Need for Speed Undercover

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Lifting the cover on EA’s latest Hollywood-inspired open-world racer

As a wheelman pretending to be a bad guy, this has several effects on the gameplay. Most importantly, it means the cops are back (and reportedly with smarter AI than ever before) as well as a host of new racing styles. Undercover’s key theme is ‘the thrill of the chase’ – so, in addition to outrunning the 5-0 across the free-roaming cities, you'll also be performing delivery jobs (getting stolen cars to destinations), taking part in Highway distance battles (escaping a certain distance from your rival), combined with more traditional point-to-point races. EA also briefly touched on the prospect of Boss Races, which is a feature we should be well familiar with from Most Wanted and ProStreet.

We also saw a return of the ‘heat meter’ (which tells you how pissed the cops are at you), cinematic slow-mo jumps as well as a revival of the ability to temporarily slow time for evasive maneuvers. We’ve only just scratched the surface with Need for Speed: Undercover and still have so much more to find out; what the online modes alone have in store for us demand that we keep an eye on it. Even so, we confidently predict that anyone who thought that Most Wanted was their favorite Need for Speed game will have plenty to like with Undercover, not least its new Hollywood style and narrative-driven approach. Prepare to get yourself revved up for the end of the year when Undercover will reveal itself.

Read on for an interview with the game'sexecutive producer.