Game Trailers: Need for Speed Undercover

Only in the context of video games will you hear people clamor on about how they wish they were being chased by the cops, but that's just what many Need for Speed fans have been doing since 2005's Most Wanted. Well, the boys in blue are back for Need for Speed Undercover, and so is the open-world setting that last year's ProStreet sacrificed in favor of quartered-off racing courses. But it's not as though developer EA Black Box has gone into full-on time-travel mode for the latest entry in this long-running series. For every nod to the series' past, you'll find something new like Hollywood-style driving techniques designed to help you elude the police, new events and skill-building systems, and a step toward more mature, less hammy storytelling.

Need for Speed Undercover is swapping the professional racing circuits and nighttime neon lights of the past two games in favor of an open-world Gulf Coast locale. Known as Tri-City Bay, this collection of floating-bridge freeways, dirt roads, and industrial shipping yards is set in the postsunrise, presunset time of day when the sun sits low in the sky and covers everything in a golden light. There seems to be a lot of diversity, and the race events take good advantage of that. One of the Sprint Race events we took part in--a supercar showdown featuring the likes of the Carerra GT and Pagani Zonda--took us from the highway to a high school football field to a millionaire's marble driveway before arriving at the finish line in a freeway tunnel. It's definitely a big world, too. We're told you can drive the fastest car in the game and it would take you a solid eight minutes to circumnavigate the entire world at top speed.

As a way of maintaining balance with your newfound driving skills, EA Black Box is bringing back the police to keep you challenged as you wreak havoc on the roads of Tri-City Bay. Driver AI has been enhanced so that if you do something particularly stupid like nudge someone off the road at 90 miles per hour, you'll have the cops called on you. In other situations, you'll have them on your tail at the start of a mission, like in the Driver Job event we tried that had us stealing a police cruiser (a Nissan GT-R squad car, of all things) and bring it to a shop to sell it off. No matter the origins, getting rid of the cops is the same: You need to put some distance between you and the police cars, and if there's a helicopter, you need to find a tunnel or bridge to hide under.

As you progress through the game's story--a tale about a police officer so deep undercover that only a few people know who he is--the narration will unfold in the traditional cutscene format of the Need for Speed series. This time around, there's a new focus on taking these video sequences out of the stone age and into the modern era, where games don't need to remain stuck in the trappings of the mid-'90s. What this means is cutscenes shot on a live set rather than a green screen, real actors (well, at least the main characters--we're not sure if Jessica Alba's brother playing a side role counts as a real actor), and a director pulled from the show 24. Based on the three cutscenes we saw, these ingredients have come together to form a more mature look for the series. You'll have the chance to see how well the whole package comes together when Need for Speed Undercover is released on November 17.

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Game Reviewed: Super Mario Slugger (Wii)

Mario sports games are well known for presenting arcade versions of popular sports that are easy to pick up and play, yet complex enough to satisfy skilled players. Mario Super Sluggers is the progeny of the GameCube's great Mario Superstar Baseball, but alas, this apple falls far from the tree. A number of changes skew the game toward simplicity and accessibility, and in many ways the game feels like it's been jabbed in the thigh with a strong dose of performance-diminishing Mario Party extract. Many will likely enjoy the redesigned challenge mode and motion-sensitive controls, but those hoping for another engaging arcade sports title will be disappointed.



As you might expect, Mario Super Sluggers is all about the motion controls. Cock the remote back, then sweep it forward to swing your bat. Lift it up, then flick it down to throw a pitch. Shake the remote to run faster. Wiggle it to throw the ball in the field. Add in a button or two and you've got yourself the main control scheme. You can play with or without the Nunchuk; the former scheme is best for folks who want to control base runners and fielders, the latter for those who don't mind leaving some decisions up to the conservative AI. Either way, you'll be shaking your arm a lot, though much of the game is structured to accommodate frequent flailing (more on that in a minute).

You also have the option to hold the remote sideways and eschew motion control altogether, though you'll have to learn it the hard way since you can't use this scheme in the tutorial. The sideways style does give your wrist a rest, but the D pad is much less responsive than the analog stick, and you'll often find yourself overrunning bases since the button you tap rapidly to sprint is the same button that tells your runner to advance. The remote and Nunchuk combo is the best of the lot, but it makes one wonder why they didn't just enable the GameCube or Classic controller as well.

Taking the field in exhibition mode is the best way to get a pure Mario-style baseball experience in Super Sluggers. The computer can provide a stiff challenge when set on a high difficulty level, and building your roster and lineup to capitalize on chemistry between your players is a fun exercise. Chemistry enables players to perform special defensive moves, like a quick buddy throw or a home run-robbing buddy jump. If the batter and the player in the on-deck circle have chemistry, then the latter can launch Mario Kart-esque items into the field to try to disrupt the defense. These additions add a neat arcade twist, and multiplayer games can get pretty heated. Super Sluggers offers good, competitive fun for a group of good-natured opponents, and it is certainly at its best when played by two or more people at a time.

The single-player challenge mode was one of the strengths of Mario Superstar Baseball, and in it you traveled from stadium to stadium playing baseball games and recruiting new players by completing certain in-game challenges. This mode has been reworked for Mario Super Sluggers. Where previously you would go to Mario Stadium and play the plumber and his team a few times, you now go to the Mario Stadium area and wander around a bit. You'll startle balled-up Nokis, wake up Monty Mole, defeat a few Magikoopas, and break a Pianta out of a barrel. Different team captains have different abilities, each of which must be brought to bear in each area. To vanquish foes and convince locals to join your team, you'll have to complete short baseball challenges like "throw different pitches" and "get a double play." Separated from actual baseball games, these challenges become much shorter and much easier to accomplish, not to mention easier on your elbow.

Whether or not you'll like the challenge mode really depends on your perspective. Folks looking for some light, baseball-themed Mario fun will probably enjoy it. The minigames sprinkled throughout play like goofy tests of your baseball skills, and a few remote-twisting puzzles add some extra variety. Pretty much every iconic Mario character you can think of is in here, quipping and griping as they are wont to do, and winning them all over to your side will require a substantial amount of adventuring. However, if you're in the market for more actual baseball action, then challenge mode just won't fit the bill. Along with the aforementioned omissions, the quest to earn each character a star rating by completing a number of diverse challenges is no more, replaced by just one condition: Play on a team that beats Bowser.

One strike against Mario Super Sluggers is that the production values aren't noticeably better than those of Mario Superstar Baseball. Attention has been paid to the character models, but everything else feels neglected. Many stadiums have wacky obstacles in the outfield, but none of them are as lush, intricate, and well designed as the GameCube's Peach Garden. Activating your star power while pitching or hitting triggers a short power-up cinematic, but it's never anything more than some bland red and orange flourishes. Particularly onerous is the single-player behind-the-mound pitching camera that makes it very difficult to tell where your pitch is when it crosses the tiny plate in the distance. People who didn't play Mario Superstar Baseball may be more forgiving, but the whole presentation has a fuzzy, unpleasant, phoned-it-in feel.

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Despite its many shortcomings, Mario Super Sluggers is good enough to offer some solid entertainment to the right gamers. Collect-'em-all Mariophiles will dig the new challenge mode, and Wii party hosts will enjoy playing frantic multiplayer games. More serious baseballers will find satisfaction in facing off against one another, but will find the rest of the package wanting. While there's certainly fun to be had, it's a shame Super Sluggers couldn't find that balance between accessibility and complexity that has made past Mario sports games so successful.

The Good - Fun multiplayer arcade baseball action. The Mario gang's all here. Kid-friendly baseball adventure mode.
The Bad - Less challenging, complex, and pretty than its Gamecube predecessor. Lousy camera makes single-player pitching unpleasant. No good alternative to motion controls. Nonsensical post-game stats.