Need for Speed Underground

"Beyond limits!"

Introduction
Hi and welcome to my review for Need for Speed Underground. I have recently bought the game, along with the steering wheel to play along with the game. In case you are wondering a little bit about the background of the game, I will start with that. The game has to do with street racing, or racing around a town to gain prizes and awards. This is obviously considered illegal, but as you might know from watching ''The Fast and the Furious,'' this is something that everyone enjoys. This game takes ''The Fast and the Furious'' and puts their own little story behind the game. Let us move to some of the various aspects of the game.

Graphics (9/10)
This is going to be a positive aspect of the game. There are two types of graphics that I would like to refer to. First of all, the cutscene graphics are like none other. They are more smooth than the Final Fantasy X cutscenes! If you don't know those graphics, you can ask anyone with experience with this game. The graphics are the closest thing to real. All you have to do is sit back and watch some intersting cutscenes. The cutscene is certainly a postive aspect of the graphics. The second part of the graphics part would be the regular gameplay graphics. They are smooth, and the backgrounds are very realistic. There is a nice abiotic environment, with lighted buildings throughout the night (as most street racing takes place at night). On the other hand, the cars that drive throughout the street a terrible. They seem like white boxes, and are very plain. Also, when you crash, there are no broken dents or anything. This takes a few points away from graphics.

Story (7/10)
Story? This is not what you expected I bet. This street racing does have a story, but it is not very significant to the point where it is actually a good story. A lot of it is just ''meet me at the end of the city to pick up a prize.'' There isn't enough dialogue to make the story interesting, but the graphics make up for that. Overall, this is a decent, or maybe average part of the game. But, then again, this is not as important as many of the other sections of the game. If you want to know more significant parts of the game, please read on.

Fun Factor (10/10)
This is where Need for Speed Underground shows its strengths. This is nothing like the other Need for Speeds, so be prepared to be amazed. There are great two player action in this game. You can do drag races, which are extremely fun, or drift racing, or even regular speed races. This is really fun, but only a part of the game. The single player is even more fantastic. When playing the Underground mode, you can choose from real cars and upgrade them to look realy neat. This makes it really fun, and motivates you to play a lot. Also, there are A LOT of races. With all of these races, the game is actually longer than a normal racing gamer would expect. This, again, is the best part of the game. It is also most likely the most important and more significant.

Overview
This is one of the best racing games I have played so far, but lacks a few minor things, such as a story, even though they present a weak one. It has a lot of fun, and hours involved into the gaming process, which is always a plus. In general, it is worth buying, although renting it for a few days could also be a wise choice. It can be fun for a month or for five days. It is your choice. I would encourage anyone to buy this game. Thank you for reading this review.

Final Score
9+7+10 = 26/3 = 8.6 rounded to 9! A very good game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/28/04