The Fast and the Furious

"HIGHLY Underrated Racing Game"

Ok I want to start off by saying simply this....this game isnt given the credit it deserves. As an employee of Walmart, I have walked past the video game displays and seen this game just sit on the shelves, not being touched, not being bought, not even looked at. I was puzzled why this game is never talked about ever and out of curiosity I asked the guy in the electronics department if it was any good....he paused and started laughing at me. This sparked my curiosity even further so I went ahead and picked this game up. I was fearing the worst and let me say this...I was totally surprised. Let me explain why.

Yeah many of you will want to argue with me and say its just another racing game, blah blah blah the movies are way better, Need For Speed Underground 1 and 2 are better and cheaper. Yeah the NFSU games are practically second to none and I love them still but this game cant be overshadowed by them. I started to play this game and I was instantly hooked on it. More in depth, my review goes like this, 1-10, of course 1 being the worst and 10 the best....

Graphics: 9. Ok the graphics are sweet, plain and simple. Sure everything is at nighttime but hey, thats the best time to street race, no? I race at night, I own a 99 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GST. The cars look awesome, the city graphics amazing as well. Things though get a bit bouncy when you hit high speeds and it may bug you. It bugged me at first but I got used to it. Believe me, when you are going 150 MPH+ things WILL get bouncy and blurry. I think thats what they were shooting for by adding this. But yes the graphics are very appealing.

Sound: 9. I admit I dont like the music, but everything else is crisp. The roar of the engines, the tires lighting up when you floor the accelerator, everything is very realistic. I cant say it could get any better, but hook it to a surround system in your room and I am very sure it will.

Controls: 9. Yeah again not quite a 10 but very good. The only thing that bugged me was no in car view. But simple X to go forward and square to go in reverse OR right analog to do both, and D-pad to steer OR left analog to do the same. Whichever you prefer but I use the analogs. Its nice though you have a choice in the matter.

Realism: 9. With exception of hitting a wall and not doing a damn bit of damage to your car like you would in Forza Motor Sports, the realism is quite real. The Eclipse GST/GSX in the game does handle like my car does, the HP is right on at 210, and everything is how it in basically in real life. And like in real life, the Mazda RX-8 will kick your Eclipse's ass just like it did in real life to me. I only had hoped you could add brand name parts to your car like Injen Short Ram Intakes or Stillen Hi-Flow intakes. But overall I cant really complain, I am impressed.

Overall, I must say this game is worth picking up. If you have beaten NFSU 1+2 over and over like most of us have and want something new, go for this title. Especially if you love the movies grab this title up. I am not saying its exactly like the movies, in fact its really not but the game is still impressive and worth getting in my opinion. From import tuners to american muscle cars and classics, you really cant go wrong.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/20/07