View Full Version : Games out this week (Undercover & Underworld)
scooby snacks
19-11-2008, 23:08
As in NFS Undercover & Tomb Raider Underworld, these were relatively low on my 'to buy' list so was just wondering what the general opinion of these was?
NFS Most wanted was good but the last couple have been pretty crap so I'm not sure about Undercover. Loved Legend and Anniversary, so Underworld will most likely be a purchase.
If NFS is still more about gaining streetcred and being cool than actually having fun driving fast cars, then I'll be staying the hell away (again). Loved Tomb Raider Legend though, so I'm looking forward to Underworld.
Wish I had been able to cancel NFS: Undercover because it has got some bad reviews. Tomb Raider Underworld is probably a bit better but suffers from supposedly the worst camera in a Tomb Raider game to date and that is against some competition...
Out of the two I wish I had gone for the Tomb Raider game now.
On a side note I was watching a gameplay video of Tomb Raider Underworld and noticed a location that I'm almost certain is also the inspirations for my LittleBigPlanet level. Coincidentally it does feature an underworld mythology aspect to it but the Tomb Raider game appears to go on a completely different track.
Wish I had been able to cancel NFS: Undercover because it has got some bad reviews.
I coulda swore I cancelled my pre-order at Shopto.net but I got an email late last night thanking me for my order. Lo' and behold it's already been shipped.
Surely it cant be graphically worse than before though? If it's along the lines of NFS:MW then that's fine, it was ProStreet that gave the franchise a bad name....
SpaceCoyote
20-11-2008, 09:39
I always look forward to the NFS game for the year - it's my Christmas game and I even enjoyed Prostreet, but from the sounds of the reviews Undercover isn't going to be any fun at all.
I think I'm going to be staying away this year, which is a shame, but then I do have Fallout 3 to start yet.
Mortal Kombat vs DC is out this week too, strangely tempted by that as its had ok reviews.
The games not even out yet and already there are over £45 worth of DLC to get for Undercover!! :eek: :mad: That is obscene!! EA at their all time worst!
Not that I was going to buy it but I'll NEVER buy it now!
SpaceCoyote
20-11-2008, 16:09
The games not even out yet and already there are over £45 worth of DLC to get for Undercover!! :eek: :mad:
If it is anything like Prostreet, pretty much everything that could be bought with points would be unlocked if your progressed in the game.
Rip off, aimed at impatient kids with dad's credit lodged in the account settings.
I was on the fence whether or not to buy Need For Speed: Undercover. Then I watched a video on Gametrailers where Maggie Q said that she wanted me deep inside and that was the way she liked it or something. To cut a long story short, the game got ordered a few minutes later. But I’ve seen some really bad review scores for this and after buying Shaun White Snowboarding I already had the “JohnMac, buying all the crap games so you don’t have to” slogan ready for my first impressions post.
The game has framerate problems and the graphics don’t look that great anyway. The roads are way too shiny/reflective, there is quite a lot of pop-up and the game has a really strange/unrealistic moving shadows effect. The game’s story is going to be very poor (I can tell already). But Need For Speed: Undercover is in no way as bad as some of the reviews suggest and is a lot more enjoyable to play than Shaun White Snowboarding. If you don’t own Midnight Club LA I would suggest buying that instead but if you absolutely must own this game and can overlook the technical shortcomings there is something to be salvaged from what is left.
Some of the criticisms I’ve read about Need For Speed Undercover I actually like - no, really. NFS:U is set in an open world environment where you can drive around anywhere you want. Some reviews point out that races stop you from free roaming by blocking the side streets off. Unrealistic that this would happen in an illegal street race yes, but there is something to be said for this allowing you to focus on the actual race rather than taking a wrong turn and losing close to the finish line.
Sometimes it can be difficult to see where you are going because of the lighting and the roads (when blocked off) are done so with a low barrier so it is possible to mistake seeing the road behind the barrier for the route which causes you to crash. Fortunately, the GPS map has a thick bright orange line (compared to the blue roads) that gives you a general indication of when the turns are coming up and how sharp they are.
So in Need For Speed Undercover you can’t always free roam but I don’t think that is really a bad thing. You can look on the full map and pick an event to start/retry or just press down on the D-pad which will start the next one automatically. Some might find this takes you out of the free roaming aspect of the game but again, it just lets you focus on the game rather than travelling around wasting your time. There are events where you can go anywhere, there are also shortcuts and things you can crash into to block those following you even during closed off races and when free roaming you can always initiate a chase from the cops.
All the other things you would expect are here: lots of cars, garages, customisation options. Added to these are certain stats you build up by ‘Dominating’ events. Winning events has been easy so far but Dominating them by winning them within the target time is more of a challenge. Dominating an event will cause one of your wheelman skills to increase by one. I don’t really know how well this is going to work yet because I’ve just won an event and got a choice of cars to pick as my prize and the one I picked (Lotus Elise) was a lot better than the one I started with. So I don’t know if these stats will be of any real help because winning or buying better cars seems to be the way to go but they do apparently allow for bigger cash rewards and multipliers.
Your cars build up ‘heat’ and gain heat levels. So the more you drive a specific car the more the cops will be after you but there is probably a risk reward aspect to this because it will probably help you earn reputation in the game. I had a quick look at the manual and this was my favourite part, check this out: “...if all your cars are impounded and you can’t scrape the cash together to buy a new one, it’s Game Over, pal. Start a new game, buy a new ride with Microsoft points, or enjoy your early retirement.”
Need For Speed Undercover so far isn’t a great game but not as poor as some of the reviews suggest. It is more mediocre than poor and many of the issues could have been solved with pre-release optimisation and play testing – they probably needed to get it out there for Christmas. But it is better than Shaun White Snowboarding because the issues are a distraction from the game rather than preventing you from enjoying it. Midnight Club LA is a lot better but it isn’t that difficult to win races in NFS:U which probably makes it less frustrating. Burnout Paradise has a good city to navigate through but at least in NFS:U you’ll rarely lose because you didn’t know where you were going or you’ll be able to restart or jump straight to the next event. Some people might welcome these ‘shortcomings’.
Despite the game’s problems I kind of like how uncomplicated it is the same way the old Need For Speed games were. If you can overlook the technical issues and the idea of open world driving games puts you off then there is some fun to be had with Need For Speed Undercover. I still wouldn’t recommend buying it, but if you already have, then there is still some enjoyment to be had with the game and I know I’ll continue to play it.
Yeah, I think this has just put the final nail in the coffin for me. Nobody has had anything really good to say about it.... I mgiht just get a copy of Most Wanted instead :lol:
Just had some great cop chases and the high speed Highway Battle events are very good. It is nowhere near perfect but I don't regret buying this now.
I installed this to the hard drive (less than 5GB) and some parts of the city have better framerate and a few places appear to be about the same. So it was worth installing because there is a general improvement and the highway battles especially now run smoothly.
The more I play NFS:U the more I like it, even with it's problems. OK so it is never going to be a classic but it is still a lot more enjoyable to play than Pro Street was.
Winning events is mostly easy but Dominating events takes a bit more skill and Master events are more of a challenge. Still using the Lotus Elise I won early in the game. The 'Eyes in the Sky' mission is the only one giving me problems - I can't lose the cops and deliver the car.
Played this online and got owned; the best I came was 3rd. This game gets really fast (Burnout fast) with some of those online bonus vehicles. A sign of things to come in the career and I'm only up to Wheelman Skill level 7. I should probably spend some of the money I've made on a faster car but so far I've not really needed to.
I know I've posted this before but I like how uncomplicated Need For Speed Undercover is. The framerate is still a problem, slightly less so with an install. But picking the closest available challenge with the D pad, simply selecting an event on the map and starting it straight away or pausing and restarting make NFS:U more user friendly than Burnout Paradise. It is quite easy to win events compared to the great but often frustrating Midnight Club LA. So even with it's technical issues due to an inflexible release date policy by EA, it is an enjoyable game. The further you get into the career the better it gets as well. I can see why it got bad review scores but NFS:U definitely isn't broken.
I listened to the 1UP Yours podcast last night and Garnett Lee was complaining about not being told how to slow down time or you could buy nitro. He obviously didn't go into the Options there are a number of help sections each with pages explaining every aspect of the game you could possibly want to know about. By the sounds of it he didn't use the full GPS map either.
It is unfortunate that in the game's first hour or two you see it at it's worst but it does get better and better as the career progresses. I don't know if players (and reviewers for that matter) will stick with it long enough to see that improvement.
fivebyfive
23-11-2008, 17:29
I liked Most wanted, massive step up from the soulless crap of underground, it had flaws, namely the horrible elastic band AI and on higher police levels the SUV were fly into you at 200mph or something and stick to you as tried to get away
I wasn't going to play Undercover but it was one of the rentals I got sent. Its very much like Most wanted but its a lazy effort, at first its so easy but it takes a while before the races start using the elastic band AI. Strangely its only one race its called Master event around driver level 10 or 11. The AI just has to tap you and your can will spin you 180 or the lower placed AI will crash into you.
The problem I have, the developers have done very little to improve the game, their EA masters seem more interested in getting gamers spending MS points on crap. Also the story is even more pointless than past games, the races seem pointless to the story, there should be more undercover levels. Black box seem to running out of ideas or don't give a **** as they ****** off making NFS games every year
while I've just laid into the game, its ok, not great (not worth full price or even £30), it could be so much better
Idle Child
23-11-2008, 17:50
I was on the fence whether or not to buy Need For Speed: Undercover. Then I watched a video on Gametrailers where Maggie Q said that she wanted me deep inside and that was the way she liked it or something. To cut a long story short, the game got ordered a few minutes later.
:lol:
Glad I cancelled my pre-order for the latest NFS after playing it at a friend's at the weekend. Despite trying some races deep into the game, I found it to be incredibly easy, the handling is very basic & doesn't change much between different cars. The latest Midnight Club:LA game is vastly superior in every department.
I might get it once it hits the bargain bins during the quiet gaming months at the beginning of next year.
.... Well it took all of one week before I managed to get it new for under £25. :)
So yes, the first couple of hours are boring as it is oh so easy, press down accelerator for the whole race with the occasional nudge of the handbrake to take the tighter corners .... job done!
.... But all of a sudden it starts introducing more plot missions & more involvement with the cops & the AI get tougher, the other cars get faster & waahay! ... it actually becomes fun & challenging. Also bonus points for an impressive music list. Lots of NiN tracks, Recoil & Justice too! :thumbs:
... Unfortunately once you reach this far into the game & you're racing faster cars, the game-engine starts to struggle & there is numerous frame-rate drops when things get busy & lots of smoke/particle effects are involved. I've installed it to my hard-drive now & hope it improves as it's very annoying.
So, where does it fit with the other new racers? .... Graphics & game-engine both lag behind both Midnight Club:LA & Motorstorm 2 & the difficulty level is easiest. Midnight Club is very slick, but rock-hard. At the moment, i'd say Motorstorm 2 is the leader, followed by Midnight Club & then Undercover.
Finally completed NFS: Undercover yesterday. Overall it was ok but by the time the difficulty level increases to make it challenging, the game becomes a grind as you've played all the mission variations it has to offer. It's a shame that every good point raises a bad one.
Gaining the faster, more exotic cars later in the game, is cool, but the game-engine struggles to cope with the extra speed.
The further you get into the story, Maggie Q's clothing gets smaller & more cleavage is exposed, but in tandem with this, the plot gets sillier, with the final twist just a nonsense.
Also, the police A.I. gets very O.T.T. near the end of the game. They are so hellbent on ramming you off the road, they end up taking out more innocent cars & other police cars, rather than you.
The car handling also peaks around Tier 2. The Porsches handle like a dream, but then you hit Tier 1 & you get excited when you get to race with the Bugatti Veyron. Unfortunately it handles like a Panzer tank & is only fun in a straight line or for ramming off police cars. Then there's the Corvette, which only seems to like performing doughnuts when you depress the accelerator.
Overall? ... It's fun & easy, better than NFS:Carbon, on par with NFS:Most Wanted.
I completed Undercover but it was about 4am the other night and so my tele was on quite a low volume. Can someone make it more clear what the final twist was?!
Sorry this is a pretty old thread but I just had to vent my frustration at what could've been an excellent game....
Picture the scene, I'm nearly completed the game and one particular race that I've had a minimum of 10 retries on is starting to **** me right off. Anyway, I'm racing against a Maclaren Merc and I'm in sight of the finish line with the opposition a bit behind me (I think about 3 seconds if I recall), I'm a clear stretch of straight road and out of nowhere, a big lorry just appears literally feet in front of my car costing me the race.
Needless to say I was on the verge of lobbing the controller at my brand new TV only to be stopped by my missus lol.
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