by John Gaudiosi

Electronic Arts has always turned to Hollywood when bringing its best-selling racing franchise to gamers. This year, they went above and beyond. Need for Speed Undercover features 25 minutes of live action footage starring Hollywood actress Maggie Q (Mission: Impossible III, Live Free or Die Hard). The actress was on hand for the game's world premiere at the Bubbles champagne bar in San Francisco.

Maggie Q spent six days in Los Angeles with eight other actors, dozens of extras and a crew of over 120 people to film the largest full motion video shoot ever done for a Need for Speed game.

"I had the same crew I had on my big Hollywood movies like Mission: Impossible," explained Maggie Q, standing outside of the San Francisco bar with a pair of Lamborghinis behind her. "It's all scripted and your motivations are the same for your character as in film and you have a TV director. That was all the same. When you're trying to tell a story and it's going to be merged and slotted into a game you have to a different type of foresight for that."

Born in Honolulu, Maggie Q grew up in Hawaii and gaming was a big part of her life.

"Back in the day I was an Atari girl. I'm really old," joked Maggie Q. "Atari was my console of choice. I went to arcades and I played Pac-Man as a kid. That's my experience with videogames. And going from that and being introduced to this world now technology-wise is extraordinary."

When pushed to name some of her favorite arcade and Atari games from her gaming days, Maggie Q said, "I liked Combat and I was really bad at it, Pong, Space Invaders was the best. All of that stuff. I was a fan of Miss Pac-Man, who isn't? And I still am. That was my big thing when I was a kid. We had all of the cartridges."

There was no story to Combat, but it was very frustrating. Instead of you just playing a game, this takes you into another world really. When you're merging something like Hollywood and having actors doing this type of stuff and having it scripted and having hit TV show directors to direct and integrate these things into a game. What you're creating is an entire world that people can escape to and immerse themselves in and really get lost in it. I'm playing it and you don't even know how many hours have gone by and it's like Geez, I need to go to bed.

After graduating from high school, Maggie Q traveled to Japan and Hong Kong and worked as a model. She left gaming behind as modeling opened up doors to acting -- first in Asia and then in Hollywood.

Over the course of time that gaming progressed, story became a driving force in next generation console and PC games.

"Instead of you just playing a game, Need for Speed Undercover takes you into another world, really," said Maggie Q. "When you're merging something like Hollywood and having actors doing this type of work from scripted material with hit TV show directors filming, it makes for a unique experience. What you're creating is an entire world that people can escape to and immerse themselves in and really get lost in it. I'm playing it and you don't even know how many hours have gone by and it's like, 'Geez, I need to go to bed.'"

Before the party in San Francisco, Maggie Q got some hands-on time with Need for Speed Undercover.

"It's absolutely mind blowing," said the actress. "I can't think of a better word. The graphics are so real. They have different modes of how you can drive where you can be in the car or drive from behind the car. You're put into real life situations and they put you in danger and there are consequences to your actions. It adds so much more to the game because it's so layered."

Although games have come a long way since she last played the sit-down arcade games or the Atari 2600, she's not sure about getting back into the hobby.

"It's so addicting that I'm afraid this is going to become my world," joked Maggie Q. "I've always loved racing games, so this was the perfect fit for me. If it was something else, I probably wouldn't have felt as comfortable getting back into it. At the arcades I used to play those games where you could sit behind the wheel and race against someone sitting next to you. That's what I'm used to. And now I'm controlling a wheel on a controller."

The kids in her life think she's cool, now that she's in a videogame. Starring with Bruce Willis or Tom Cruise wasn't a big deal to them.

"It's so surreal seeing myself in this game," said Maggie Q. "My little cousins and nieces and nephews are very impress that I'm in a game. Probably more so than that I've been in films. It's a different market."

But it's a market she'd be thrilled to jump back into, should her role as Federal Agent Chase Linh be assigned to another Need for Speed operation.

"I think it'd be a lot of fun," said Maggie Q. "I had the greatest experience. The level of professionalism in working with them was great. I'd definitely do this again if they asked me back."

Hollywood talent has become a staple for videogame production today as game publishers seek out the best of both entertainment worlds. "When you're looking at this world and the things games are creating that you can't do in real life, we're doing the same type of things with movies," said Maggie Q. "We're creating fictional worlds that you can immerse yourself in and have fun with because you couldn't pull off, or shouldn't pull off, in real life. In that sense they're really the same."

The convergence of Hollywood and games has not only opened up new opportunities for actresses, but has introduced interactive experiences for gamers.

"That's the greatest thing about this game is not having the real responsibility of being in a car," said Maggie Q. "The reason these games are so popular with men is because you get to drive these cars fast and be reckless because that's such a male thing. There's something to be said for that -- to be able to do that and not have to have real consequences."