Need for Speed Underground

"A great street racing game!"

Need for Speed Underground has too be one of the best racing games I have ever played! There are tons of ways to build your car to make it better and faster. The races are very intense with close finishes and awesome crashes. This has to be one of my most favorite racing games out there. Here is a list of the scores I give it.

Graphics: 8/10

The Graphics are completely awesome with lots of details on the cars and scenery. The traffic cars are shaped more like boxes than real cars you might find on the streets though. When you crash or become air born the game slows down to provide a sweet view of your car as it flys or wrecks. However after several good crashes I discovered that the car did not change much after a bad wreck. The glass would crack, but the body of the car would not crinkle or dent. I prefer the graphics of games like Burnout where the car would show some damage on it.

Story: 9/10

You can't really put much of a story into a racing game, but the story good enough for the game. You start out a new street racer with a junky car trying to make it to be the top racer in the city. Along the way you race some punks who think that they are the number one racers in the city.

Gameplay: 9/10

Gameplay was totally sweet with close finishes and lots of near misses with traffic. You get awarded points if you get close to other cars, but points taken away if you hit them. There are 5 different modes to play in such as Circuit, Sprint, Drag, and Drift, and Knockout. Circuit is just a basic race around a track. Sprint is a race from one point of the city to another point. Drag is drag racing down a highway or city street. Drift is when you see how long you can slide around a track without hitting the walls or going too slow. And Knockout is when there is 3 laps of racing with the last place person on each lap getting eliminated. One problem I had though was the A.I. Even when I was ahead by a long ways, if you touch the wall it can ruin your race. Other people have described it as if the A.I are attached to the back of your car, and are always right behind you.

Sound: 9/10

The sound of the cars and crashes are awesome but the music was annoying, including that horrible rap song on the main screen. Other people may like it but it wasn't for me. You can select the songs you want to leave in and kick the ones you hate. You could also turn off the music completely and put in your favorite C.D.

Replay Value: 9/10

Replay would be awesome with more upgrades to search for and just the fun of playing the game.

Buy or rent?

If your a fan of the Need for Speed series buy this game. For Gran Turissmo fans you should probably stick to more realistic games. Rent the game first, if you have an X-box or gaming console too see it you like it first.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/09/06