Hey! Remember when EA's Travis Boatman very quietly reconfirmed a boatload of EA franchises coming to the iPhone in 2009? Oh, you don't? That's okay, we nearly forgot too. In fact, we're pretty sure the company would like to keep these anouncements secret, as Need for Speed: Undercover hit the iTunes App Store today without so much as a peep from its publisher!

The game comes e-brake sliding into the store for the not-so-nice price of $9.99, and though we've yet to get our hands on it, we'll be sure to tell you how we feel just as soon as we do. For 10 bucks though, that might not be too soon.

Need for Speed: Undercover ($9.99, EA)

	1 Platinum 3 Gold 1 Silver 45 Bronze	Difficulty: Moderate Online Trophies? Yes Time to Completion: 30 hours DLC Trophies? No
	View Trophy List	Read More About the Game

Need for Speed: Undercover is getting some much-needed extra fuel, both premium and unleaded. Electronic Arts has announced a pair of DLC packs for the ill-received sequel, including a free Challenge Series and a premium collection of customized "boss" vehicles.

The Challenge Series promises a handful of new cars, as well as 60 events across a pair of new game modes, including "Highway Wars," a mix of highway battles and sprint racing, and "Highway Checkpoint," where drivers will maneuver through traffic to reach checkpoints and beat the clock.

The $5 Boss Car pack, on the other hand, gives players access to every boss car in the game, from Carmen's Shelby GT500 to Nickel's Dodge Viper SRT10. Interestingly, the downloads are currently only available for the PlayStation 3, though EA notes that both packs are "coming soon" for the Xbox 360 and PC. Until then, drivers are urged to turn off their ignition and wait patiently for their turn at the pump.

EA's perpetual joke -- on you -- comes to an ironic end on April Fools' Day with the release of de-authorization tools for each of its 19 PC games with SecuROM copy protection (full list and download links after the break). If you've been working on that class action lawsuit against EA for bundling SecuROM with The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff, you can drop it now -- your flat-pack furniture can finally be moved to a new machine.

In the spirit of generosity, EA's giving you two options for managing your authorizations:

• Option 1: Download and install yet another "tool" in order to scan your computer for EA's SecuROM games and find out how many computer authorizations you have (or don't have) left for each title.
• Option 2: Cut to the chase and download the game-specific de-authorization tool you need.

In the wake of recent rumors that the entire Need For Speed series has been canceled -- rumors followed by the closing of developer Black Box -- Kotaku reports that "inside sources" are claiming a patch is soon headed to Need for Speed: Undercover. Details are fuzzy, though sources claim that the patch will focus on gameplay and performance issues and will include "improvements". Hopefully, the performance tweaks include a fix for the game's awful framerate. The patch is expected to arrive on all platforms in the coming weeks.

EA has accepted the warm embrace of Steam and will begin using the digital distribution service. Following reports that Spore was crawling out of the primordial ooze to Steam, Valve announced today that several of the latest EA titles are available now, with many more coming over the next couple weeks.

Available now:

• Spore
• Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• Mass Effect
• Need for Speed Undercover
• EA Sports' FIFA Manager 2009

Coming Soon:

• Mirror's Edge
• Red Alert 3
• Dead Space

Sister site Big Download contacted EA to find out if older PC games would become available, but the publisher wouldn't comment. Also, in case you're wondering, EA games on Steam apparently don't install or use third-party DRM set-ups. According to Valve "the only DRM it uses is Steam itself."

[Via Big Download]

The latest episode of Electric Playground brought with it a shocking (yet somewhat believable) report -- they claimed to have learned from an unspecified source that Electronic Arts is canceling the development of new titles in the Need for Speed series. When they asked for a comment from EA, a spokesperson responded with a statement that neither confirmed nor denied the report.

We tend to handle rumors without named sources with a bit more trepidation than others, but the cancellation of EA's 14-year-old racing franchise isn't completely outside the realm of possibilities. After all, the gaming industry juggernaut has sailed through fairer economic waters, and the latest installment in the supposedly canceled series, Need for Speed: Undercover, currently holds a Metacritic rating of 65 -- which also happens to be the exact number of people who purchased the game. We'll let you know when we hear more.

Update: We've received a tip from someone a purported EA employ who wishes to remain anonymous. According to this source, the Need for Speed series isn't shutting down -- but EA Black Box, the development team behind recent entries into the series, "most likely" is. The source explains that EA not only scrapped their plans to open up a new studio in Vancouver, but that they also decided to close Black Box, moving the NFS and Skate teams to their much larger Burnaby studios.

The source further details the fate of Need for Speed -- he claims that one of the next entries into the series will be developed by the EA-owned Criterion Games, and will likely use the engine of their racing series, Burnout. He also claims that there are three different teams within Black Box that are responsible for developing Need for Speed titles (which is how they're able to release a new NFS title every year) -- though these three teams will likely consolidate into one, leading to less NFS releases, more continuity between said releases, and, ultimately, drastic downsizing for the NFS teams.

There could be fewer gifts passed around at Electronic Arts' annual Christmas party as analyst Colin Sebastian anticipates the company may let go more employees in the wake of sluggish sales. While EA eliminated nearly 6% of its workforce last October, the Lazard Capital Markets soothsayer predicts that underperforming titles, including Rock Band 2, Need for Speed Undercover and Mirror's Edge, could likely lead to the company to make even deeper cuts.

EA's bottom line was able to keep from being totally dismembered, however, thanks to what the analyst calls "solid sales" of Dead Space, Left 4 Dead and FIFA 09. Even so, Sebastian lowered his third quarter outlook for the publishing powerhouse from $2.14 to $2.07 billion, leaving Scrooge McDuck with plenty to count over the holidays should Disney come knocking.

Treyarch's Call of Duty: World at War has climbed to the top of the UK all-format game sales charts, blasting its way through countless soldiers, explosive set pieces and Need For Speed: Undercover, which was in second place for some reason. Resistance 2 grabbed the tenth spot in its debut, while Sonic Unleashed, as Eurogamer points out, only managed 23rd ... on the Xbox 360-specific chart.

Though FIFA 09's third all-format position makes complete sense and matches our envisioned UK stereotypes perfectly, it's somewhat harder to justify the #39 spot held by Mirror's Edge, not to mention Left 4 Dead's #34. Tomb Raider: Underworld, however, managed to go from a 9 to a 7 in a week. Not the first time that's happened.

Curse you, Need for Speed Undercover! Curse you for getting our hopes up with Maggie Q-laden FMV sequences and tales of being inspired by our lord and savior the Transporter (hallowed be his name). Curse you for having the most promise of any NFS in recent memory but still letting us down.

• Game Informer (70/100): "Part of the problem with Undercover is that it has no clear focus. After taking a detour with NFS: ProStreet, EA seems content to return to the pre-ProStreet era like it never happened. While this may not be a bad thing, Undercover refuses to move the needle forward from 2006's NFS: Carbon, and in some ways is a step back."
• 1UP (B): "In many ways, Need for Speed: Undercover is like a 'greatest hits' package of ideas and concepts that we've seen the franchise play around with since Need for Speed: Underground turned the series on its head five years ago. Undercover revels in street culture, much like both of the Underground games, while putting a greater emphasis on cops and car chases like Need for Speed: Most Wanted."
• GamePlayer (65/100): "There's no getting around the fact, however, that Undercover is basically Most Wanted with a new lick of paint. Can somebody please green-light Hot Pursuit 3? Surely the open-world horse has been well-and-truly flogged?"
• IGN (50/100): "Need for Speed Undercover is a poor game with a ton of problems, both technically and in terms of design. The open world design is completely lost as you can't actually drive to any event, many races are closed off which means no cross traffic, and it's incredibly easy. The presentation could have been good but winds up feeling totally contrived and confusing at times."

You've read the headline and you're probably thinking, "Oh, great. Just what we need. Another article effusing praise for Left 4 Dead. Thanks. Thank you so much." In truth, yes, we're excited that Left 4 Dead is coming out this week, but the reality of the headline is best understood by glancing at the list below. There are twelve, twelve new games being released this week. If that's not enough to metamorphose every respectable gamer into a gibbering, cash-starved zombie, we're not sure what is. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have suddenly developed an irresistible craving for braaains gaaames.

• Left 4 Dead
• The Last Remnant
• Shaun White Snowboarding
• Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
• You're in the Movies with Camera
• Tomb Raider Underworld
• NPPL Championship Paintball 2009
• LIPS
• Karaoke Revolution: American Idol 2
• Disney's Bolt
• Sonic Unleashed
• Need For Speed: Undercover

Jiggers, fellas! It's the cops! Need for Speed Undercover, EA's latest attempt at pulling its arcade racing stable out of a seemingly never-ending tailspin, will allow players on both sides of the law to size each other up in a new multiplayer mode called Cops and Robbers.

According to EA, the new mode will allow two teams of up to four players each to compete against each other to deliver -- or prevent the delivery of -- a package to a safe house. Additionally, the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions will support up to eight players in sprint and circuit multiplayer races as well. Of course, it remains to be seen if Undercover will do enough to remind us why we once cared about this franchise, or if, as our recent impressions found, it will just feel like Most Wanted with a new coat of paint.

Just as it sounds, Cops and Robbers pits two opposing teams of four against each other (one cops, one robbers) in an attempt to earn the most points. Robbers have the mission to pickup various packages and drop them off at specified destinations, while the Cops team tries to prevent the package delivery. Once the round is complete, players will swap sides and play as either the Cops or Robbers. Hmm, sounds innovative!

Though the above Need For Speed: Undercover trailer is excitedly labeled as the debut of gameplay footage (!!!), what little (albeit pretty) racing action it boasts is quickly pushed aside by an ex-cop meat head and Tom Cruise channeller. Ever the innovative and unorthodox rebel, "G-Mac" keenly points out that he doesn't like rules, man, but thrills.

We're going to chalk this trailer up as a failure, lest its intention was to instill a desire to punch the game in its unshaven, pretentious face. Best you read our hands-on instead.