It's encouraging that EA realized they made a major blunder with the NFS series' last outing, Need for Speed: ProStreet. The most important thing is the devs. of the new Need for Speer are making an effort to bring back the spirit of old NFS titles (Hot Pursuit 2, Most Wanted, etc.). This means we can welcome back stuff like illegal street races, the rush and excitement of eluding cops and similar aspects that have long been a trademark of the series (until they screwed things up with the previous installment, that is).

Never drive off anywhere, unless your car is insanely polished. Like this.

Geez, keep it down, people are trying to sleep around here!

"Gritty and more mature" is the dev. team's new motto this time around. From what we've seen, this was a step in the right direction.

You are an undercover cop in the Tri City Bay Area. There's plenty of "filth" that needs to be dealt with in the city and the protagonist, along with a character named Lt. Keller, took it upon himself to try and make things right. Keller is going to help you make a name for yourself in the world of illegal street races. Things won't be easy, since the cops haven't got a clew as to your real identity. They'll think you're one of the bad guys, so as you become more and more bad-ass, the police will become more relentless. Some assistance will be provided though. Chase Lynn, a federal agent (voiced by the lovely Maggie Q), is going to send various jobs and missions your way. Also, her duty is to clean up the potential mess from your reckless driving.

In Need for Speed Undercover, racing takes place in Palm Harbor, Port Crescent, and Sunset Hills - three different urban areas connected with a lengthy highway. These locations are unique in terms of their look and feel. Players get to traverse through them, on top of taking part in dangerous highway challenges. Taking part in high-speed highway battle races, players must drive as best they can in order to defeat their opponent. Police are, of course, always prepared to give you a hard time (not much different from real-life then). The greatest challenge in highway races will be to outrace your adversary through dense traffic and avoid the pesky coppers. Your racing opponents are usually tough and will make the most out of any mistake you make on the track. Once you're done with the race, you'll need to get your ride back to the chop shop.

We've also learned that the game boasts improved AI routines. Cops will be more intelligent and aggressive than in Most Wanted. Other small improvements were noted, such as civilian drivers signaling when changing lanes and similar things. The folks at Black Box (the developers behind the project) and EA didn't wish to give out any info on the game's multiplayer. As for the design in general, it appears that "the gritty and more mature" works very well for NFSU. However, don't expect any insanely realistic moments in terms of vehicle physics. If you recall ProStreet, smashing your car can severely influence its performance on the road, whereas in Undercover arcade-style racing prevails - in other words, the vehicle may be dented and smashed pretty bad, but it will still run well.

The game features an easy-to-use mini-map. There's the free-roam aspect, of course, so you may explore the Tri City area as you see fit. Missions are indicated with small icons on the mini-map and you can pick them up as you go along. At this point, it was very clear that plenty of familiar elements from NFS: Most Wanted made it back. Avoiding the police, adrenaline-pumping high-speed races through busy city streets and, naturally, flashy cars. It's all there, basically. NFS fans should feel right at home with this one, once it hits stores this November (though somehow we get the feeling they'll be pushing back this one).