Gaming Target - GameCube: Need for Speed: Underground 2

Written by Jeremy Siegel on July 14, 2004

First Impressions: Only two franchises truly bring gamers to the Underground scene: Need for Speed and Dig Dug.

There is little resistance to the assertion that the first УNeed for Speed: UndergroundФ was a game that set itself apart from every other racing game before it. It sparkled with never-before-seen graphical beauty. It incorporated several different racing styles (drift racing, circuit racing, and drag racing). But most importantly, to me anyway, the customization options were plentiful. Now, I'm probably not part of the target demographic for this game. I was never interested in "The Fast and the FuriousФ movie franchise, I don't have any custom rims or strobe lights on my car, and I don't like hip-hop. So I was that much more surprised when I found myself enjoying the game immensely. Now EA is coming out with the sequel, УNeed for Speed: Underground 2Ф (not to be confused with УNeed for Speed 2: Hot PursuitФ). I must say, I am very excited about this game.

First, the things that are returning: drift, circuit, and drag racing; multiple real-life car manufacturers represented with their hottest cars; incredible graphics. Add to those things the new or improved features: 3 additional racing modes; more than a dozen new cars; even better graphics; more customization options (as difficult as that is to fathom); one giant, free-roaming city; more in-depth performance tuning; it looks like there's going to be online multiplayer for the PS2 and Xbox, (only split-screen multiplayer action for the GameCube, unfortunately); and 5 distinct environments, just to name a few. It's this last feature that I wish to address first. If anybody had any complaint about Need for Speed: Underground (NFS:U) it was about the lack of environmental diversity. While the city did look incredible, there wasn't much reprieve from nighttime rainy streets. Fortunately, EA says that NFS:U2 will feature real-time weather effects and varying track types. While it appears the game will still mostly take place at nighttime, the streets will not always be covered in rain, and the buildings and surroundings do look different in different areas.

The goal of the first game was to make the player feel as if they are delving deeper and deeper into a secret world known only to the late night street racer. This time around, the experience is enhanced by the ability to proceed through the game in a non-linear fashion (i.e. you can go wherever and only race the races you want to race when you want to). You can drive up to a car that wants to race and next thing you know you're racing, without any loading screen or any other segue way. As you meet more people and engage in more underground activities you will find out more and more about this culture, and more importantly you will unlock more car options.

The performance options offer something for everybody. For the true gear-head you can tune practically everything in these cars, while for the less technically-gifted you can still boost the performance of your vehicle by purchasing all-encompassing pre-made kits. Another neat addition to this game is how style points now add to your nitro meter, which gives gamers an extra incentive to drift, jump and weave through traffic.

For those who didn't experience the first NFS:U title, let me explain to you the biggest draw to these games. Yes, the racing is a wonderful arcade-style speed-fest and the graphics are awe-inspiring, but what really made the first game so fun was the visual customization. You could choose from a slew of neon lights, colored tints for your windows, phat mufflers, roof scoops, and most importantly, vinyls. Back in the day, cool vinyls were of flames going down the side of the car (think of all your Hot Wheels cars from the 80's). In these games there are vinyls featuring tribal symbols, liquid effects, lightning, spidery checkered patterns, and on and on. You can literally create your dream car in these games, personalized to a degree that you can't believe. I think fondly back to my Spider-man Eclipse, red and blue with white webbing all over, or my cool Z, done up in orange and green on a black background.