The annual release of a Need For Speed game has become a Christmas tradition as dependable as the tree and the turkey. Need for Speed: Undercover is the 12th one in the series, and like the Too Fast Too Furious movies that the games share a universe with, each new one brings a new twist to a familiar theme.

This time you're taking the role of a police officer going deep undercover (hence the title) in an international crime syndicate. But aside from that spin on the story, NfS:Undercover ... more >>

The annual release of a Need For Speed game has become a Christmas tradition as dependable as the tree and the turkey. Need for Speed: Undercover is the 12th one in the series, and like the Too Fast Too Furious movies that the games share a universe with, each new one brings a new twist to a familiar theme.

This time you're taking the role of a police officer going deep undercover (hence the title) in an international crime syndicate. But aside from that spin on the story, NfS:Undercover is another chip off the old block. There's car racing and modding galore, and more, as you take on jobs and compete in races to prove yourself and open up new challenges. And speaking of modding, for the first time, if you are too impatient, too lazy or you just plain suck at NfS:Undercover, you can transfer funds from your Live account and use them to buy upgrades for your car. But watch out for the cops, their new improved AI means they'll be more of a match for you than ever before as they try to take you down.

The action in NfS: Undercover takes place on the biggest open-world map ever seen since the series' inception. There's over 100 miles of roads in Tri-city spread over four distinct areas: Palm Harbor, Port Cresent, Gold Coast Mountains, and Sunset Hills.

In keeping with the storyline, drift racing is out, but there are a host of other modes to keep you entertained. You can try your hand at circuit racing, and point-to-point racing in Sprint mode. You can race head to head in Highway Battle, which is similar to the Canyon Duel mode from NfS: Carbon. In Cost to the State mode, you can free ride around the city damaging as much street furniture as possible. Stop signs, street-lamps, waste bins - they're all there for you to smash. Yeah, people have been doing this in every version of Driver, Burnout and NfS since time began, but now you can get a score for doing it.

Cops and Robbers mode is an online team-based event, where you play either a cop or (can you guess what's coming?) a robber. If you are a robber, you try and find money, and transport it safely to another location. If you are a cop, you try and stop the robbers doing from this - it's a kind of car-borne Capture the Flag. But it ensures high speed smash and crash mayhem. There's also Heist mode for online play. << less