It's Easy, But Playable
Gameplay:
The races for the most part are easy to win, simply because of the dumb-as-bricks AI and sparse traffic on the roads. Also, the races are fun at first, but they start to feel the same after a while. Even after major slipups sometimes you can easily catch back up with the rest of the AI and you can even win races by severals yards with slower vehicles. Sometimes, the rewards systems are too generous as just the simplistic winnigs of races at times will get you much-desired cash. You have a nice selection of regular cars and exotic cars to race around with. The layout is similar to NFS Carbon in a way as you have a safe house, a map system where you can instantly join a race with just a push of a button, a free roam, and cop chases triggered by ramming a cop car along the streets.
Story:
The story here is youre an undercover cop trying to take down street racers, but it isn't much to get hyped up about. The cutscenes are probably the most laughable thing about this game as they are poorly acted and serve little to no purpose with what's going on in the game. The cutscenes with Maggie Q appear randomly after races telling you you're doing great and watching out for stiffer competitions or something related to that. Also, there doesn't seem to be any connection between the story and the gameplay, seeing how predictable and stiff the acting is.
Graphics:
The graphics are okay for the most part, but are slightly dated on the PS2. However, you'll constanlty have to battle the sun as the sun shines a lot in the game which can make driving a chore at times. The frame rate doesn't do a good job of holding up at times and it can get choppy at times to where the sense of speed is affected. PS3 owners will get the worst of it as the frame rate there lags so much that the game is practically unplayable.
Sound:
The engines on the cars could have used a little more variety as you'll more or less hear some of the same sound effects for most of the cars. The police chases sound decent and the audio is good. The soundtrack is pretty decent as well with such bands as Airbourne, Mindless Self Indulgence, and Nine Inch Nails.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, Undercover isn't the worst Need For Speed game out there, but it isn't all that great. It does show a remarkable return to the series' traditional roots with cop chases and exotic cars and all of the features that have been missing since Carbon, i'll give it that. On the downside, It's easy, shallow, and repetitive and the story could have used a little ironing out. It is at least playable and you can easily pick it up and play. This is one you might want to try out first to see if it suits you or not.