Need for Speed: Undercover Preview

Although titles like Gran Turismo and Forza are hugely popular, people don't buy Need For Speed titles for simulation - they buy them for arcade racing thrills. The first next-gen Need For Speed, Most Wanted, proved to be one of the best Xbox 360 launch titles, offering just the right amount of action and a "so bad it's funny" story. If you've played it you'll always remember the cheesetastic FMV cut scenes featuring Josie Maran, and since then gamers have wanted more of the same. 2006's Need For Speed: Carbon wasn't bad, but we've yet to get a next-gen offering to match Most Wanted. Need For Speed: Undercover looks like that game.

Key to Undercover is what EA is calling the 'heroic driving experience'. For ProStreet EA built a robust real-world physics engine - something that fitted the game's goal but divided opinion amongst fans. In Undercover this physics system has been given an injection of cool. Think of all the best car chase scenes in movies from the last ten years and you'll get an idea of what to expect. EA want you to feel like a skilled stunt driver, and it works. By using a combination of the gas pedal, brake, e-break and gear stick you're able to pull off stunning looking manoeuvres like reverse 180 degree turns. It's like you are Jason Statham from the Transporter movies.

Undercover is set in Tri-City Bay and you play a cop/race car driver who's asked by a government agency to go undercover in order to bring down a crime syndicate. MI3 actress Maggie Q stars as Chase Linh, your handler in the game. Throughout the story she'll provide you with vital info and appear in the impressive Hollywood produced cut scenes. While we were quite looking forward some potentially funny moments, it seems EA has gone down a more serious route and it works very well indeed. Your goal in the game is to take down the various captains before taking down the whole operation, which is obviously done while driving at insanely high speeds.

Tri-City Bay is split into three areas (Port Crescent, Sunside Hills and Palm Harbor) as well as the Gold Coast Mountains. All of these are joined by a massive highway system, forming a large open world to explore, tackle missions and race in. Highways are the location for Undercover's new signature event type: Highway Battles. EA's goal here was to create visceral and energetic races, competing against and trying to take down an opponent. Perhaps taking a cue from the Burnout series you're able and encouraged to use the other traffic on the road to assist you in your goal - you can imagine the carnage that ensues.

According to EA the traffic in Undercover is modelled realistically and reacts to your actions. While you can simply push a car over into the way of your target, you could choose to spook a driver of a bus, causing him to jackknife in the middle of a dual carriageway. Racing at high speed, weaving in and out of traffic appears to offer the kind of thrills that were severely lacking in the more down to earth and structured ProStreet.

As EA repeatedly pointed out during the publisher's Games Convention 2008 demonstration, Undercover is all about heroic driving, and there's no better reason to drive like a stuntman than trying to outrun a swarm of angry police cars. Police chases thankfully return to Need For Speed in Undercover and these guys are aggressive, very agressive. To begin with they're not pushovers, but as you progress through the story and increase your level, your notoriety amongst the police also increases. Before too long they'll spot you on the streets and go after you, hunting you as a pack. If they get you - which seems like it'll be a regular occurrence for less skilful drivers - you'll have a strike against your car and it'll be impounded.

EA didn't demonstrate any of the game's missions, of which there will be dozens (no exact number was given), but it was clear that you'll be told to do things that are clearly against the law. By the end of the game you'll be so far in that the cops will be your nemesis even though in reality they should be your colleagues. Something EA was keen to point out is that the story and missions haven't replaced the usual race modes. These more traditional events, where the city is turned into a more traditional race track, are present and correct, and earn you cash and experience - cash which can be used to buy mods and performance upgrades for your rides. It wasn't demonstrated but the auto sculpting from previous Need For Speed games will also be available.

Being able to take pictures of the game during gameplay situations is becoming increasingly common, and with the amount of action on display in Undercover it's no surprise to find such a feature here. We didn't see it in action but EA says that the snaps taken have been dubbed 'Movie Poster Action Cinematics' - sounds good to us.

Undercover still has some way to go in development (it's not out until late November) but it's already looking very impressive. Car models are incredibly detailed and procedurally deform based on collisions. The areas of the city demonstrated to us were bathed in a gorgeous yellow light that gives the game a highly stylised appearance, and the camera often uncouples from the rear of the car in order to give a better, more cinematic view of the action. With months of development left there were obviously a few technical issues, but on the whole we can't wait to see how the final game looks. As in previous Need For Speed titles the audio is often dominated by the sound of police chatter. We only saw one police chase so can't say how it'll sound hours into the game, but they said all the right things to convince us they were on our case.

After entering the demo room for Undercover praying for a return to the Hot Pursuit/Most Wanted gameplay style, we were relieved to find that's exactly what EA has done. With a superb looking Heroic Driving Model, impressive production values and a career that is said to offer 30+ hours of gameplay, we can't wait for Need For Speed: Undercover's November release.