Need for Speed: Undercover
Encyclopedia
Need for Speed: Undercover is the 12th installment of the popular racing
video game series Need for Speed
, developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts
(EA). It was released on PlayStation 2
, PlayStation 3
, Xbox 360
, Wii
, Microsoft Windows
, PlayStation Portable
, Nintendo DS
, and mobile phone
platforms in November 2008. The game was later released on the iOS on April 27, 2009. According to EA, the game has sold over 5.2 million copies on all 8 platforms combined.
Need for Speed: Undercover is also the very last Need for Speed game to be released for a sixth-generation gaming console (in this case, the PlayStation 2
). Undercover is the last of the Second era of Need for Speed games, although it is the first game in the series to use the current logo's typeface.
map (like the Midnight Club
series) consisting of 109 miles (175.4 km) of road and a large highway system, making it the largest Need for Speed "world" EA has created so far. The game's environment consists of four boroughs: Palm Harbor, Port Crescent, Gold Coast Mountains, and Sunset Hills (in the DS version the boroughs are Metropolis, North Port Crescent, South Port Crescent and Riverton). In the Wii and PS2 versions two boroughs are copied off Need for Speed Most Wanted and put into different positions. These four boroughs make up the city, Tri-City (referring to the real-life city in Tri-City, Oregon
), presumably a city located on the Gulf Coast or on the California Coast although the city itself heavily resembles Miami. The road system includes four water crossings, going clockwise: the Main Guy Causeway
(Ocean Expressway connecting Sunset Hills to Port Crescent via man-made island), the Vale Causeway (Sunset Hills to Palm Harbor
), the North T Causeway (Man-made island to Palm Harbor), and the Memorial Tunnel (Port Crescent to Palm Harbor). Undercover also features a new continuous highway system. In previous installments, highways were relatively small circuits concentrated within separate boroughs. In Undercover, the main highway circles Tri-City, with each of the four boroughs sharing a piece of the larger circuit. The longer highway length gives a more realistic shape, with long straight areas, gentle curves, rest area
s and large interchanges
. Lastly, the entire map is open from the start of the game, unlike previous installments where boroughs had to be unlocked.
The police system is similar to Most Wanted
and Carbon
. It uses a similar bar graph at the bottom of the screen that moves between the blue "Evade" (shown as green on PS2 and Wii), on the right side, and the red "Busted", on the left side, depending on the player's speed and proximity to police
. The "Cooldown" period after evading pursuing police units returns as well (shown in light blue), along with heat levels, speedbreaker and pursuit breakers. Also similar to Most Wanted and Carbon, police vehicles range from generic city
patrol cars to federal
pursuit cars accompanied by police rhinos (SUVs
) and helicopters
. Unlike previous games, the type of police that appear is not entirely dependent on heat levels (i.e. high level police can appear at low heat levels and vice versa) but more on the player's wheelman level (i.e. progress through the game). At a high wheelman level, federal police will immediately join the pursuit, even if the player was at a low heat level. Common police tactics such as road blocks
, rolling road blocks, spike strip
s, and PIT maneuver
s are all featured, although some are only used by federal police. In addition, the player gets to drive a police vehicle in a mission in career mode, which consists of stealing a Nissan GTR state police
car. The other police cars cannot be driven except in a multiplayer game called Cops and Robbers. In the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, however, other than in the mentioned mission(in these versions the cop car is a Lamborghini Gallardo
- there's no GTR in them), the player earns from Chase Linh three police cars in career mode(Mustang GT, Lamborghini Gallardo and Porsche 911 GT2) after reaching certain parts of the game, which can be driven in a "chasedown mode", where the player has to arrest a certain number of racers, earning money as a reward.
A damage system returns to Undercover, but differs from the prior title ProStreet in that the damage is only cosmetic and does not adversely affect performance. However, a car can still be "Totaled" in the new "Highway Battle" mode (except PlayStation 2 and Wii) and in some missions in career mode. During these missions a car damage bar is displayed, which indicates the amount of damage done to the player's vehicle. The primary goal of these missions is to deliver certain cars without totaling them. In general, damage is automatically repaired after every career race or police pursuit, unlike in ProStreet where it had to be repaired by the player at a cost (either money or a "repair marker"). The damage system has been updated, which is more detailed given that scratches and dents could now be seen on the player's car (which represent minor damage), or heavy damage such as entire sections of the car ripped off (like bumpers, hoods etc.) or large deformations or dents. Police vehicles can sustain damage but in a different way than they did in Most Wanted and Carbon. Instead of the damage being made up of static models (although doors, trunk doors, hoods, bumpers and sirens could be broken off), the damage models are now flexible, and each area of the car can suffer from none, light, medium, or major damage (unlike Most Wanted or Carbon where each area can be in only two states of damage, undamaged or damaged). Many minor hits to different areas will gradually make the sustained damage more and more severe.
The customization of cars is similar to Need for Speed: ProStreet
but has been enhanced on the level of graphics
and detail. The new color palette and the "matte" paint were improved. The game also features aftermarket parts like Carbon did. As a bonus, EA added a vinyl similar to the vinyl of the BMW M3 GTR in Need for Speed: Most Wanted
that was continued as a bonus car in "Carbon".
The player can gain wheelman (i.e. reputation) points as they progress through the game's story by participating in missions, winning races or performing flashy maneuvers in a police chase. In turn, this grants the player access to bonus missions, adding a small RPG
-like element to game play.
The game also uses in-game advertising
, featuring the T-Mobile Sidekick.
' s release, EA revealed a few plot details. A video was uploaded that showed the player evading capture from the Tri-City Police Department (TCPD). Another source revealed that the player gets aided by detective Chase Linh and Lt. Jack Keller, played by actors Maggie Q
and Paul Pape
respectively, whilst also making friends with a character named Carmen Mendez, played by singer and actress Christina Milian
.
In addition, six criminal characters were revealed, who are:
The player is set in the story as a police officer
, who goes undercover into the criminal underground of Tri-City, a fictional city where the game is based. The player has to take on dangerous 'jobs' and compete in races in order to infiltrate and take down a ruthless international crime smuggling syndicate, consisting of illegal street racers and car thieves. The player's only contacts to the police are federal handler Chase Linh, played by Maggie Q
, and later Lt. Jack M. Keller played by Paul Pape
. In time, the player begins to prove himself as an excellent racer and wheelman. As he goes deeper undercover, he ends up having to take out different criminal "friends" he meets but mistakenly frames Chau Wu, a ruthless leader of a crime syndicate. Chau Wu then calls the player and tells him that there is only one thing he can do to redeem himself. There is a car stolen from the dockyards with incriminating evidence in it. Chau Wu believes GMAC stole it, and he wants it back. In reality, Hector and Zack Maio are the ones who stole it, not realizing who the car belonged to. Carmen, fearful that Chau Wu is coming after her, asks the player to take the BMW M6
(Porsche 911 GT2
on PS2 and Wii versions) from her, however, Chau Wu finds out that the player now has his car. He phones the player demanding the car back and will use Chase Linh as a hostage until the player does. As a result, the player takes the car to Chau Wu, hoping to save her but when he gets there, he discovers that Chase Linh has been working with Chau Wu all along. Chase Linh then murder
s Chau Wu and his henchman
with a silenced pistol
recovered from Chau Wu in order to frame the player with his death and escapes in the car, taking any of Chau Wu's possessions that were in it with her. The police, thinking the player is the killer
, come after him but Lt. Jack Keller tells him to lose them and go after Chase. The chase takes place with Chase in a grey BMW M6 (red Porsche 911 GT2
With a vinyl resembling the vinyl of the BMW M3 GTR in Need For Speed Most Wanted in the PS2 and Wii
Versions) which contained the money. Eventually, she is apprehended and charged. Later, Lt. Keller tells the player that Carmen testified in return for not being charged for any criminal offenses and that the evidence used against Chase Linh was Chau Wu's PDA, which contained information regarding the dockyard cars and other criminal activities. The player is praised because he went 'Deep Undercover' but still did not forget himself. In the last scene, Carmen asks the player to drive her to the university because she is currently attending as a med student
. The ending song after that scene (credits) is On My Own performed by Splitting Adam.
Undercover is followed by Need for Speed: World which was released internationally on July 27, 2010.
Electronic Arts CEO
, John Riccitiello
, stated that the previous release in the series (ProStreet) was only "an okay game...[and was] not good" and that Undercover would "be a much better game". He stated Undercover would have a considerably longer development cycle
than its predecessors because the Need for Speed development team had been split up into two teams, both of which would work on a "two-year" development cycle with future titles, alternating releases between them. Riccitiello stated he was "torturing" the development team with a tight development cycle in the past. "When this change was implemented in mid-summer 2007, one team started working on Undercover (giving it only a 16.5 month development cycle), while the other team (that finished ProStreet) would start working on the next title." Riccitiello also stated Undercover took inspiration from action film
s such as The Transporter
, with a large embedded narrative
.
Frank Gibeau (President of the EA Games label) stated during development that due to the fact that the sales of ProStreet didn't live up to EA's hopes for the game, the Need for Speed franchise
would go back to its roots (although Undercover was already being developed before ProStreet). "John Doyle (Developer at EA Black Box) said that Undercover would feature a brand new game mechanic
and a Most Wanted
-ish' sandbox style of gameplay
." The game was also provided with an all new damage system. Andy Blackmore (Senior Vehicle Concept Artist at EA) explained how one of the Porsche
cars that was "conceptualized" in the game
was then brought to life for the game from a brief description to being approved by Porsche
.
' Midnight Club: Los Angeles
and EA's own Burnout Paradise
.
The IGN
review was critical of the PS3 version of Undercover giving it a 4/10, calling it a "poor game with a ton of problems" and with "practically no redeeming qualities". IGN also commented on how the reason for having an open world environment was lost because a player could only start an event from the map. However, the Xbox 360 and the PC versions received a higher score in contrast to the PS3 version in the IGN review, due to the fewer severe problems that occurred.
The 1UP.com
review called the game only "fairly successful," but praised the games selection of cars and tighter handling on the vehicles. However, the "leveling" system that unlocks cars and upgrades was criticized for resembling "grinding
".
In general, sparse traffic, wide-open roads, and poor AI led to complaints about extremely low difficulty, however, one reviewer commented on how this may have been a marketing ploy to target a wider audience.
The reception to the live-action cut scenes was almost universally negative, with many critics noting that the videos were poorly acted and lacked purpose. Many have even compared the cut scenes to a "Michael Bay
or Roland Emmerich
film". The lack of connection between the crime fighting undercover cop story and the racing game play was particularly criticized by IGN who said, "You ... run missions where you steal cars, make 'special' deliveries and things like this now and again, but you never actually see any sequences that show how the cops are putting the evidence together or anything of that sort. Chase Linh will tell you [what] you need to do to get on the inside of a racing group in order to get dirt on them, and then after a race she'll say 'We have enough, let's move in.' [But you're left asking: How did that help at all?]" Finally, the in-game frame rate
received little praise, and GameSpot particularly criticized the PS3 version for this problem resulting in a lower score on the platform compared to the Xbox 360 and PC versions.
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
video game series Need for Speed
Need for Speed
Need for Speed is a series of racing video games published by Electronic Arts and developed by several studios including Canadian-based company EA Black Box and British-based Criterion Games...
, developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
(EA). It was released on PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, and mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
platforms in November 2008. The game was later released on the iOS on April 27, 2009. According to EA, the game has sold over 5.2 million copies on all 8 platforms combined.
Need for Speed: Undercover is also the very last Need for Speed game to be released for a sixth-generation gaming console (in this case, the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
). Undercover is the last of the Second era of Need for Speed games, although it is the first game in the series to use the current logo's typeface.
Gameplay
Undercover features a new open worldOpen world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
map (like the Midnight Club
Midnight Club
Midnight Club is a series of racing video games developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. The games are similar to the Midtown Madness series previously developed by Angel Studios, focusing on competitive street racing in open world urban environments. Midnight Club however,...
series) consisting of 109 miles (175.4 km) of road and a large highway system, making it the largest Need for Speed "world" EA has created so far. The game's environment consists of four boroughs: Palm Harbor, Port Crescent, Gold Coast Mountains, and Sunset Hills (in the DS version the boroughs are Metropolis, North Port Crescent, South Port Crescent and Riverton). In the Wii and PS2 versions two boroughs are copied off Need for Speed Most Wanted and put into different positions. These four boroughs make up the city, Tri-City (referring to the real-life city in Tri-City, Oregon
Tri-City, Oregon
Tri-City is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,519 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Tri-City is located at...
), presumably a city located on the Gulf Coast or on the California Coast although the city itself heavily resembles Miami. The road system includes four water crossings, going clockwise: the Main Guy Causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
(Ocean Expressway connecting Sunset Hills to Port Crescent via man-made island), the Vale Causeway (Sunset Hills to Palm Harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
), the North T Causeway (Man-made island to Palm Harbor), and the Memorial Tunnel (Port Crescent to Palm Harbor). Undercover also features a new continuous highway system. In previous installments, highways were relatively small circuits concentrated within separate boroughs. In Undercover, the main highway circles Tri-City, with each of the four boroughs sharing a piece of the larger circuit. The longer highway length gives a more realistic shape, with long straight areas, gentle curves, rest area
Rest area
A rest area, travel plaza, rest stop, or service area is a public facility, located next to a large thoroughfare such as a highway, expressway, or freeway at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting on to secondary roads...
s and large interchanges
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
. Lastly, the entire map is open from the start of the game, unlike previous installments where boroughs had to be unlocked.
The police system is similar to Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a racing video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It is the tenth installment in the Need for Speed series. The game features street racing-oriented game play, with certain customization options from the Need for Speed: Underground series...
and Carbon
Need for Speed: Carbon
Need for Speed: Carbon, also known as NFS Carbon or NFSC, is an Electronic Arts video game belonging to the Need for Speed series. Released in 2006, it is the tenth installment, preceded by Need for Speed: Most Wanted, succeeded by Need for Speed: ProStreet in release order and succeeded by Need...
. It uses a similar bar graph at the bottom of the screen that moves between the blue "Evade" (shown as green on PS2 and Wii), on the right side, and the red "Busted", on the left side, depending on the player's speed and proximity to police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
. The "Cooldown" period after evading pursuing police units returns as well (shown in light blue), along with heat levels, speedbreaker and pursuit breakers. Also similar to Most Wanted and Carbon, police vehicles range from generic city
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
patrol cars to federal
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
pursuit cars accompanied by police rhinos (SUVs
Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...
) and helicopters
Police aircraft
A police aircraft is an airplane, helicopter, powered paraglider, or blimpused in police operations. They are commonly used for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and riot control...
. Unlike previous games, the type of police that appear is not entirely dependent on heat levels (i.e. high level police can appear at low heat levels and vice versa) but more on the player's wheelman level (i.e. progress through the game). At a high wheelman level, federal police will immediately join the pursuit, even if the player was at a low heat level. Common police tactics such as road blocks
Car chase
A car chase is the vehicular pursuit of a suspect by law enforcement officers. Car chases are often captured on film and broadcast due to the availability of video footage recorded by police cars and police and media helicopters participating in the chase...
, rolling road blocks, spike strip
Spike strip
A spike strip is a device used to impede or stop the movement of wheeled vehicles by puncturing their tires...
s, and PIT maneuver
PIT maneuver
The PIT maneuver is a method by which one car pursuing another can force the pursued vehicle to abruptly turn sideways to the direction of travel, causing the driver to lose control and stop. The backronym "PIT" has a number of different meanings, depending on the agency using it or school...
s are all featured, although some are only used by federal police. In addition, the player gets to drive a police vehicle in a mission in career mode, which consists of stealing a Nissan GTR state police
State police
State police are a type of sub-national territorial police force, particularly in Australia and the United States. Some other countries have analogous police forces, such as the provincial police in some Canadian provinces, while in other places, the same responsibilities are held by national...
car. The other police cars cannot be driven except in a multiplayer game called Cops and Robbers. In the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, however, other than in the mentioned mission(in these versions the cop car is a Lamborghini Gallardo
Lamborghini Gallardo
The Lamborghini Gallardo is a sports car built by Lamborghini. The Gallardo is Lamborghini's most-produced model to date, with over 10,000 built in its first seven years of production...
- there's no GTR in them), the player earns from Chase Linh three police cars in career mode(Mustang GT, Lamborghini Gallardo and Porsche 911 GT2) after reaching certain parts of the game, which can be driven in a "chasedown mode", where the player has to arrest a certain number of racers, earning money as a reward.
A damage system returns to Undercover, but differs from the prior title ProStreet in that the damage is only cosmetic and does not adversely affect performance. However, a car can still be "Totaled" in the new "Highway Battle" mode (except PlayStation 2 and Wii) and in some missions in career mode. During these missions a car damage bar is displayed, which indicates the amount of damage done to the player's vehicle. The primary goal of these missions is to deliver certain cars without totaling them. In general, damage is automatically repaired after every career race or police pursuit, unlike in ProStreet where it had to be repaired by the player at a cost (either money or a "repair marker"). The damage system has been updated, which is more detailed given that scratches and dents could now be seen on the player's car (which represent minor damage), or heavy damage such as entire sections of the car ripped off (like bumpers, hoods etc.) or large deformations or dents. Police vehicles can sustain damage but in a different way than they did in Most Wanted and Carbon. Instead of the damage being made up of static models (although doors, trunk doors, hoods, bumpers and sirens could be broken off), the damage models are now flexible, and each area of the car can suffer from none, light, medium, or major damage (unlike Most Wanted or Carbon where each area can be in only two states of damage, undamaged or damaged). Many minor hits to different areas will gradually make the sustained damage more and more severe.
The customization of cars is similar to Need for Speed: ProStreet
Need for Speed: ProStreet
Need for Speed: ProStreet is the 11th installment of Electronic Arts' popular racing game series Need for Speed. On May 21, 2007, Electronic Arts published a teaser trailer of ProStreet, and officially announced it ten days later. It was released worldwide in November 2007. Its action footage was...
but has been enhanced on the level of graphics
Graphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
and detail. The new color palette and the "matte" paint were improved. The game also features aftermarket parts like Carbon did. As a bonus, EA added a vinyl similar to the vinyl of the BMW M3 GTR in Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a racing video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It is the tenth installment in the Need for Speed series. The game features street racing-oriented game play, with certain customization options from the Need for Speed: Underground series...
that was continued as a bonus car in "Carbon".
The player can gain wheelman (i.e. reputation) points as they progress through the game's story by participating in missions, winning races or performing flashy maneuvers in a police chase. In turn, this grants the player access to bonus missions, adding a small RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
-like element to game play.
The game also uses in-game advertising
In-game advertising
In-game advertising refers to advertising in computer and video games. IGA differs from advergaming, which refers to a game specifically made to advertise a product.The IGA industry is large and growing...
, featuring the T-Mobile Sidekick.
Plot
A few days before UndercoverMaggie Q
Margaret Denise Quigley , professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American-born actress and former fashion model. She currently stars as the titular character on the action-thriller TV series Nikita.-Early life:...
and Paul Pape
Paul Pape
Paul Pape is an American actor and voice actor. He has appeared in over 20 films since 1977, most notably as the role of Double J in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. He also stars in the Need for Speed video game franchise Need for Speed: Undercover as Lt. Jack M. Keller police Lt...
respectively, whilst also making friends with a character named Carmen Mendez, played by singer and actress Christina Milian
Christina Milian
Christine Flores , better known by her stage name Christina Milian , is an American singer-songwriter, actress, dancer, and model....
.
In addition, six criminal characters were revealed, who are:
- Chau Wu played by Jack YangJack YangJack Y. Yang was a Harvard scientist and chair of board of directors of International Society of Intelligent Biological Medicine . As of 2011, he is the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Computational Biology and Drug Design ....
- Gregory "GMAC" MacDonald a former undercover police officer from the TCPD, who's gone native, played by actor David Rees SnellDavid Rees SnellDavid Rees Snell is a television actor cast as Detective Ronnie Gardocki, on the FX Networks' crime drama The Shield.When The Shield was picked up by FX, Snell was initially hired as a supporting cast member on the show...
(from the television series "The ShieldThe ShieldThe Shield is an American television drama series starring Michael Chiklis which premiered on March 12, 2002 on FX in the United States and concluded on November 25, 2008 after seven seasons...
") - Rose Largo played by actress Heather Fox
- Hector Maio played by actor Kurt CaceresKurt CaceresKurt Caceres is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Hector Avila on the hit Fox drama Prison Break. He was also a standout football player during his college days while attending Sacramento State University...
(from the television series "Prison BreakPrison BreakPrison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...
") - Freddy "Nickel" Rogers played by actor Lawrence B. Adisa
- Zack Maio played by actor Joshua AlbaJoshua AlbaJoshua Lauren Alba is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Krit on the television series Dark Angel. He is the younger brother of actress Jessica Alba.-Early life:...
(brother of the actress Jessica AlbaJessica AlbaJessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...
)
The player is set in the story as a police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
, who goes undercover into the criminal underground of Tri-City, a fictional city where the game is based. The player has to take on dangerous 'jobs' and compete in races in order to infiltrate and take down a ruthless international crime smuggling syndicate, consisting of illegal street racers and car thieves. The player's only contacts to the police are federal handler Chase Linh, played by Maggie Q
Maggie Q
Margaret Denise Quigley , professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American-born actress and former fashion model. She currently stars as the titular character on the action-thriller TV series Nikita.-Early life:...
, and later Lt. Jack M. Keller played by Paul Pape
Paul Pape
Paul Pape is an American actor and voice actor. He has appeared in over 20 films since 1977, most notably as the role of Double J in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. He also stars in the Need for Speed video game franchise Need for Speed: Undercover as Lt. Jack M. Keller police Lt...
. In time, the player begins to prove himself as an excellent racer and wheelman. As he goes deeper undercover, he ends up having to take out different criminal "friends" he meets but mistakenly frames Chau Wu, a ruthless leader of a crime syndicate. Chau Wu then calls the player and tells him that there is only one thing he can do to redeem himself. There is a car stolen from the dockyards with incriminating evidence in it. Chau Wu believes GMAC stole it, and he wants it back. In reality, Hector and Zack Maio are the ones who stole it, not realizing who the car belonged to. Carmen, fearful that Chau Wu is coming after her, asks the player to take the BMW M6
BMW M6
The BMW M6, also known as the BMW M635CSi, is a high-performance version of the 6-Series automobile, designed by the motorsport division of BMW...
(Porsche 911 GT2
Porsche 911 GT2
The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...
on PS2 and Wii versions) from her, however, Chau Wu finds out that the player now has his car. He phones the player demanding the car back and will use Chase Linh as a hostage until the player does. As a result, the player takes the car to Chau Wu, hoping to save her but when he gets there, he discovers that Chase Linh has been working with Chau Wu all along. Chase Linh then murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s Chau Wu and his henchman
Henchman
Henchman referred originally to one who attended on a horse for his employer, that is, a horse groom. Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a subordinate official in a royal court or noble household...
with a silenced pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
recovered from Chau Wu in order to frame the player with his death and escapes in the car, taking any of Chau Wu's possessions that were in it with her. The police, thinking the player is the killer
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, come after him but Lt. Jack Keller tells him to lose them and go after Chase. The chase takes place with Chase in a grey BMW M6 (red Porsche 911 GT2
Porsche 911 GT2
The Porsche 911 GT2 is a sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994. It is based on the 911 Turbo, and uses a similar twin-turbocharged engine, but features numerous upgrades, including engine upgrades, larger brakes, and stiffer suspension calibration...
With a vinyl resembling the vinyl of the BMW M3 GTR in Need For Speed Most Wanted in the PS2 and Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Versions) which contained the money. Eventually, she is apprehended and charged. Later, Lt. Keller tells the player that Carmen testified in return for not being charged for any criminal offenses and that the evidence used against Chase Linh was Chau Wu's PDA, which contained information regarding the dockyard cars and other criminal activities. The player is praised because he went 'Deep Undercover' but still did not forget himself. In the last scene, Carmen asks the player to drive her to the university because she is currently attending as a med student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
. The ending song after that scene (credits) is On My Own performed by Splitting Adam.
Undercover is followed by Need for Speed: World which was released internationally on July 27, 2010.
Development
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
, John Riccitiello
John Riccitiello
John Riccitiello is the CEO of Electronic Arts .He received his Bachelors of Science degree from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley....
, stated that the previous release in the series (ProStreet) was only "an okay game...[and was] not good" and that Undercover would "be a much better game". He stated Undercover would have a considerably longer development cycle
Software development process
A software development process, also known as a software development life cycle , is a structure imposed on the development of a software product. Similar terms include software life cycle and software process. It is often considered a subset of systems development life cycle...
than its predecessors because the Need for Speed development team had been split up into two teams, both of which would work on a "two-year" development cycle with future titles, alternating releases between them. Riccitiello stated he was "torturing" the development team with a tight development cycle in the past. "When this change was implemented in mid-summer 2007, one team started working on Undercover (giving it only a 16.5 month development cycle), while the other team (that finished ProStreet) would start working on the next title." Riccitiello also stated Undercover took inspiration from action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
s such as The Transporter
The Transporter
The Transporter is a 2002 French action film directed by Louis Leterrier and Corey Yuen and written by Luc Besson, who was inspired by BMW Films' The Hire series....
, with a large embedded narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
.
Frank Gibeau (President of the EA Games label) stated during development that due to the fact that the sales of ProStreet didn't live up to EA's hopes for the game, the Need for Speed franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
would go back to its roots (although Undercover was already being developed before ProStreet). "John Doyle (Developer at EA Black Box) said that Undercover would feature a brand new game mechanic
Game mechanic
Game mechanics are constructs of rules intended to produce an enjoyable game or gameplay. All games use mechanics; however, theories and styles differ as to their ultimate importance to the game...
and a Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a racing video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It is the tenth installment in the Need for Speed series. The game features street racing-oriented game play, with certain customization options from the Need for Speed: Underground series...
-ish' sandbox style of gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
." The game was also provided with an all new damage system. Andy Blackmore (Senior Vehicle Concept Artist at EA) explained how one of the Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
cars that was "conceptualized" in the game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
was then brought to life for the game from a brief description to being approved by Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
.
Reception
Reception of Undercover was mixed. There were complaints about the game's easy difficulty, repetitiveness, and poor texture maintenance. One reviewer went as far as recommending the game's rivals such as Rockstar GamesRockstar Games
Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
' Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Midnight Club: Los Angeles is the fourth video game in the Midnight Club series of racing video games, not including Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix. It was officially announced for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 11, 2008 by Rockstar Games. The game was developed by Rockstar San Diego...
and EA's own Burnout Paradise
Burnout Paradise
Burnout Paradise is the seventh game in the Burnout racing video game series. It was developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in January 2008 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and on February 5, 2009 for Microsoft Windows...
.
The IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
review was critical of the PS3 version of Undercover giving it a 4/10, calling it a "poor game with a ton of problems" and with "practically no redeeming qualities". IGN also commented on how the reason for having an open world environment was lost because a player could only start an event from the map. However, the Xbox 360 and the PC versions received a higher score in contrast to the PS3 version in the IGN review, due to the fewer severe problems that occurred.
The 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
review called the game only "fairly successful," but praised the games selection of cars and tighter handling on the vehicles. However, the "leveling" system that unlocks cars and upgrades was criticized for resembling "grinding
Grind (gaming)
Grinding is a term used in video gaming to describe the process of engaging in repetitive and/or boring tasks not pertaining to the story line of the game...
".
In general, sparse traffic, wide-open roads, and poor AI led to complaints about extremely low difficulty, however, one reviewer commented on how this may have been a marketing ploy to target a wider audience.
The reception to the live-action cut scenes was almost universally negative, with many critics noting that the videos were poorly acted and lacked purpose. Many have even compared the cut scenes to a "Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
or Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer.His films, most of which are Hollywood productions filmed in English, have grossed more than $3 billion worldwide, more than those of any other European director...
film". The lack of connection between the crime fighting undercover cop story and the racing game play was particularly criticized by IGN who said, "You ... run missions where you steal cars, make 'special' deliveries and things like this now and again, but you never actually see any sequences that show how the cops are putting the evidence together or anything of that sort. Chase Linh will tell you [what] you need to do to get on the inside of a racing group in order to get dirt on them, and then after a race she'll say 'We have enough, let's move in.' [But you're left asking: How did that help at all?]" Finally, the in-game frame rate
Frame rate
Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
received little praise, and GameSpot particularly criticized the PS3 version for this problem resulting in a lower score on the platform compared to the Xbox 360 and PC versions.
External links
- Need for Speed Undercover at US.PlayStation.Com
- Need for Speed: Undercover at Electronic ArtsElectronic ArtsElectronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
website