There really aren’t many things a racing game has to get right. I’m sure there are tons of examples of horrible racing games out there, but for obvious reasons, I don’t play many of them. Because of their essentially simple nature, it’s become hard to discern one game from another - not in the literal sense of the word, but in the way writers sometimes like to say things are hard when they just want to make a point about in the next sentence. There are obviously sub-genres to the world of racing video games, like “arcade racer” or “driving simulator” but strangely enough, and despite the outcries of thousands, I would argue that the Need for Speed franchise has driven itself into the center lane (shitty GameTrailers puns to the rescue!) between these racing game offshoots.

I know it’s no Forza or Gran Turismo, but it’s definitely not a Burnout title either. It’s more PGR4 than Motorstorm, but it’s still its own distinct title in middling ground. Unfortunately, this time it’s not middle enough.

There was a brief period before and after Need for Speed: Most Wanted in which the franchise had racing games with no police involved. If your most iconic title is called Hot Pursuit 2, here’s a hot tip: don’t drop the cops. Thankfully, the chases are back into the formula, and they’re done fantastically to nobody’s surprise. But the one thing fans of the series gained from the enforcers’ reprieve was a very determined focus on the actual driving and racing aspects (these somehow came to light as important parts of a racing game in which you drive cars). Undercover is a pleasing amalgamation of all previous entries into the Need for Speed family. The police have returned in full force, but at the same time, you are benefiting from the police-free titles like ProStreet and Underground, as well as Carbon, which had police, but sucked anyway. The point is, car customization is fantastic, controls are pretty straightforward (it’s hard to fuck up a good thing when it works across the board, but somebody always manages it), and the new driving engine is designed to let you pull off cool maneuvers, but it still handles your individual cars very well and as realistically as I imagine it ever should.

There’s really not much to complain about here. The plot, while ending on a kind of wait, what note is actually pretty good. A lot of people hear the basic synopsis and say something snarky and mildly retarded about the similarity to The Fast and the Furious. Good one. Yeah, you play as an FBI agent trying to uncover some racers who decided to step up their game and commit more serious crimes, which explains why you have to be in just as much danger from the police as any other racer (you are undercover, after all). The gameplay actually requires this plot and vice versa: in order to have someone to race with, you have to prove your worth. In order to prove your worth, you must “dog” some “bacon” and prove you’re not a cop yourself. To engage police in chases and escape, there must be an open game world in which to drive. In other words, while there isn’t anything to do outside of the events that progress the plot (in the form of a leveling system accompanying each race’s payout), the open road has merit just in its necessity to police chases, which are relevant to the storyline.

As I said, though, the benefits of the police-free games are here, but there is nothing beside the reintegration of pursuing squad cars to offset these perks from the “simulator” side. This game needs more “arcade.” It has a handful of cars that can only be described as “totally badass,” and each of them takes physical damage, but this has no actual effect on the performance of the vehicle, thank the gods. That is indeed “arcade.” However, in some instances, you can completely total the car, smashing it so hard that the game just says “wow, you fucked up hard, start over.” Where is my Burnout-style exploding shattering shrapnel storm of wreckage and former bits of vehicle? If you’re going to go all out and tell me my car is so screwed it can’t even drive, I think we deserve a little more than just seeing the car in the same state as it was after bumping into one million things very lightly, rather than one thing at one million miles an hour. When I smash a cruiser out of commission, I want to see it sawed in half like that poor son of a bitch in The Matrix Reloaded that got nailed by those ghost twins’ huge truck. What I don’t want is to see just another cruiser slam into park with minor cosmetic issues.

Critics and designers and fans have all touted and hailed Undercover as a return to form, but I only see baby steps from there. I see a necessary piece of the franchise being returned to its rightful place and done very well, but at the same time, it’s hard to call that progression. Yes, the game brings together the worlds of its prequels and does everything either well or very well, but it lacks that joie de vivre found in its most beloved predecessors. I thoroughly enjoyed the game from start to finish, and I had several “oh damn yes” moments, whether it was by myself or racing online with and against my friends, but occasionally pumping my fist in the air or telling an AI driver to go fuck himself as I blur past him isn’t quite worth an A+ around here. When the Need for Speed games embrace their full potential, I’ll be waiting with open arms, but for now, this is just good; an upgrade for anyone who already enjoyed the series’ previous entries.