised the bar for EA car titles by creating a racing structure within an open world that actually made use of the world. Does NFS Undercover answer that challenge? Quite frankly, no. NFS Undercover seems to be a fading marker for the once-proud NFS series. It weaves together a skimpy storyline with the same races experienced before and tries to infuse some sense of urgency with filmed cut scenes featuring the alluring Maggie Q. Undercover’s races are scripted and similar – not to mention the difficulty curve starts at incredibly easy – and serves only to put you into a linear story-driven adventure. You race, you build up your level, you improve your car, you race some more, Maggie Q’s voice tells you what you should be looking for (so instead of wandering the city, you call up the map and click on where you should be and enter the race without having to go there), and it all comes down to a wash-rinse-and-repeat affair that is a bit disappointing.

NFS Undercover is not a bad game, by any stretch of the imagination. It’s simply not all that hard to jump into, and features basic race types (like races that feature you using the clock to take the lead and maintain, or leading by a certain distance, or lap races, or pursuit races where you have to evade the police … well, you get the idea; it’s been done before).

The game centers on the idea that you are a cop that has gone undercover to infiltrate a major crime syndicate through what may be its weakest link, the maniacs who openly race on the streets of the Tri-City Bay.

The goal is to get the information on an international smuggling organization. The tip of that iceberg are the flashy cars that are appearing. Your job is to hit the streets in a decent ride, get the attention of the hot car crowd – which has an association with the main body of bad guys – and prove your worth as a wheelman.

The goal in the single-player campaign is to not merely win a race, but to dominate. Dominating a race improves your driving stats in specific areas. You also receive monetary rewards that can be used to improve your ride, or your growing stable of rides.

The auto-save feature does come in handy by saving the game at each milestone. You don’t have to go hunting for save button when you decide you’ve had enough for that particular session.

One of the nice features of the game is that while you are technically an enforcement agent, you are undercover, and that means that you will hear the police band that takes notice of your activities and you may even have a few police cars en route to investigate the illegal street racing. It is pretty cool how quickly the band reacted, and the police banter keeps pace with the action of the game very nicely. In fact, the audio for the game is all handled fairly well. Though there is a considerable body of live-action cut scene work, it melds decently with the game.

When it comes to the cars, those who may have played Motor City Online will recognize elements (upgraded from that 2001 release) from that game in that you have upgrades available to specific areas of the vehicle (engines, nitrous oxide, drive train, suspension, brakes, tires and such) and all your upgrades affect the way the vehicle will run in the races you enter. You can tune the car to suit your particular tastes, which is very nice. For example, in the tuning section for engine you have a slider bar. On one side is torque (initial acceleration and acceleration out of turns) and on the other is horsepower (top speed). If you move the slider toward torque, you will fly out of the turns, but you sacrifice power for the straightaways.

Through the main menu you can access the GPS map (which allows you to jump to events), open up your driver skills, go online (the disc provided by EA was for the PS3 debug unit and this option was not available), or just quick race to tune up driving skills.

In regards to the damage, your car will take a bit as you race, but nothing that seems to slow the vehicle down or interfere with the performance too much.

Graphically this is decent looking, with solid camera angles. The game will occasionally cut to a slo-motion cut scene for a different view of something you have done in the car (like a jump you have taken), but you have to be on your toes and keep your finger on the pedal to the metal (so to speak), because it will cut back quickly and you don’t want to be caught without your controls ready to resume.

(It needs to be noted that the same disk sent for the preview was used for the review, and some elements were unable to be tested on the test servers.)

The main problem with Undercover though is that it really does not make good use of the open world, nor does it advance the racing formats or try anything new. The storyline is a skimpy tale that barely holds together while trying to push players along a path that is driving and then more driving. In light of the Burnout Paradise release, NFS Undercover just does not hold up that well – which is a pity.

Gameplay: 6.8
Some load times and repetitious race intros, but the game does control decently.  

Graphics: 7.5
The driving mechanics are solid, and while the cut scenes are film inserts, they meld nicely with the game’s overall video package.

Sound: 7.0
The music is solid and the voice acting does a decent job. The story is a little far-fetched, but the actors and sound elements make the best of the situation.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

Concept: 6.8
The game is not really progressing that much, but seems content to try the same basic elements within the framework of a “new” story.

Multiplayer: N/A
During the time of this review, the servers were never available to try out multiplayer. (Keep in mind that the disk received was not a retail copy, but rather a mastered build for both preview and review purposes.)

Overall: 6.8
Come on, it’s Need for Speed and that means a tried-and-true racing formula. While the story is a bit far-fetched, it really is no different than some previous titles in the NFS franchise. It would be nice to see the series break out and take a few chances, but what is here – from the open world to the car customization options – should provide for some entertainment for NFS fans.