High speed pursuit

Need For Speed is one of the best know franchises in racing games, and this installment, Need for Speed: Undercover, features the same mix of high octane arcade-style driving.

Need for Speed: Undercover returns to the police chases of earlier games, with big-budget production, cinematic cut scenes and flashy graphics that make the game look like an enticing prospect. The races and missions you will undertake are nothing new for the series, and in fact players will struggle to find many differences between this and some earlier titles.

The AI of the computer-controlled police in Need for Speed: Undercover is very basic, making them easy to avoid. While races take place in a city, it’s hardly full of traffic, and what traffic there is doesn’t move in a realistic way. The open world of the game is unfortunately spoiled by the races that are on closed tracks, which may feature a few short cuts, but no freedom.

Driving in Need for Speed: Undercover doesn’t feel great, either. There are collision detection problems, with traffic and even scenery, which quickly get annoying. The world itself is set in time, too, at sunset (or sunrise!). While this looks pretty, it means the sun is often in your face and blinding, and of course that the city doesn’t feel dynamic. A day-cycle is pretty standard these days.

Need for Speed: Undercover isn’t a terrible racing game, but it’s a low point for the series, and there are much better racing games available.