Let's be clear: this isn't the existential dread that comes from pondering life's fleeting nature. No, this is the dread that comes from the very existence of Need for Speed: Undercover. We're going back, and it's going to be painful but also Nostalgia.
Flashback: Expectations vs. Reality
Remember Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Carbon? Pure arcade racing bliss. Then came Pro Street, a solid game, but not what fans wanted. Undercover promised a return to that open-world, police chase-infused gameplay. Hopes were high. That, my friends, was the first mistake. This game was doomed from the start and did everything it could to confirm that doom.
The Disappointing Start
The game opens with a dramatic ocean shot and ominous narration before dropping you into a hilariously underwhelming chase. Picture this: police helicopters, a red 370Z, a highway... and absolutely zero excitement. Instead of a heart-pounding start, we get a tutorial in navigating rush hour.
The problem? There's barely any traffic, and the police are about as threatening as a wet noodle. This is merely a taste of the numerous disappointments that Undercover had to offer.
Flashback: The Pop-In From Hell
Roadblocks, you say? Ah, yes, the legendary pop-in. Objects just appear suddenly, jarringly, out of thin air. It's a graphical nightmare that persists throughout the entire game. If you've played it, you remember. If not, consider yourself blessed.
The Live-Action Debacle
Then came the live-action cutscenes...where we learn we're an undercover cop in a terrible story. Let's just say that my comments about them in previous videos were too kind. In that spirit, we'll just summarize and move on. Think Miami Vice, but if Miami Vice was a discount bin DVD. We're introduced to Inspector Lynn, our "point person," and then it's time to hit the streets in our 240SX.
Tri-City Beach: A Piss-Colored Nightmare
The game is set in Tri-City Beach, a fictional version of Miami, and visually it is...bad. Over-the-top Bloom effects, blurry frames, and a piss-colored filter plague everything. While the car models look decent, the rest of the graphics are akin to a "Nintendo 64" game, squeezed onto an Xbox 360, a technical achievement in mediocrity, if there ever was one.
The Physics Problem: Fan-Made Sequel Gone Wrong
The driving physics are similar to Most Wanted and Carbon, but *feel* completely off. It's like playing a fantastic fan-made sequel, if it weren't for the fact that it was the real sequel, and the word "fantastic" doesn't quite apply here. The physics are just… wrong.
Early Races and the Wheelman System
The game throws sprints and circuits at you, with a strange "domination" mechanic, as well as "Wheelman rep" and "Driver skill." Earning experience points (because this game suddenly became an RPG) provides small performance boosts and unlocks new parts. It's a contrived progression system that feels arbitrary, despite the game pretending it has some deeper meaning. It is a simple game in disguise trying its hardest to look complicated, and it fails.
Flashback: Reputation Woes
In other NFS games, like Most Wanted, you want to take down the top racers. In Carbon, you want to take over the city. Those are goals, objectives. Here? You want to get in with car thieves, so you level up. A system that feels completely tacked-on and that's because it is.
Highway Battles and Pink Slips
We also encounter Highway Battles, a head-to-head mode in what should be a chaotic rush hour. Sadly, collisions will total your car here, another bad design choice. After a few races, you meet Hector and Zack Mayo, local car thieves, and choose your first pink slip. The Lotus Elise soon proves to be our best friend here, as handling is just... well, it's arcadey, even for an arcade game.
Aesthetic Customization (Or Lack Thereof)
Part shops unlock and the performance upgrade system works the same as previous games, but aesthetic customization is a dud. Maybe it's because the racing scene is about being low profile or maybe it is just too ugly to bother with at this point.
Outruns, Escapes, and Pursuits
Then there are outrun races, back from Underground 2 but now easily cheesed. Escape events, police chases, cost to state, and police knockout modes are also introduced. The police chases feel similar to previous games but with oddly resilient cops and less common Pursuit Breakers. Heat levels don't seem to work in any logical way here either. We get aggressive busted cutscenes, though - which is something.
Car Thefts and Master Events
The game starts throwing car theft missions your way; those introduce unique cars and gameplay elements, but they are mostly just another escape event. Then come the Master events - more challenging races, which at one point, became almost impossible.
Flashback: The Unbeatable Race
A master event. What should have been a normal race became a three-day ordeal. 48 attempts. Upgrades, tuning, cheats, new cars. It didn't matter. Then, a month later, with graphic effects off, we just won. The epitome of the inconsistent and frustrating difficulty.
A Tangent on the Physics (Again)
The game's physics are baffling, to say the least. Some cars handle like RC cars, others like they're on ice, and opponents are inexplicably heavier than you. Interaction and combat suffer as a result of this. What we're left with is an arcade racer that punishes you for interacting with other racers; a truly awful combination. And let's not forget the early version of that awful tap-drift mechanic from newer NFS games! You can't even turn it off!
The Plot Thickens (And Becomes More Unnecessary)
After beating Hector, there's a shift, introducing new characters like GMAC, Nickel, and Rose. We're suddenly delivery boys, then asked to take out some of Hector's thugs. This entire plot is... unnecessary. New takeout missions all feel the same.
More Plot, Betrayals, and a Terrible Ending
There's a Highway Battle that isn't a Highway Battle, a car theft mission where you steal a cop car, a heist to steal supercars, and a "failed brakes" plot point that ends up going nowhere. The story then culminates in the betrayal by Lynn, where we discover she is in cahoots with our main enemy. The ending, including the final boss fight, is limp. The big secret? A PDA with a crime diary. The story was convoluted without being good; it was just unnecessary.
The Problem with Carmen
Then there's the final scene with Carmen, a mechanic *and* med student, who's presented as some sort of prize at a game show. The implications are a bit classist and awkward, given that the main character spent the whole game lying to her.
Conclusion: A Near Miss
Need for Speed: Undercover is a mess. It could have been great, if only the graphics, physics, and story had been fixed. And that's pretty much everything.
So that's it. This is Need for Speed: Undercover. One of Underappreciated racing games. A source of Nostalgia, and one thing that should , be re-visited Despite all issues that have .
