Need for Speed Undercover for PlayStation 3

GF Rating

5

Fair

Need for repair

posted by Weeble (TACOMA, WA) Dec 12, 2008

Member since Aug 2005

36 out of 38 gamers (95%) found this review helpful

What the heck happened here? NFS was once a reliable and exciting franchise full of fun races in creative environments with edge of your seat close calls. Sure its better than the last circuit based yawn festival NFS. But the frame rate is choppy, it stutters often with a full stop pause in mid game play. The races are easy and offer almost no challenge what so ever. Earning enough money to buy a decent collection of cars is paltry at best. By by the time I was able to unlock and buy a really cool car the game was almost over. Through out the whole game I was only able to purchase 2 cars and upgrade. Why? Why would the developers only allow enough race reward credits to barely keep up with one car at a time. At least you are gifted a few pink slips during the game, but you cannot sell those cars. Ever! STUPID!
It is nice that the cop chases have returned albeit a little dumber AI than what we're used to, still a nice return. But if you get 3 strikes from being caught (which fortunately is rare) you car is not just impounded, but GONE! Never to be seen again. THAT IS LAME TIMES 10.
Graphics are barely passable and hardly what should be expected with the current gen capabilities. Tuning is OK. There are some RPG elements where your driving attributes are arbitrarily rewarded. But there is no effect at all on how your cars perform at all, so why bother with this non-feature.
NFS undercover was a really good idea to return to what made the series great (Most Wanted) but fails to execute what made that greatness such a joy. Its a decent rental for a weekend at best, but ultimately a waste of time and leaves you feeling like you've been robbed.

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

One of the best

posted by 0reaper (MIAMI, FL) Aug 6, 2010

Member since Aug 2010

3 out of 3 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

Need for speed under cover is problably one of the bests in the searies. There are hundreds of cars and a very high varaety of challenges. This will be the bes game you play for a long time its so good its adictive.

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GF Rating

5

Fair

Has the potential, but falls short of the mark

posted by motino (WATTSBURG, PA) Nov 21, 2008

Member since Apr 2008

18 out of 20 gamers (90%) found this review helpful

Coming off the closed track races of Pro Street and back to the gritty streets that made Most Wanted so fun, I had alot of hope for this one. Hopes that were quickly dashed.

First off, the frame rate is what kills this completely. I'm not sure if its just with my HDTV, but its nothing compared to how smooth it was in Pro Street.

The gameplay is also severely lacking. It has a lot of the right game modes, but just doesn't pull them off good enough. Sprint, circuit, and "get 'x' amount of feet ahead" are all the race modes there are. Not really much variation. There are also police chases again; but their not really practical.

They give you an option for a nice 'sandbox' street racer, a'la' Burnout, but there really isn't a reason for it. You don't need to get to a certain road or intersection to launch a race. The only thing you need to do is hit down on the d-pad any where, any time.

While there are a handful of very nice cars (Corvette Z06, Pagani Zonda, McLaren F1, Shelby GT500KR) but the limited customization really kills this game, yet again.

All in all, its really not the good ol' NFS of the old days. I suggest a rental for hardcore racer fans, but it just simply isn't that good.

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GF Rating

10

Perfect

undercover

posted by luke123456 (TOMS RIVER, NJ) Feb 3, 2010

Member since Feb 2010

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

this game is sick. some of the guys r hard to beat. i beat the game in a day

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GF Rating

1

Horrible

Not just the worst NFS, maybe the worst PS3 game.

posted by Riskbreake (EVERETT, MA) Nov 21, 2008

Member since Mar 2008

17 out of 21 gamers (81%) found this review helpful

This game tries to be an open-world version of NFS Underground, and fails. If it did that, we'd all be very happy - but it doesn't; there's too many problems with this game to list but I'll try.

-It's an openworld game, but there's no reason to drive around outside of races. Literally. Nothing at all happens. There's not even that many cars driving around - maybe 1 or 2 passing by every minute or so. Bizarre.

-Even though it's an openworld racer, all the races take place on closed tracks. (I guess the illegal street racing ring you infiltrated has quite a lot of political power to be able to close off streets for its races.) Those 1 or 2 non-racing cars you see, though? They can drive straight through these walls. Bizarre.

-The game is just implausible. They have live action cutscenes (which is a nice idea, but they're ridiculous) where they tell you to get evidence, and then you win a race, and they're all "OKAY WE HAVE ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO BAG THIS GUY." What? And why does this illegal street race gang only race during the day...? Bizarre.

-There's car customization, I guess. But it doesn't affect the way the cars drive. Which by the way, is horrible. It's neither GT5 realism nor Burnout arcadeish, it's just terrible. Cars fishtail like its going out of style with the slightest of analog stick movements. Bizarre.

-The game looks bad when compared to ANY other racer in the last year; on the PS3 it also runs really poorly. There's this awful glitch where the shadows change direction with proportion to your speed - like it's changing the time of day, but the sun rotates 360 degrees in like 10 seconds. Bizarre.

There's just really no reason to play this game. The sound is nice (although the music sucks,) and there is a really stylish presentation (which is probably why the two reviews before me called it things like "hot") but its just not a fun game at all. Get Burnout Paradise or Midnight Club LA, but avoid this one at all costs.

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GF Rating

4

Weak

SAME GAME DIFFERENT NAME

posted by STR8BIZNES (BROOKLYN, NY) May 18, 2009

Member since Dec 2008

5 out of 6 gamers (83%) found this review helpful

NOT A BAD GAME BUT VERY REPETITIVE AND PREDICTABLE ENDING GRAPHICS ARE DECENT BUT EVEN ON THE POWERFUL PS3 I FOUND YOU CAN OUTRUN THE PROCESSOR AND CAUSE A LOADING DELAY WHICH IS FRUSTRATING.
HOPEFULLY THE NEW NFS SHIFT WILL HAVE A NEW CONCEPT AND MAYBE DEVELOP A MORE INTERESTING LESS REPETITIVE GAMING STYLE.
THE WHOLE MOST WANTED / UNDERCOVER WERE BASICALLY THE SAME GAME I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A NFS THAT HAS A POLICE MODE SIMILAR TO THE GAMES OF OLD FOR THE PS3/ 360.

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GF Rating

5

Fair

NFS Fails to take the series forward with this one

posted by RouterGuy (CEDAR PARK, TX) Nov 22, 2008

Member since Aug 2005

5 out of 6 gamers (83%) found this review helpful

I am a huge Need for Speed fan, and I will start by saying that I am disappointed again. I was expecting to have a deep story and an open world which I could drive through. Was I wrong!

GOOD:
The racing of this game has the look and feel of the past NFS games. If you like the games in this series you will fit comfortably into this new game.

The sound of the cars is great, and the differences in driving between cars is done well.

BAD: There is a lot to list here
- The story. While the story line has potential the cut scenes are horrible. Often a small blurb that could easily be done without, or the same scene over and over with different people. The game fails to draw you into the story.
- The open world is not used. There is no reason to drive around in the world that was created. The game was poised to be an open world game exp like Burnout. However, you can't even drive around to find races or shops; you just hit a button or choose the events from the map.
- Playability - this is by far the easiest racing game on the market. I could not believe it when I smoked a Lambo with a stock Audi TT. There is no way that this should happen. I looked for a way to increase the difficulty, but there was no option.

Overall:
- If you are a fan of the NFS series then check this title out, but rent before you buy. I think that you will be disappointed.
- If you are new to the racing genre and looking for a great first game, then pass this up and go get a copy of Burnout instead. This is what an open world should play like.

I'll play this all the way through and then return the game, and hope that the next installment is much better than this effort.

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GF Rating

3

Bad

What happened to the NFS we know and love?

posted by RACECRAZY (PORTLAND, OR) Nov 25, 2008

Member since Oct 2007

6 out of 8 gamers (75%) found this review helpful

I have been a huge NFS fan from the beginning. I'm also a huge racing game fan (that's pretty much the only type of game that I play). The NFS series blew me away at how the Undergrounds, Most Wanted and Carbon gave a true sense of speed with about the most realistic handling for an arcade racer. I'm even a Pro-street fan when it comes to the way the cars felt and handled but Undercover doesn't even come close to those games in most areas.

The Good:

- Great engine and SFX sounds
- Fun new moves like easy reverse 180 etc.
- Challenging but not unbeatable AI when you get further into the game.
- Some fun new missions like taking down other drivers, protecting a fellow driver, delivering stolen cars etc.
- Great imagination on shortcuts, jumps and suprising turns and obstructions.
- The cars look great with the exception of customization options and damage is better than Pro-Street.

The Bad:

- For the most part, terrible handling of the cars.
- It actually hurts your eyes to play when you're going fast because of frame rate issues, lighting, shadows etc.
- No adventure in free roam except for being chased by the cops.
- Weak customization
- Cut scenes are real but cheesy
- If another driver hits you and pushes you it's hard to get away which puts you way behind in a race.
- The music is terrible and annoying
- Overall unrealistic street racing scene.
- What's up with no racing/driving at night?

I've never stopped playing a big name title racing game for any reason other than not wanting to deal with the frustration of trying to beat it towards the end but I'm at about 60% with this one and not interested in playing it anymore. I'm an optimist and try to stay interested in a game by looking at the good in it but there is just too much bad.

I'm not giving up on NFS yet but as the saying goes "Three strikes your out!"

Try Midnight Club LA! Played twice through, still lovin it!

See IGN's accurate video reviews on both games.

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GF Rating

1

Horrible

never again

posted by defected (GREENVILLE, NC) Nov 22, 2008

Member since Aug 2007

9 out of 14 gamers (64%) found this review helpful

After pro street I almost had it with the NFS franchise,I felt the new NfS would save the day but was I wrong. This "NFs undercover" was the worst NFS Ive ever played since the first and the word worst is an understatement. As I progressed 5 mins into the game,issues entered in like poor frame-rates, Sounds, screen tearing, and lag just to name a few problems. Its hard for me to review the actual storyline since I just put the game in the mailbox after 30 mins of game time. I can say I went online just to see if there was any hope for this game but only to find more of the same issues! so be warned the development of this game was poorly constructed and may cause sadness. So to say it best Good goodbye NFS "Never Again

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GF Rating

4

Weak

Need For Speed Overrated!!!

posted by sweetlou80 (MORENO VALLEY, CA) Nov 24, 2008

Member since Oct 2008

3 out of 5 gamers (60%) found this review helpful

After playing this game for over an hour it became painfully obvious to me that my Need For Speed days were over. There's no real sense of speed even when using nitrous and the ease of winning races was just disgraceful. This game lasted 2 days in my house and that's only because I forgot to put it in the mail. It's games like this that make me appreciate GameFly cause I would have been furious if I spent the 60 bucks on this game.

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GF Rating

1

Horrible

Only A Short Step Above Pro Street

posted by Cdog897 (GRAY, GA) Dec 2, 2008

Member since Jun 2008

3 out of 6 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

Ever Since Need For Speed Most Wanted I've Waited For The Same Formula To Appear In A Future NFS. Carbon Was A Small Let Down For Me And Pro Street Was Just A Disappointment, So I Had High Hopes For Undercover It Looked Like It Would Get NFS Back To The Glory Days. I Was Mistaken...

Undercover Is Filled With A Good Car Selection, But To Me That's It. The Frame Rate Problems Are Extremely Noticeable Because They Happen Every Ten Seconds. The Game Has No Sense Of Direction Between Races.

Car Customization Is Terrible With The New Added Option Of Using Playstation Store To Purchase Cars And Packages,So Now You Don't Have To Really Do Anything In The Game To Earn Your Cars And Upgrades, You Just Spend Your Real Money To Fix Up And Buy A Virtual Car...

Lastly This Game Is Not Entertaining At All The Only Thing Remotely Interesting To Me Is The Highway Races But That's It...Do Yourself A Favor And Don't Waste Your Time On This

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GF Rating

4

Weak

Good Idea for a game Badly Done

posted by kWGreen (LITTLE ROCK, AR) Nov 21, 2008

Member since Jan 2004

3 out of 6 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

It takes a long time to get the story line started At first the driving seems pretty good then it goes to this mode where its a first person type of driving and you cant change it. The need for speed series needs to retire

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GF Rating

1

Horrible

Just plain disgusting!

posted by ppurisima (BAKERSFIELD, CA) Nov 29, 2008

Member since Mar 2007

2 out of 4 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

I remember playing really decent games on the Game Cube and Playstation consoles that were actually ground breaking and was worth the money. This attempt by EA is just pathetic and I am glad I got it a Gamefly not pure purchase. It leaves you wondering why EA is just wasting the use of the PS3, which is very unfortunate. Even Midnight Club was not up to par but better than Undercover. They should have taken the money paid to their "ACTORS" and put it into a staff who is able to create better games. The graphics need to get better, I know they will never be Gran Turismo, but still, utilize the power of the PS3!

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GF Rating

5

Fair

Dropped the Ball

posted by grimple1 (SHERMAN OAKS, CA) Jul 6, 2009

Member since Jul 2009

1 out of 2 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

Visuals: 9

Technical: 2
This game has some serious loading issues. Often during races the track would fail to load completely and would enduce a shot bit of lag time while rendering the "upcoming" track. I'd run into a blue wall and have a bit of a wait time for the rest of the "track" to load. This is surprisingly bad for this type of game (It's a brand new PS3, so it's not a system issue)

GamePlay: 8
Was fine. The NPC racing cars, however, are un-movable. Apparently a Lotus Elise can push a Potiact GTO off the road... /sigh

Story: 2
Seriously, if anyone can make sense of the ending of this game, then I'd like to meet them. You gave me a BMW and ran away? Why? LAME to non-existent.

Creativity: 4-5
There's really nothing new added here to the N4S line of games. The game is very repetitive.

Music: 2
Music supervisor for this game failed terribly. Seriously, the music sounded like cover-bands from other great artists. HORRID.

Overall: 5

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GF Rating

3

Bad

Going the way of Tomb Raider

posted by Taz751 (Kaneohe, HI) Jun 3, 2009

Member since Oct 2006

1 out of 2 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

First, I love the Need for Speed series. Yes, some versions are far better than others but overall they provide solid enjoyment in racing. Tomb Raider used to do the same for me. So, coincidentally this game provided more frustration and anger than I have experienced since the last few Tomb Raider games. How is it possible for all police vehicles to target me and me only while I am in the chase during "Payback"? This level alone does not provide an ounce of enjoyment. If I could have the time to run the cops off the road and still get after my prey, fine. But I can't, I am against an unrealistic clock. This game only served to tick me off. Keep this up EA...my wallet will no longer open for this series.

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GF Rating

3

Bad

NFS UC

posted by TrueDuke01 (LUBBOCK, TX) May 22, 2009

Member since Jul 2008

1 out of 2 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

I thought it was just like the others, EA needs to start to come up with some new stuff, my fav is still Most Wanted.

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GF Rating

2

Really Bad

If You Loved SegaGenesis CD, You'll Love This Game

posted by damianrock (DULUTH, GA) Dec 8, 2008

Member since Nov 2007

1 out of 2 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

In an effort to probably save money, this game tells a rather bland story with live action scenes. Of course the loads times are over 30 seconds, the acting if horrible, and the lady in charge wears a shirt unbuttoned just enough to let you know there's no way she is real cop, just a video game makers delusion of one. It's all very reminiscent of the Sega CD, only that was a technological breakthrough at the time, and this game is a joke.
Normally I don't, but I have to agree with everyone else on GameFly, this game is poorly made and boring. On the good side, they have a race game WITHOUT 8th grade rap music, variety in what races take place (such as get 1000 feet ahead to win, or stay ahead for 60 seconds), and nice graphics. On the bad side, the music is non-professional, the same "escape the cops" race appears too often (like every other race), and the racing mechanics are awkward and annoying. But the best part, is fact this game starts you in an old Nissan 240sx, which is apparently capable of beating brand new Ford Mustangs and VW R32's, wow. It's really not worth the waiting for the game to come and be sent back in the mail.

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GF Rating

3

Bad

speed isnt even needed to win race's

posted by DaveMartin (BURLINGTON, VT) Nov 28, 2008

Member since Sep 2008

1 out of 2 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

Need for speed comes back with a highly anticipated street race Undercover going back to there old roots of good old crash your aponit and run from the cops origins. This game runs like Most Wanted witch was one of there most steller tittles in my opinion but as time gos by standards and wants in games have drastically changed witch makes this a less then awesome hit in fact its a complete failur in my disapointed eyes. This tittle was deffinatly rushed for the holidays and thats something you can tell when you first touch the gas. EA used an engine witch makes the other cars race compared to your car and the customization in this game is weaker then any other tittle on the market an 8 year old video gamer who has never played a raceing game could beat this game with ease and that dissapointing to me cause im a hard core gamer with raceing being my best and preferred genre i rented this and Midnight Club L.A. at the same time and L.A. is fenominal in every way if you want a good fun and challenging racer get Midnight Club or Burnout

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GF Rating

7

Good

I'm a Tru Nfs Fan

posted by YungDufle (Saint Albans, NY) Nov 19, 2008

Member since Nov 2007

6 out of 19 gamers (32%) found this review helpful

Hi I'm a true need for speed fan . I'm gonna be totally honest , I'm 59 percent complete in the career mode .. so far the came is fun but not what I expected ,, It feels like a mixture of carbon most wanted , Underground 2 and Pro streets ... don't get me wrong the game is fun ,, me personally so far i think its better than carbon ...
In undercover , you don't have as much control over the car as you did in pro street .... its worth a play so I'll let you guys be the judges .

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GF Rating

7

Good

not to bad

posted by bird76 (AUDUBON, NJ) Nov 30, 2008

Member since Jun 2008

1 out of 4 gamers (25%) found this review helpful

ok this isnt that bad of a game but its def. not a great 1 most wanted is still by far the best and they need to go back to that style of a game

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GF Rating

9

Excellent

Need 4 speed amazing game

posted by raceking (AUGUSTA, GA) Nov 21, 2008

Member since Nov 2008

2 out of 11 gamers (18%) found this review helpful

this is a hot game for anyone who has been avid need for speed play it is by far the best racing game out there i do play others just for fun but need for speed is the original racing game the best since it first came out i hated pro street but they have they made up for it in this one thank you need for speed for that

this is a must have in your collection of games to own

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GF Rating

1

Horrible

BULLCRAP!!!!

posted by Natedogg42008 (FLINT, MI) Apr 24, 2013

Member since Feb 2013

THIS GAME IS COMPLETE BULLCRAP!!!! GETTIN AWAY FROM THE COPS IS FAIRLY EASY UNTIL U GET FEDS AFTER YOU AND THEY START POPPIN UP OUTA DA GROUND LIKE THEY DA DEVILS SPAWNS LIKE HOW THE HECK!!! IT DONT EVEN TAKE THE TIME TO LET THEM GET OUTA THE DEPARTMENT THEY ALL JUST SHOW UP LIKE THEY JUST TRANSPORTED!!! AN THEY EVEN START CHASIN YOU JUST FOR SITTIN ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD LIKE WHAT THE HECK DID I DO!!! AN THEN WHEN YOU DO A COST TO STATE EVENT (SPECIFCALY THE 30,000 ONES) BY THE TIME YOU CAUSE ENOUGH DAMAGE YOU GOT DAT DAM HELICOPTER ON YO AZZ!!! I TAKE DOWN DA GROUP DATS CHASIN ME AN THEN OUT OF NO WHERE LIKE 4 MORE JUST POP UP LIKE WHAT THE HECK!!!! BULLCRAP!!!! AN THE HELICOPTER IS ALWAYS ON YOU NO MATTER WHAT ITS LITERALY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AWAY AT THAT POINT CUZ THE GOD DAM THING IS RIGHT ON TOP OF YOU NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO OR WHAT MANUEVER YOU PULL I TRYED TO PULL UNDER A BUILDING SO IT COULDNT SEE ME BUT ALL OF A SUDDEN SOME BUTTLICKER COP SHOWS UP THAT WASNT EVEN ON MY MINI MAP 5 SECONDS AGO AN HE JUST PULLS UP ON ME LIKE HE KNEW I WAS FLIPPIN THERE!!! THAT IS HORSECRAP!!! THIS GAME IS STUPID AS HECK AN I DONT RECCOMEND ANYBODY TO PLAY IT!!! I COULD GO ON AN ON ABOUT HOW STUPID THIS GAME IS AN NOT JUST ABOUT THE COPS BUT I SWARE IT WOULD TAKE ME ALL DAY TO FINISH TALKIN TRASH BOUT THIS PEICE OF TRASH SO DATS ALL IM SAYIN AN DAT SHOULD BE ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO NOT WANA PLAY THIS STUPID BULLCRAP AZZ LICKIN PEICE OF JUNK!!!

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GF Rating

4

Weak

wow, ea

posted by hes_goodpeople (ZANESVILLE, OH) Jan 24, 2013

Member since Dec 2012

i keep going back in time, hoping that i can find a nfs that reminds me of the old "underground" days. unfortunately, they seem to just be getting weaker and weaker. stay away from nfs and ea in general. talk about a company that has fallen far...

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GF Rating

5

Fair

Need for Speed Undercover

posted by ymayow (SAINT PAUL, MN) Dec 9, 2012

Member since Nov 2012

I did enjoy this one but i was expecting more.

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GF Rating

3

Bad

Froze

posted by psychoxmen (LOS ANGELES, CA) Dec 7, 2012

Member since Dec 2012

It was freezing alot

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