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Why Robin Makes Batman Better By way of Gizmodo and their Live Blog of the Apple Let’s Rock Event comes word that Need for Speed: Undercover is heading to the iPhone .
The game will allow you to customise your car, deliver packages cross town and, I assume, race people. Sadly the iPhone version will be lacking sexy, as they’ve not included Maggie Q. Dammit, I’ve always wanted her in my pocket too.
The game is due out to the iPhone and iTouch in November.
P.s. I know it’s not iTouch, but I just can’t help myself.
The story behind Need for Speed: Undercover is you’re a cop working the corrupt streets of the Tri-City area who goes undercover (get it?) to bring the crime syndicates of the streets to justice. Helping you along in this quest is Agent Chase Linh (Maggie Q), as your FBI liaison, talking to you in a series of live action cutscenes. All the story stuff is live action, actually – the game having been built around a Hollywood style of storytelling. So, flashy visuals, gritty cop story, and tattooed gangsters… like The Wire, only with Need for Speed.
I’m kind of sceptical about blending an action movie with a racing game. I know they keep making those Fast and the Furious films; but they kind of suck, so I don’t have an idea of what a good racing/action game would look like. Sort of like those Jesus Christ lizards – you wouldn’t know it was one until it walked on water.
On rare occasions we are treated to a game trailer that aspires to be a movie trailer. When it comes to making a trailer like this I feel it’s a very difficult thing to accomplish because even though games are becoming more cinematic, the fact still remains that what you are trying to convey will never leave game classification. That is where the line between film and game is drawn. However, this new Need For Speed: Undercover trailer almost convinces me that I need to go buy 2 boxes of chocolate covered raisins and head over to the multiplex. The game will feature live action story sequences which will include Balls of Fury star Maggie Q as your police contact. The game is slated to be released in North America November 18th.
Hollywood and games still seem to be figuring each other out — like two butt sniffing dogs. Sure, big name actors do game voice and mo-cap work (and have for a while now), but in the past, the two worlds have seemed very, very separate. As more big name talent and big name writers and big name directors get involved with game, the division seems to be rapidly eroding away. And let’s not forget how gaming is eclipsing movies are the form of mass entertainment. Still, maybe actors have second thoughts about doing game work? Says Live Free or Die Hard‘s Maggie Q, who stars in game Need for Speed: Undercover:
Since Gemma Atkinson’s inclusion in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is going over so well, it makes sense that EA has tapped (not in the biblical sense) another international sex symbol to give the next installment of the Need for Speed series a kick. Maggie Q, who took the role of extremely attractive woman in Mission Impossible III and Live Free or Die Hard, will be starring in Need For Speed Undercover as Federal Agent Chase Linh, a “seductive handler” who recruits the player to go undercover in a seedy crime syndicate.
“I’ve always been a fan of racing games and working on Need for Speed Undercover was an amazing experience,” said Maggie Q. “I was so impressed by the scope and quality of the overall production that goes into a videogame these days. It was like any other day on a Hollywood set; I felt right at home. The Black Box team is doing tremendous work here and I can’t wait to see the final game.”
Sold! We’ll be anxiously awaiting her Xbox 360 theme, EA. Hit the jump for the full press release and yes…a larger version of her PETA ad.
UPDATE: I’ve had two different people email me to confirm this is in fact the trailer for Need For Speed: Undercover. One’s a tester, the other was involved in its production. The trailer says it’s coming out Nov. 18.
Electronic Arts bossman John Riccitiello had a lot to say at today’s William Blair & Company conference. Earlier, he reminded us that the publisher wasn’t just looking to grab Grand Theft Auto from Take-Two but for other stuff, too. Now, he gives us the good word on the torturing status of its Vancouver studio. The good news for those paying attention to the human rights abuses heaped upon the Need For Speed team is that their torment has been cut in half.
