Brilliant driving game (Need for Speed: Undercover (PC))

Member Name: aaronphil

Product:	Need for Speed: Undercover (PC)
Date:	14/08/09 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good graphics, good story line and great gameplay

Disadvantages: The police and a small map

I've never played any of the Need for Speed titles up until now and I am now a fan.

The game follows an undercover cop posing as a street racer, you have to collect evidence for the FBI so that they can close a car smuggling ring. On the way you race to win cars and money, level up and even tune your machines. Oh and the police chase you and when things get really hotted up they can be an arse to get away from.

I'm not really blown away by the graphics as they are as good as any driving game which as a general rule tend to be worse than normal FPS/strategy games. I like the story line and I like the length of the game so far (I haven't actually finished it yet). The cop chase thing is good at certain times but at others it can be a pain in the arse especially if you're trying to get somewhere or explorer the cities. I say cities; in fact they are more like the size of a town in reality.
Negatives of the game include a very small map and a looping main road. Though this is really the only thing to moan about as the game is made well, I can't see any bugs and it runs smoothly too. You do need a decent rig to run this though and my 8600GTS did not run the game smoothly when the settings were maxed out but my new 8800GT runs it fine and the graphics are a lot better more notably the reflections on the cars. The game can get a bit repetitive especially with a limited map and some parts of the game can be frustrating to complete and take ages to do. The first part of the game set in one city is a doddle to do though and shouldn't take you more than a relaxed week to complete.
There are lots of things to smash up and demolish though and the damage to the cars around and to your own are very good, the only problem with smashing things up is the increase in the police hunting you down but never mind. The AI seems to be ok and the police act quite normally in terms of trying not to crash into random members of the public and not trying to cause accidents, they do use tactics like the pit manoeuvre and roadblocks as well as spike strips to slow you down. You have some radio chatter which if you play the game a lot can be very repetitive with the same command or comment being made several time in a chase or series of.
Here's me rabbiting on about the police chases as opposed to the races and challenges. There are a mixture of straight races, circuit races, police escapes and highway battles for you to take part in to earn cars and cash. Also thrown into the mix is the demolition of other street racers cars as you take them down for the FBI. Races can be hard to win though but the cars racing you seem to be from the same class and ability as the one you drive which is good. Oh also one complaint is that during highway battles generally the traffic on the road cuts you up or the cars randomly weave to make it extra challenging.

That's me done for now I think. Overall a brilliant game and now maybe I'll get into the rest of the Need for Speed series of games.

Summary: A brilliant introduction in the Need for Speed franchise for me