Need for Speed Underground

"NFSU Makes the Dream Come True"

Ever dream of modding your very own import car? This game makes the dream come true.

Graphics- 8/10 - Unless you have a somewhat powerful gaming rig (1.7+ghz, 128mb vid card, 512+mb RAM), the game's graphics won't be as great as they can be. There is a lot of eye candy such as reflections off the road, the car, all reflection in real time the city's details. Very realistic, but at a price, your frames per second. There is a special graphic mode called motion blur. Self explanatory, it blurs the screen at high speeds or when using nitrous. Looks good, yes. Causes headaches, yes. There are three views, far, near, in car (without dash or anything at all).

Music/Sound- 7/10- Nothing special. Nothing that makes you jump out of your seat. You may find your favorite artist, and you might not like any of the music. Either way, there is a nice EA Trax option where you can disable the music you don't want to listen to. How about the sound effects for the cars? They are somewhat simplistic. It basically adds on the blow-off valve noise after you acquire turbo.

Gameplay- 9/10- There is a little bit of everything for everyone. Love arcade style racing? There is normal circuit mode (laps), knockout mode (like circuit mode, except last place car on each lap is eliminated), drag mode (very technical drag mode, makes it addicting), drift mode (an event that is popularizing in America, very fun to do in a FR car in this game) and there are tournaments (just a few races of one type mashed together)

Sure, but what about the eye candy on the cars? Tons. There are tons of body parts and accessories for you to choose from. Mix and match to recreate Fast and Furious cars, or build your very own creation. Mimic your own or favorite car to get the most experience. Then, whip it out onto the track and try to drag, lap, or drift with the best of the best. Watch out for the random traffic though, it can be aggravating.

If you are on the verge of trying to decide whether or not you should buy this game, I would recommend you ask yourself if you watched Fast and Furious and at any time had the sudden urge to own one of those cars, and if you say yes, go buy this game. You could always rent/try/buy.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/03