An interview with Executive Producer Bill Harrison

Is the return to a Most Wanted-style a response to the criticisms of ProStreet?

We're tremendously proud of ProStreet, we set out to make a more sim-oriented racing game and we believe we succeeded. This year we wanted to build a true next generation action driving game utilizing innovative gameplay like highway battles and our all-new Heroic Driving Engine all woven into an engaging cinematic story with top tier acting and directing talent.

 
Rumor has it that the ProStreet brand will be retained as the performance arm of future Need for Speed games. Is there any truth in this?

There are a number of stories we can tell in the Need for Speed universe, right now we’re focusing on making Need for Speed: Undercover one of this year’s top videogames. 

Will Undercover be very story driven? What can you tell us about it?

Need for Speed: Undercover features one of the deepest and most engaging stories in the history of Need for Speed. This year, we've incorporated Hollywood-caliber talent to help craft our story. For example, we used real sets for the first time, Hollywood talent and Hollywood-style production techniques. Undercover involves the player as an undercover cop taking jobs and competing in races in order to prove themselves.

Is the emphasis more on high-end sports cars and imports than highly-modified, older hatchbacks? What cars will feature in the game?

Need for Speed: Undercover continues the tradition of featuring some of the world’s best licensed cars. However, we’ll be talking more about the specifics later on.

The teaser website suggests that you might be able to choose which side of the law you want to be on. Does this mean that there might be several different story arcs?

In the career mode players are given one main story arc in which they go deep undercover in an attempt to take down an international crime syndicate.

How much of a part does tuning and modifying play in NFS: Undercover?

Customization is one of the core values of Need for Speed and is certainly part of Undercover. The style and tone of customization reflects modern car culture including the more refined styling seen with sleeker lines and matte finishes. Players will also be able to individualize the vehicle’s performance through parts and variable settings, like handling and acceleration.