Need for Speed Underground

Need For Speed Underground

Article by Sam Chae
It sure has been a while. The loud screech of the blow-off valve switching from 4th to 5th, the exhaust spitting blue fire as the tires burn and the turbo spools to make your eyes suck into their sockets.

Since the release of The Fast and the Furious a few years back, along with its sequel, big media hasn't done much more to show the world this underground import scene, where racers meet on the streets to find out who's the fastest. It seemed like it was never going to happen, but then this game came in.

To say the least, this game kicks serious ass. From the stunning graphics, and real-time recorded sounds of the exhaust, blow off valves, even the nitrous oxide and tire screeches, combine to make this game the straight out most realistic street racing piece of media to ever hit the market. You'll have a hard time finding mistakes in this game...if things were more realistic, you'd be sittin' in jail for criminal speeding and drag racing.

It sure is fun though...starting off with a close to stock car, ranging from vehicles such as the Mitsubishi Eclipse or Lancer, Dodge Neon, Mazda Miata, Honda Civic, and a range of other cars, that look so much like the real thing, it's easy to notice them without even looking at the badge.



My favorite aspect of this game is once again the reality. It still amazes me how you can feel the torque when switching gears, downshift of peeling out. The feeling of the vehicle when shifting is so life-like...MAJOR props to EA Games for that. All racing games from here on out should be like that!
I will admit, especially on PS2, it isn't easy to get used to driving. I prefer the pad, not the joystick when driving. It all comes down to finesse in the end. At first, it feels like the car is driving on ice, the way the car skids so easily. It took me a few games to realize that using the steering wheel not too excessively made all the difference. Once you get used to the driving, it really is something else. This game is designed so that the driver can easily drift at almost any speed, and that's something not easy to get used to. However, it does make the game a lot more interesting, not to mention exciting. This is definitely not one of those games you can beat and finish before supper and put back on the shelf to collect dust. Addicting would be a great word to describe this game.

It is crazy still, the scenery, taking place on streets with race mode as well as drag mode. Ah there's nothing like driving through the streets of San Francisco at 2 am, avoiding on coming traffic, tunnels and weaving through opponents at 120 MPH, blasting nitrous to finish first, and making mad cash, to buy pretty much anything for your car.

With intakes, turbos, intercoolers, nitrous oxide, new shoes, body kits, graphics and tons more, you can watch your car go from stock to show throughout the game. All in all, I give this game 5 star, 5 out of 5, two thumbs up or whatever the equivalent...this by far is the best racing game I've ever played.

Available on PlayStation 2, PC-CD, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, and coming soon for Game Boy Advance.