Need for Speed Undercover

It’s easy to forget how long the Need for Speed series has been around. The original – our first taste of driving licensed exotica from the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Dodge – existed in a world before Gran Turismo, at least five years before Midnight Club and when we were still playing the very first Ridge Racer. Over a dozen games and years later, it’s an achievement that EA Black Box (developers for the majority of the series) have managed to keep the desire to move around in a car quickly so stoked for so long.

Of course, it hasn’t been an easy life. The Underground years may have been hugely successful but now look tacky and unfashionable and as for ProStreet, well… EA’s attempts to keep up with the trends in modified car culture resulted in a disappointing change of direction that was as much fun as the driving laps of a car park. So, it seems obvious that the latest game should carry on where some of the best in the series – namely, Hot Pursuit 2 and Most Wanted – left off. However, unlike the previously mentioned games, NFS Undercover is different because you will get the opportunity to work for both sides of the law. As Maggie Q and Christinia Milian will inform you during the movie-style cutscenes, your position as a ‘wheelman’ requires you to infiltrate a car smuggling ring by convincing the bad guys you’re one of them.

In gameplay terms, this mean you’ll be taking part in the usual point-to-point and circuit battles to improve your status amongst the local street racers, as well as outrunning cops in ‘damage to the state’ missions. Your criminal activities will also include ‘theft and delivery’ jobs, where you’ll get the opportunity to sample some of the higher tiered cars early on. So far, so Most Wanted. However, as you’re really a cop, the tables will turn. Much like Burnout – and with a bit of a nod to old classic Chase HQ – you’ll be instructed to take down key members of the crime syndicate by literally smashing their cars to pieces.

That’s not to say that ProStreet has been completely overlooked; both the handling and damage model have evolved from it. So, some of the arcade powerslides of old have been replaced with a slightly more simulation approach with tangible understeer and oversteer noticeable in each of the cars. For the most part, Undercover is a successful return to form. But it feels like EA Black Box have taken away more than they have added. Okay, so the Hollywood cast and FMV sections give this NFS some real narrative substance and the action movie pace is maintained thanks to your ability to ‘quick jump’ to the nearest event on the map.

But it’s behind the wheel where it counts the most and the new grown up approach lacks some of the arcade lunacy that made Hot Pursuit 2 so enjoyable. Even the modifying sections (once a huge part of Need for Speed titles) have been reduced down to little more than a handful of tuning and styling options. And anyway, if it’s over-the-top motoring madness that you’re looking for, then you’ll find that Midnight Club: LA fulfills that need. Need for Speed Undercover, then, is attempting to look back while also moving forward. Black Box has taken little in the way of risks but it’s not faultless – the streets can feel quite empty (depending on race type) and the framerate can get a bit juddery. But you can’t say that EA hasn’t given us what we asked for.

Dead Space

EA's upcoming sci-fi horror game Dead Space drops you into the not-so-lucky space suit of Isaac Clarke, a member of a deep space rescue team. Unfortunately for Clarke, his own rescue team finds itself in need of rescue quicker than Corporal Dwayne Hicks of Aliens can say, "Game over, man!" The game is being developed internally at EA and has been making us jump since we got our first look some months ago. We finally got our hands on a work-in-progress version of the game for the Xbox 360 to see how the various demos we've seen all fit together.

Your core goal is to find your lady friend and get the heck out of there with your surviving teammates. Of course, because you just know things aren't going to be easy, there's also a mystery to uncover, namely what happened to the Ishimura's crew of 1,000 people. To add some urgency to the proceedings, the Ishimura has seen better days and requires you to do some repair work to get around. This is, of course, all complicated by the fact that there's all manner of unpleasant creatures lurking between you and just about everywhere you need to go.

What happened to everyone? Why couldn't your lady friend have picked a less ill-fated assignment? We don't want to spoil the plot, but we will say this: Clark eventually discovers that many of the deadly threats he finds are actually what's left of the Ishimura's crew. Exactly what happened to them is what you'll have to discover as you explore the ship. As for your girl picking a better assignment, well, you're just that lucky. You'll discover all this and more as you make your way through the massive ship--on foot and by tram--as part of what appears to be a linear story.

Dead Space's approach to gameplay should be familiar to veteran players of third-person action games. You'll run around, explore, solve puzzles, and strategically dismember the creatures you come across. Yep, strategically. Although the enemies you face do seem space zombies of some sort, shooting them in the head just doesn't get you very far. You'll have to take out the arms, legs, and other important appendages before finally taking your enemies down for good. You'll have plenty of options for how to do this as you explore the game and buy yourself more weapons. Yes, in the future, there are vending machine-style shops that sell you stuff. You'll start out with a simple cutter but find tons more if you've got the cash. You'll also be able to upgrade your suit, which is basically the only thing that stands between you and horrible death.

Besides offering functional goods, such as weapons and upgraded suits, the vending machines will also offer health and ammo. You can also increase the types of items available in the machines by finding blueprints of new items. You'll find more money and ammo with careful exploration as well. However, one of the most important items to find are special nodes that you can use at workbenches you come across on the ship. You'll be able to use these nodes to power up different attributes on your weapons or suit; this will be crucial to survival.

While all of the above may sound pretty standard, Dead Space gets a BioShock-like twist thanks to the addition of special powers you can gain, such as slowing time or moving objects. They come in handy when solving puzzles. Other elements in the mix are the space- and zero-gravity sequences, which force you to either get through areas before your suit runs out of air or figure out how to get through rooms that feel like an MC Escher painting. While it may sound like a crazy quilt of mechanics rolled together, it actually works pretty well from what we've played. There's a good amount of variety, and the story elements that are peppered throughout have been keeping the action interesting so far.

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction (Playstation 2)

North Korea is in chaos. The country's president, who was attempting to move the country towards democracy, has been assassinated; his son, General Choi Song, has taken control of the country and has expelled all foreigners. Shortly thereafter, the Australian Navy discovers a North Korean ship laden with nuclear weapons bound for a black market arms port, thus providing a casus belli for the rest of the free world. North Korea is invaded within days, and all known missile sites are quickly overrun by Allied Forces. Unfortunately, weapons inspectors reveal documents proving that Song has created another launch site at an as-yet-unknown location, and will be ready to launch his missiles within a month. That's where you come in.

In Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, you play as an elite mercenary, sent into North Korea in the hope of claiming the open bounties that the Allies have laid out on General Song and his various generals and lieutenants. There's a whole deck of cards waiting for you: 52 separate bounties, each worth quite a bit of money. In addition to capturing these bounties, though, you'll be able to work as a soldier-for-hire for the various factions seeking to establish a foothold in North Korea. To accomplish your various missions, you'll have to take control of a number of various vehicles, ranging from civilian cars to jeeps, APCs, tanks, and even the occasional helicopter. You'll also need to master the use of support abilities, which will allow you to perform a variety of actions, from having medical supplies or weapons delivered to you, to calling down air strikes or carpet bombing.

GameSpot's Game Guide to Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction will elucidate all of the bounties and all of the missions for each faction in the game, as well as give you tips on how to raise your factional reputation levels, how to unlock the cheat codes and hidden support items, and give you maps for all of the hidden bounty items in the game. Lock and load!