Need for Speed Underground 2 (Xbox)

Need for speed underground 2

Recently EA appear to have gone all-out in showing their support for chavness by releasing not one, but two very "bling bling" titles in the space of a couple of months. These are, of course, the violent and brutal Def Jam: FFNY and the super-cool Need For Speed Underground 2.

With NFS:U2, EA have managed to create a brand new direction for the tired old racing genre to speed off towards, a direction that could arguably shape the structure of racing games to come. Of course, what I am talking about is the inclusion of car modding. In fact, NFS:U2 is more of a modding game with a driving feature than a driving game with a modding feature, as most of the fun to be had lies in transforming your car, bit by bit, into the ultimate chavmobile.

This time round EA have gone GTA and have provided us with a whole city to cruise around at our leisure as the player searches for all the different races that take place around the city. The races in question include the traditional circuit race, drag race, sprint and drift race, as well as new additions in the form of steel X races (which are about as fun as grinding your teeth on a chisel), URL races and outrun races.

You start career mode by choosing one of the suitably lame beginner cars and taking to the streets for some predictably tame initial racing action. With no money to spend on mods or performance tuning, your car will run like a fifteen year old metro, so you'll need to start earning some cash. And that's when it hits you. Amongst all the brilliance and innovation of the car modding feature, it soon becomes clear that NFS:U2 is, at the heart of its racing, a fairly run-of-the-mill driving game. In fact, the racing takes back seat behind the modding, but then, shouldn't the actual driving be the most entertaining part of a driving game? Having said that, the drag and drift (especially the downhill drift) races provide fast-paced entertainment and a quick way to earn money so you can go turn your ride into something that wouldn't look out of place in Snoop Dogg's front garden.

Once you do get into the modding section however, it becomes extremely addictive. The sheer amount of mods available is nothing short of overwhelming. Anything, and I mean anything on your car can be changed in some way, whether it's your side mirrors or your brake discs, it can't be said that EA doesn't pay enough attention to detail. In fact, you'll play the game through to the end just so you can unlock and install every last visual enhancement. Why not add flashing engine neons or a split hood? Or maybe even go all-out and convert the whole thing to carbon fibre.

The car visuals are generally very polished, and the environment is rather impressive at a distance, if a little rough around the edges close up.

Overall, NFS:U2 makes for a very addictive modding title, but as a racing game it's a tad dull.