GameCyte

At 7PM on Thursday evening, the EA Studio Showcase drew to a close -- but for GameCyte and our competitors, the party was just getting started. Spirited away to a posh San Francisco venue with gates guarded by the likes of Lamborghini Gallardo and Audi R8, we were presented with luxurious couches, champagne-filled glasses and one shared scoop: the unveiling of Need for Speed: Undercover.

"You blend, and you listen -- and you don't trust anyone," boomed the voice of "international box office sensation" Maggie Q, as we got a sneak peek at the game's promotional trailer. For one about to wrangle with a room full of fellow journalists over every last scrap of available intel, this seemed like sage advice -- so we took it. But did our metagaming espionage attempt pay off? Come find out after the break.

Hearkening back

In June of this year, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello told investors and media, in no uncertain terms, that he was disappointed with last year's Need for Speed: ProStreet -- and blamed EA's own rushed, 12-month production cycle for the title he considered a misstep. "We were torturing a very talented group of people up in Vancouver, which makes it harder to be as innovative every year." But Riccitiello revealed that things were changing. For the next Need for Speed, EA Black Box would have over sixteen months to produce a story-driven title the EA chief likened to The Transporter.

On Thursday, in a dark, crowded lounge filled with free alcohol, we listened to producer Scott Nielsen explain what the Canadian studio had done with that extra time.

"You've probably been wondering, 'where has Need for Speed been?' We've been pretty quiet," Nielsen admitted. "We've been kind of taking stock of things, sitting back, and really trying to figure out, 'How do we tell stories within our games?' 'How can we go back and do a better job of telling stories?'" His answer, of course, was the plot of the newest entry in the series, Need for Speed: Undercover.

All Plotted Out

Nielsen explained that players will assume the role of an undercover cop in the "Tri-City Bay Area," a combination of three distinct regions (an urban hub dubbed Palm Harbor, the industrial town of Port Crescent, and the "once-bustling, now a little bit derelict" Sunset Hills) all connected by massive freeways. Recruited by the surprisingly potent tough cop Lt. Keller (above) and reporting to the unfortunately named Federal Agent Chase Linh, players will infiltrate and take down Tri-City's crime syndicates by earning their trust and rising up the ranks as a skilled wheelman. Via a pair of compelling introductory trailers now available at your game video service of choice, we could certainly see how the title's Hollywood production values could appear in the full game's estimated 30 minutes of straight video footage.

However, EA is shooting for more than just cutscenes. "The most important thing to us really is not just storytelling," said Nielsen, "but it's how we weave that story and narrative and combine the two into a really compelling interactive experience that everyone knows and comes to love."

While we were unfortunately unable to evaluate that entwined narrative for ourselves in the limited alpha build presented, we did get our fair share of hands-on impressions with the game.

More Wanted

I won't lie -- from the moment the Xbox 360 in front of me booted into the brightly lit streets of green, brown and light blue, to the moment I crashed my last crash, downed my drink and left, I couldn't shake one predominant thought: EA is making another Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

Though Undercover eschews that title's West Coast graffiti-inspired stylings in favor of subtle East Coast sensibility, turns its protagonist from morally-vacant street racer to undercover cop and takes place entirely at dawn (rather than dusk) there's no denying Most Wanted's trappings are all there.

From the crazy open-world cop chases to the bloom lighting, the floaty yet satisfying way the cars corner to the general fit and finish of the game world on display, the game looks and plays uncannily like the earlier title. Triggered Pursuit Breaker road hazards still feature prominantly, police still cuff you in the same closed-circuit camera cutscenes, and I swear the slow-motion Speedbreaker lasts exactly the same length of time.

If you think I'm going to disparage the game because of these similarities, however, you're dead wrong. For one thing, Most Wanted is my favorite racer of all time, and I had nothing other than a joyous grin on my face when I discovered first-hand that the latest Need for Speed title would feature more of the same. But for another, Undercover looks to improve on its already distinguished predecessor in a variety of ways.

Evolution, not... that thing with the spinning

When I first confronted producer Scott Nielsen with the fact that his game looked and played like Most Wanted, he categorically denied it -- but over the course of our discussion, admitted that the title actually draws heavily from several previous games in the series. "This is an evolution of previous Need for Speeds... a best of breed," he said. "This effort is really going back to what we liked most about our games."

And sure enough, though the Most Wanted experience shines the brightest, looking closely it's clear that other series gems and some new innovations round out the package. Where crashing into a barrier in Most Wanted merely scratched paint and cracked glass, a few good crashes in Undercover left only our spoiler uncrumpled thanks to full ProStreet damage models. Though the cars I tried might have handled similarly to Most Wanted, Nielsen says the evolved physics system in Undercover better simulates the underlying forces ... and in conjunction with a smart camera, allow for brand-new handbrake-assisted driving techniques -- like 180° quick turns and reverse driving -- worthy of a wheelman.

Car customization will benefit from the return of Carbon's AutoSculpt, but also a new emphasis towards "more mature, performance customization tuners" rather than the flashy, neon-laden cars of days past. After all, it's what's under the hood that counts... and that goes double for undercover cops.

Looking forward

With only three events available in our brief hands-on demo, we've just scratched the surface. Lips were sealed regarding the game's multiplayer modes, potential downloadable content and some very conspicuous in-game ads. As to the question of available automobiles, all we were able to sniff out was that there will be at least 55 cars (promotional materials show off entries from Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mitsubishi and Porsche) -- and for whatever reason, Nielsen gave a wry smile when I mentioned Honda. We expect to have the answers to these questions and more in the near future.

Need for Speed: Undercover is slated for November 18th in the US, and November 21st in Europe, on Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii, PS2, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable and mobile phone.

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