Customer Reviews

Need for Speed Underground 2

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Need for Speed Underground 2 (NfSU2) is the latest installment in a long-running series of EA racing games. The "Underground" element wraps the game up in a world of nighttime drag races and super-tuned and modified import coupes ala "The Fast and the Furious" movies.

The most engaging part of the gameplay is the career mode, which allows you to build your reputation and your bankroll by entering events found throughout a sprawling urban landscape. All of the now-familiar features are here: a variety of race types, a huge selection of cars and options to be unlocked, purchased and installed, etc. There's a lot of straight-up racing fun to be found on these streets.

The graphics are really good; not Gran Turismo good, but close. The cars are especially fine, and you've got ample opportunity to examine your customized baby. You'll occasionally get a mini-mission to have your car photographed for a magazine cover where you control the background, "pose" and camera angle. Sure it's kind of a silly way to build your bank, but not a total waste after you've spent an hour selecting the perfect color scheme and combination of paint and artwork for your car.

One minor gripe about the graphics is the lack of options for camera angles. Given how big the city is, the always-nighttime gameplay and the fact that some shortcuts and objectives are tucked away between buildings, it can be tough to spot things. I feel the other reviews when they complain about long times searching for this or that between races. Another minor problem is the perpetual nighttime during gameplay. Coupled with the brightly lit and highly detailed environment, it's sometimes too much to look at and the car can actually get lost in the overall scene.

The controls are intuitive and well-designed. One of my favorite features is the ability to use the right analog stick as the accelerator and brake. Couple it with a manual transmission (shifting uses the L2/R2 buttons) and you've got a great amount of subtle control over your car. It's not as good as playing with a wheel and pedals, but it really beats the usual x-and-square two-button setup (which is also available at all times if you prefer).

Does it play a lot like GTA-lite? Of course it does; it's meant to do so. There's a plotline running through the career mode focused on getting revenge on the rival who did you wrong before you landed in Bayview. It's not as deep or sequential as the GTA missions, so you're free to do pretty much whatever you want in whatever order you want. This can be good or it can lead to a lot of aimless driving around.

The game also struggles a little bit with identity - what game does NfSU2 want to be? It's not an exact sim like Gran Turismo, although you can certainly tune and tweak your car's performance options all day long if that's your thing. The race action has a big-time arcade feel, but it's not simply an arcade racer because of the GTA-esque missions in career mode. During some lulls in the action, you may find yourself wanting to pop this out in favor of one of those other games instead.

Nonetheless, the good easily outweighs the bad in this good-looking and ultimately exciting racer. It does a very nice job of satisfying fans of all flavors of driving games: arcade, sim and mission.

PROS
* Beautifully-rendered cars (and SUVs) that can be exhaustively customized in terms of looks and performs
* Exciting racing action with very little learning curve
* Well-designed controls make the most of the PS2 controller

CONS
* Too much time getting around the huge environment
* Notable lapses in realism, i.e. gigantic crashes with no consequences; no cops at all (I guess then it would simply be a GTA clone)
* Lots of product placement gets a bit heavy after a while - meet me at Burger King, the garage is next to Best Buy, I'll call you on my Cingular wireless, etc.

Yes, thats right, im a reviewer who OWNS this game, unlike the reviewers under me who are just talking about what it will be like when it comes out. To acknowledge some of the other reviews talking about sponsors of the game...thats how street racing is, you get sponsors. Also, the people complaining about fine tuning of cars, once again, thats how street racing is. They made this game more realistic than the previous one. The free roam option (career) has changed in a better way, I'm more of the guy who would rather get my missions/races done so i can get better cars or upgrades to race them online. The online option is also another great great feature. The graphics on this game are beautiful as always. The control seems to have changed just a little, maybe to make it easier, but its hard for me to notice a change. The sound has changed for the better, sounds are more realistic and clear. The music of the game is good, but not my preference. Its got a demo of Burnout 3, which is also a good game. This is just an all around good game, very addictive since you can get better cars as you progress and then race online. Also, if you dont have online features, I highly recomend it, I just got it when Mortal Kombat Deception came out. It adds a VERY high replay value to the game, you can beat a game over and over again but theres always new people to fight/play/race online. For only $39.99 its a great deal as opposed to xbox's high priced Xbox Live subscription required service.

This game is a great game. You can customize your car in many different ways (custom gauges, engine and trunk neon, hydralics, doors, split hoods, spinning rims, new bumpers and lights, you can change your car's light color, new cars, new vinyl, SUVs [Escalades, Navigators, and Hummers H2], etc.). It's a free roaming city and you discover hidden shops to get secret parts. Also there are new modes. In Street X, you go on a drift track but you race on it so corners are real tight. In URL, you go in a race track with no traffic and the reward is high (depending on your sponsor/contract). In outrun, you find a race car roaming around and challenge him to an outrun. You must get 1000 feet away from your opponent (it's really not that far. it's like 2-4 blocks). Also, you choose what races you want to race (unless you are required to in your sponsorship contract and you must do so many races in your contract.) And there are many chances to get on a magazine or DVD cover. Also, you take your own picture for the cover (most of the time). This game has improved greatly from the first and there is new music from: Snoop Dogg, The Doors, Chingy, Terror Squad, Spider Bait, Queens of the Stone Age, Ministry, and a lot more. I would definately get this game. It's worth the $50 and it will keep you busy for a long time with all the new features. If your not sure about getting the game, rent it first (I did at gamefly.com and it was worth it. I thought it would be like the first game but it was REALLY different).

In NFSU2 you can do almost anything to your car. You can change your front and rear bumpers. You can change window tints and spoilers and side skirts. That isn't even half of what you can do to your car. You don't have to buy everything in packages like the the first NFSU you can buy parts separately. You can also add spinners, other rims, and hydrolics! You can add a sound system and trunk neon colors and engine neon colors. There are a lot more cars in the sequel opposed to the first one. For instance there are Escalades, Navigators, Hummers, Civics, the new 2005 Mustang, Skylines, RSXs, Audi TTs, Audi A3s, Supras, and much, much, more. You have your own garage so you can hold more than one car at a time. You can even tune your car for any kind of race. 3 new styles of races have been added. This game is extremely fun and to me is worth $49.99. If you like racing games this is the game for you unless you like Nascar type games.(for Tony to use the hydrolics you hold down R1 and move the left analog stick then it will make the hydrolics go up depending on which way you press the analog stick.)

Okay, not only are there 30 cars, there's millions of different customization options for your cars. Including lambo doors,sound systems, and lots more. Races happen out of the blue, and the city it takes place in is huge and free roaming, so the playing is less linear. Also, the car list also includes a Mustang, Mazda RX-8, and also a Lexus IS300!

I just got Underground 2 and it tore my attention away from San Andreas, just to give you an idea of how addicting it is. The NFS franchise has done it again. They've managed to go beyond their expectations and deliver the racing game of its time. Some people are eagerly anticipating Gran Tourismo 4, but I've always preferred the NFS games.
There are major improvements that were both a relief and a milestone at the same time. First is the graphics. Crisp, clear and a lot of definition. It makes Underground 1 look like a PS1 game. Then there's the gameplay. There's a lot more variety with cars, modifications and tracks. The free roaming is a great idea too (although not completely original). Also, as you would expect, there's a bunch of side stuff you can do, like doing photo shoots, challenge races, hidden races and of course, trade ins and mods. Also, returning to the franchise is the replay feature.
I don't do online gaming, so I can't comment on that aspect.
Now here's the part where I explain why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. As I said before, the free roaming feature is cool. Also, it can be a bit annoying at times. You have to drive all over to do anything, including entering races, doing mods and also swiching cars. Sometimes a shop and/or race will be clear on the other side of the map. The GPS tracking system is the saving grace here, but sometimes you can't activate it and then it becomes a real pain. My other major gripe is the trade ins. On Underground 1, if you traded cars, you would still keep all of your custom parts. Well, not in Underground 2. If you get tired of driving your car, you'd better make sure you have some serious bank before you switch cars because you have to start all the way from bare bones stock.
Complaints aside, this is a really fun game. I do wholeheartedly recommend it.

The only faults I can find in this otherwise great game are the horribly long load times and how long it takes to get a decent car to race with. The game is very addictive, especially when it comes to tuning your hard-won new car. Customization of your car is extremely detailed and is almost as fun as racing. The computer cars give you a real challenge in certain types of races, but you can change the difficulty level if you find it to be a little too hard at first. The scenery is gorgeous! Being able to drive anywhere you want is really fun too. I actually prefer this game over EA's newer release: Most Wanted. I would recommend this game, but patience is needed for your first few hours of gameplay.

First of all I do not own this game but I did rent it. And I have to say I was really impressed. Like Midnight Club 2 Need for speed now has a new explore mode where you can drive over hundreds of miles of terrain. In explore mode you can go to all kinds of shops each with their own types of upgrades. Such as Car Lots, Performance shops, car specialty shops, and car design shops. Upgrading your car is trully addictive, you can get anything from hydrolics, neon lights, speakers in your trunk, and even scissor doors. The racing is great and has great car control. The car physics are very realistic. The sound is very clear, and the music is alright. My biggest complaint is probably the load times, it feels like it takes for ever. That is the only complaint for me, although I don't think I'll buy the game.

NFSU 2 has made leaps and bounds over NFSU as far as driving physics are concerned, but there are still a few flaws. On the pros side vs NFSU(1):
1. You now have to brake and downshift for some corners
2. Different car types react differently, ie front wheel drive, rear wheel drive
3. Rain does decrease traction
4. You don't have to replay a level over and over because one section of the track is too tight (remember NFSU drawbridge jump circuit track where you had to dive a narrow alley with bumps that threw you off your driving line)
5. If you touch and opponent's car or they touch you it doesn't mean that you will spin each other out right away
Cons:
1. You still just bounce off walls and bounce off walls. You might have to downshift after the third or fourth strike in a row
2. "Catch Up" mode seems to really kick in on the straight stretches of highway. You can win a sprint race with a large margin every time
3. Still no damage to the cars, probably because they are actual licensed cars. As a manufacture you don't want models of how your cars break up
4. The cars are almost too stable; yes I just said that in NFSU they were too hard to control on some tracks. The only time you really notice a lack of control is with rear wheel drive cars and/or at the 150 mph + range. A little tweaking in this area will yield the perfect balance in a future addition of the game. (I don't have the stabilize function activated.)
That said, NFSU 2 is a great game that will keep you entertained for hours. It seems that programmers don't want to do that anymore; after all you won't buy another new game right away at 50 bucks if you are still playing NFSU2.

Last year, EA took its long-running Need for Speed series in an exciting new direction with the release of Need for Speed Underground, a racing game that focused on making the import tuner scene the star of its arcade-style racing show. The game worked really well, combining the right level of car customization with good track design, challenging opponents, and impressive graphical effects. Now, one year later, a sequel is on the streets, adding some new race types and a big, open city to cruise around. The actual racing in Need for Speed Underground 2 is still pretty good, but unfortunately most of the stuff you do in between races keeps you away from the game's best moments.



Underground 2 gives you a whole city to drive around, but there's not much to do in it.
Need for Speed Underground 2 tries to inject a story into your career mode using static-image cutscenes that pop up before some races. The effect is similar to what the Max Payne series does with its noninteractive sequences, though that game pulls it off much better than Need for Speed Underground 2 does. Dopey story short, you're sent off to a new town after getting ambushed by a rival racing crew, and you'll have to start from scratch with one car and a handful of races to get you going.

The biggest change made by this year's game is that the action now takes place in one large city. You're given free rein to drive around wherever you want, and you'll have to drive to races to drive in them. You'll also have to drive to different parts shops to customize your ride--in fact, you'll have to find most of the game's shops by cruising around the city, looking for the right type of colored lights. The game gives you an onscreen map, but shops don't show up until you've found them, and some races don't actually appear on the map, either.

On paper, this whole open-city thing sounds like an interesting idea. Someone probably sat down and said, "Well, everyone likes Grand Theft Auto, and it has an open city, so our game has to have an open city as well. In fact, let's even make it so that different sections of the city are locked away until you progress to a certain point in the career mode." In practice, driving around the city is a real drag that keeps you out of the action longer than you'd like. The game also rarely takes advantage of the open city for racing purposes, staging a majority of its events on preset tracks, rather than attempting to go for a Midnight Club-like "get there however you can" feel. There's a menu in the garage that lets you jump to a handful of different events, but most races don't show up here, and none of the shops do, either, making it completely useless.

You'll start out in some pretty slow cars, so the racing isn't very exciting until you earn enough for a full set of upgraded performance parts. But once you've done so, the racing is fun and the cars handle well. The cars are fast, and things like turning, powersliding, and proper corning technique are easy to pick-up. Like in last year's game, there are a handful of different race types: Circuit races are long lap-based events, sprints take you from point A to point B on a set course, drag racing lets you live your life a quarter mile at a time, and drift races rank you based on how squirrelly you can get on the track. New in this year's game are the street X races, which are essentially regular races that take place on drift tracks. Outrun races take place in various parts of the city--you roll up behind another racer, tap a button, and then try to pass and outrun him or her. You'll also encounter a few races against the clock, in which you'll have to get from one point in the city to another before a photographer leaves the area. Make it, and you'll get to put your car on the cover of one of the game's magazines or DVDs for extra cash. The big new race type is the "underground racing league." These races are the sort of mysterious events where you'll see most of the game's cutscenes. They mostly involve some knucklehead breaking the lock on a race track and then swinging open a gate so your street-racing posse can race on a "real" track, though you'll also bust into airports and such, too. These races are essentially circuit races with racetrack scenery instead of cityscape scenery.



Tricking out your car's look will let you put it on the cover of a magazine or DVD.
Though there are three different difficulty settings for the career mode, none of them put up a particularly good fight. As a result, most of the races simply boil down to getting in front of the opposition and then doing what you can to not make a mistake. Between nitrous boosts and drafting, gaining the lead isn't very difficult, and the game doesn't seem to employ any heavy rubber-band AI routines to retake the lead from you, so you can usually stay in front without any trouble at all. When you consider that it will take you about a minute to get in front, and that some of the circuit races can last six minutes or more, this means that a great deal of your race time is spent just cruising along, dodging traffic and not paying any attention to the other cars unless you screw up and get into a wreck. In the event that you do crash, regaining the lead usually isn't too tough, especially if you've purchased a nitrous-oxide upgrade, which shamelessly lifts concepts from the Burnout series, translating powerslides and near-misses into extra boost for your tank. The opposing cars will slow down quite a bit if they take a big lead, making them very easy to beat.

Need for Speed Underground 2's crashes are laughably weak. While high-speed collisions with other cars trigger a slow-motion, cinematic shot of the crash, the game doesn't model any damage at all. It's like you're watching two plastic car models bump up against each other, accompanied by the sounds of an actual car crash. While it practically goes without saying that modeling damage in a game with licensed cars is still a tricky proposition, that fact doesn't make these wrecks look any better. Fortunately, the game's car customization features somewhat make up for this lack of visual detail. Thanks to gamespot.com