Need for Speed Underground 2 (PS2) > Reviews (30)

BACKGROUND

Need for Speed originated back on the Phillips CDI many years ago now but most game players will remember the 5 games that came out on the PS1. Having been a keen fan of the series for many years and after the brilliant Need For Speed Underground I was keen to play the latest version.

I purchased the game from Woolworth’s shortly after release for 39 pounds 99 but the game is now available in many high street stores for 29 pounds 99. It can also be brought on E Bay for around 23 pounds.

THE GAMEPLAY

Those of you who have played last year’s installment will remember that with the Underground mode you just clicked a button and entered races. With this years version this has all changed.

You now have got a Free Roaming City called Bay View which is a massive 120 miles long which is over 5 times the size of the last game. Before you can compete in any races you have to find them, you are then transported to the track where you race so no Midnight Club Style Racing here.

You have five separate neighbourhoods, which are unlocked as you progress through the game.

Although you may think this is a good idea in theory, it doesn't work that well, it can take you 5 or ten minutes to find the next race and this can get extremely frustrating. The same principal also applies to the shops where you can tune your vehicle, you cannot tune until you find the shop, this can be time consuming as you can't see the shops until your near enough outside it.

Another new addition to this game is Brooke Bude, basically she's a pretty tasty chick who nurtures you throughout your career and she will help you join the Racing Elite.

RACES

As with last year’s game you have the Circuit, Sprints, drag and drift races explained below but there are also some additional race types.

Circuit: Basically this involves racing a number of cars over a set number of laps.

Sprints: Sprint races a basically time trials where you have to get to a point in a set time.

Drag: Drag races are basically a race over around a quarter of a mile and you have to avoid traffic

Drift Races: Drift races are races that you earn points for power slides

The most noteworthy new race addition to this year’s game are the Street X races. These are basically standard races but on drift tracks and because of this they do present more of a challenge.

CUSTOMISATION

A key addition to last years NFS Underground was the ability to soup up your car and customise. This has been expanded for this year’s version with over double the amount of tuning options.

The visual enhancements to your car have also been made more varied and now include such things as the ability to put a stereo in your car boot as well as the scoops and stickers that Need For Speed veterans will be familiar with.

As with last year’s version it is imperative you soup your car up in order to appear on magazine covers and new for this game videos.

CARS

The game features numerous licensed cars from the Peugeot 106 to the Nissan 350Z to Mitsubishi Evo.

You start off the game at the airport where you are given a clapped out Nissan 240Z to last you until you can drive to a garage to replace it.

To start off with you have to settle for a mundane hatchback but as you progress through the game, better cars are at your disposal.

There are new cars in this game, as you would expect including the Mitsubishi Evo VIII as well as others.

Sadly there is no Crash Damage on this game as all the cars are licensed. I think this is a stupid excuse though as the Cars on Colin Mc Rae are also licensed but you still have a brilliant damage model. The fact that the cars don't show damage on NFS detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.

HANDLING

The handling on this game is excellent with the cars responding when prompted.

GRAPHICS

As with last years variant the graphics on this game are sublime and really show off the capabilities of the PS2. Even when playing online the frame rate is fast with no evidence of slowdown even with six players.
The cars look like their real life counterparts even down to the badges on the boots etc.

MUSIC/SOUND

The music and sound are quite well done and the music consists of soundtracks by many well-known bands so there’s something for everyone.
Not exceptional but certainly not bad.

LONGEVITY

Despite there being Over 100 races and also some secret ones that are difficult to find. A racing game enthusiast will complete this in a couple of weeks max.

OVERALL

This is a very good game and is certainly worth buying if you don't have Need For Speed Underground but after playing the game its not really sufficiently different to its prequel to warrant shelling out another 30 pounds for if you already have NFS Underground.8 OUT OF 10