NFS: Undercover feels like NFS: Most Wanted with Wii Controls...
On to the appearance. The graphics are identical to that of Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Street racing in the middle of the day just isn't that great of a concept. To indicate the speed you are traveling there is some blur to buildings and surroundings and there are white lines that come off the back of your car. During customization, the graphics went haywire several times. For example, when I changed out the wheels to one of my cars, there was a mass of extra car that formed on top of the car. It went away after customization was completed, but should a game really do that?
Next, the Career Mode. There are a lot of the same race modes that were featured in Need for Speed Carbon, plus some more. The Highway Battles are pretty much the same as a Free Roam Outrun Race that was in NFS: Underground 2, but limited to the highways. The Driver Jobs were pretty cool though. It was fun getting behind the wheel of my favorite car and chasing down a rival and ramming their car until it wouldn't run anymore. However, there were other Driver Jobs that were glitchy. The mission would start, but the target wouldn't get the necessary target on it, making you fail the mission until the game placed the proper settings. This was frustrating.
The Police are relentless in this installment of NFS. They are diffucult to shake sometime and simple to lose other times. They try to stop you with road blocks, spike strips, and road blocks with spike strips. Funny thing is, running over the spike strips even 10 times won't blow your tires. Your maximum speed is dropped though, making it harder to lose the cops. An addition to their force would be a helicopter that keeps an eye on you... even when you're in tunnels. If you are all alone, on cooldown, about to lose the cops, the helicopter can pop up out of no where and start your chase all over again. I don't think the pilot is psychic.
The Tollbooth races are difficult at times. There were several races where there was barely enough time to get from the starting line to the first tollbooth. I don't know how these races were designed, but I had to retry several tollbooth races too many times.
How about those controls? NFS: Undercover adapts the same controls from NFS: Carbon. There are some adjustments to the physics of the controls that help make controlling your car easier. Just know how your car drives and adjust it's performance to suit your needs.
Cars, Cars, and what is that? There are a lot of the cars that appeared in NFS: Carbon along with several new additions. Some of the new cars to choose from may seem foreign to some players, but that's because they are foreign. One missing feature would be a notification that you unlocked more cars to purchase. You have to constantly check the selection of cars to see if there are new ones available. Visual upgrades are limited to full body kits, AutoSculpt, paint, ride heights, wheels, roof scoops, spoilers, hoods, exhaust, and vinyls. No customization to mirrors, headlights, or taillights. One huge plus to NFS: Undercover is that you do not have to unlock Performance upgrades! All you have to do is save up the money and buy what you want. Know this, all of the cars are in different tiers, like in NFS: Carbon, and this limits what performance parts can be added to your ride, so you'll just have to settle for that Turbo Charger instead of the Super Charger. Drats.
Completing the Career Mode 100% seems more like a challenge than a goal. Time that I spent completing NFS: Undercover Career Mode was 24:12. Most of that time was spent running from the cops.
Everything considered, This Need for Speed left me feeling a bit empty after completing the Career Mode. If you didn't like NFS: Carbon, you most likely won't like Undercover that much. NFS: Carbon was better.