Need for Speed Underground

"A great racing game with a great sense of speed!"

Need for Speed Underground is the same game from the PS2 that has been ported to the PC, for the better, in my opinion. Now, I haven't spent much time on the console version, but I can say that I really enjoy playing the PC version, with the amazing graphics, good gameplay and sound, and awesome variation in car customisations. This was a beautiful port indeed.

Gameplay
The gameplay in this game is excellent. You basically start off by picking a stock car of your choice, then as you progress through the different race types in the game (Sprint, Circuit, Lap Knockout, Drift, and Drag), you unlock upgrades, and you gain the money to buy the upgrades of your choice to make your car look unique. This was executed well in NFSU, and by playing the game you will realize how much of an ability you have to upgrade your car any way you want. The AI in this game is decent. Sometimes, the cars will act all crappy, crashing into everything in sight, but other times they will avoid every car easily. This wouldn't be such a problem, if the cars gradually got harder throughout the game. This, however, is not the case, seeing as how on one race, the cars might be unbearably hard, and then the next race, the AI is a pushover. The cars themselves handle very well, and the physics are somewhat real life. Overall, throughout everything discussed in this section, the gameplay and its sub-categories all add up to a well-maintained and fun gameplay department.
Gameplay Score: 9/10

Audio
The audio in this game is pretty good. To start, the sounds the cars make are all realistic, as well as the well done dialogue. The voices in the dialogue sound like they would, and also talk like they would in real life, and add to the depth of certain characters you continuously encounter throughout the game. The music tracks that the game has provided for you are, in my opinion, decent, however I am not a big fan of certain genres of music in this game, so you could consider me biased. On a large scale, past the bias, I will however say most of the tracks are still decent, and that EA could have done better in the music department.
Audio Score: 7/10

Graphics
The graphics in this game are, simply, superb. The tracks that you race in are well designed, and the details on little things like the roads or sidewalks really add to the overall atmosphere of the game. The car designs are done well, and the reflections, lighting, well, pretty much everything on the cars looks extremely well done. During the races, you are encountered by a motion blur effect, which, in my opinion, was done extremely well. The reflections on the roads are also done well, as well as the lighting effects throughout the many different racing areas you encounter. Overall, the graphics were done extremely well, and really adds to the speed effect that this game tries to achieve.
Graphics Score: 10/10

Story
There really isn't that much to the story in the game, though that doesn't really effect your playing experience at all. Basically, you start off as a small-time street racer, with a lady who nicely offers to help you out through the many different races. You eventually climb the ranks to the top. Basic story in the end, but as said before, hardly any effect on your overall gameplay experience. I don't know any people who play customizable vehicle racing games for the sole purpose of a good story anyway.
Story Score: 5/10

Replayability
The replayability in this game is, on a broad scale, pretty good. Basically, throughout the whole game, you have the ability to choose either easy, medium, or hard races, which effect the amount of money you can get. You can always switch what difficulties you want to pick for the races, so this adds a little bit of repayability. Most of the replayability, however, comes from the customizable cars, which the game enables you to choose from many at the beginning of the game. Replaying the game to customize some of the other cars and use them in the beginning races can be quite enjoyable.
Replayability Score: 8/10

Need for Speed Underground is a great game for any fan of car customization, good graphics, and achieving an extremely good sense of speed. Through the well done dialogue, good gameplay, great replayability, and great graphics, you will see that this game truly delivers a sense of speed, and a great feeling of having your own unique car through the extremely well-done customization system.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/20/06