Need for Speed Underground 2 holds its reputation it gained last year as one of the best racing titles on the selves. The new free roaming city is a great addition but it does get confusing and boring at times. The tight controls are about the same as the first game, save the nice addition of taking your own picture of your ride. The music went downhill, with only a few enjoyable titles, but the sound effects give back to the game overall. The story is put in the game like a comic book, which is different and gains extra-credit-creativity points for not using straight up graphics to impress the gamer. Overall the game has very little drawbacks and a lot of great additions that make you forget about the bad points.

The story opens up(Career Mode) with the racer you control ruling the streets with a Skyline in the city you left in the first Underground. Instead of jaw dropping, lick your lips delicious graphics, the game adds a comic book type feel that I have never seen in a racing title. Within seconds of starting the career mode your ride gets totaled and the racer gets sent to a new city with a new slate. You start out meeting Rachel, who is played by Brooke Burke, who lends you her sweet ride just to get you from the airport back to her. As soon as you get to the city Rachel contacts you with the SMS (short message system, obviously sponsored by Cingular Wireless) telling you to bring the beautiful ride back to her. But, why not have some fun first? I did. After returning the car to her you get to pick from the crappiest selection of starting cars you can think of, but the Civic is always a nice selection. Once you select your car you will be using for the majority of the first section of the game you begin the main story. From here, you basically have control on what to do next to get the story going.

The graphics are a step up from the first entry, but they aren't noticeably different that you would just get the game for the outstandingly different graphics. Don't get me wrong, you will notice a very nice shine on your car while your passing everyone on the interstate. The big difference from the first is the gigantic free roaming city they added, and even with the huge city (that looks great), the car's looks still are beautiful and smooth. I haven't ran into any slowdown time in any races which is surprising with the big roads and several eye catching buildings and lights. To be honest the only problem I have found with the smooth graphics is when I go into any shop with large rims on my car(during the cutscene), the tires are actually rolling in the ground instead of on top of it. When I first heard about the large free roaming city that got added into the game, I was worried that the graphics would be sacrificed. Surprisingly, they held their ground and impressed my low expectations.

The overall game play is exciting most of the time, but tends to get a little aggravating when you want to upgrade any part of your car. During races this title brings the tense, blinding speed, that real street racers feel, to life. The streaming lights and blaring engines make you grip the controller a little tighter and place a cautious finger over the hand brake button. This title has a handful of different types of races. The old Drift, Sprint and Circuit races are added with the Street X and URL races that make the repetitious feel of the first title vanish into smoke. Outside of the set races lay the options to either go to car shops or find an opponent car that you can “Outrun'. The shops are scattered all over the large city, which is the biggest drawback to this title. If you want to add a front bumper, upgrade your engine, add a nice new vinyl, and put spinners on your car you have to go to four different shops. This can get very irritating, even to the point where you won't even bother to do certain things to your car and just ignore the upgrades, just to keep the story flowing. Another drawback, while the topic is up, is the many load screens this title has. If you want to enter a race or a shop you have to go threw a tedious load screen. The only good thing about this is the background is graced with a beautiful comic book illustration of Brooke Burke. The load screens added with the distant shops might make you drop the controller instead of gripping it, if you are impatient.

After a few bad notes, a brilliant one comes up: the Outrun mode. At first this addition seems useless, but after you use it a few times it becomes addicting. The Outrun mode puts you mono e mono against a opponent car (which you can find on your SMS Map) on the mad streets of the large city. The object isn't to get to a finish line first, mainly because there isn't one, but it is to blow your opponent away; leaving your opposition in the dust. Once you get a certain distance away, you win and you get mad respect and some Benjamins. On some rare occasions you even get some upgrades for your car. This mode is fun to play when you are stressed out about the load screens, because they don't come up when you race in Outrun.

The Online mode is a little better than the first, allowing a headset to be used. The headset, surprisingly, adds a lot to the online mode, letting you talk to your friends or opponents the whole race and the whole time in the race menu. You get to make your own race, get to choose any type of race, and get to invite people into the room via a friends list. This mode is great to show off your car to your friends by smoking them from the starting line and owning them to the finish, with out this feature the game might of lost some points as well. If you don't have online capabilities, don't get it just for this game because you aren't missing the main focus of the game, which is the career mode.

The sound is a great but the music is lacking. The previous title had over a dozen great songs for you as you fly through the air and cut off cars, but this one only has a handful. Snoop Dog, Chingy, Unwritten Law, and Lil Jon feat. Eminem, Mase and Fat Joe (Remix to Lean Back) are some of the big names in this title, but some of the unknown songs become annoying and overshadow the few good songs on the list. I have gotten to the point where I get excited to hear "Do the Rock-away" just so I wouldn't hear the annoying screaming in one of the songs. There is the option to turn these other songs off, but why just have four songs playing the whole time you played the game? The great sound effects come as a saving grace compared to the music. The roaring sounds of the engines, which sound different with each car, make you feel like you are actually there driving the car. The screeching tires and shattering sounds of glass breaking as you wreck into a wall or another car mock you as you flip wildly through the air. Overall the sound effects heal the devastating disappointment of the soundtrack.

The chances that you will replay this game after you complete it are slim to none, since the game doesn't give you many bonuses toward another go around. The challenging career mode will keep you busy enough, and will make the title worth the fifty bucks. It might be considered a short game compared to role playing titles, but in the racing genre this game will last just as long as Gran Tourismo. Just have fun with the career mode, and it will probably last you longer than expected.

All in all this game is just as strong as it's predecessor and won't leave you disappointed. The lacking soundtrack, the scattered shops and many load screens might send some diehard racing fans drifting to a different game, but the great additions (and carry-overs from the first) overshadow these drawbacks enough for an enjoyable title. If you loved Need for Speed Underground, then definitely invest in the second installment to the series. If you want to try this series out for the first time, rent it first and see if the load screens scare you off (they probably won't), then go buy it. This game is worth the fifty bucks you have been saving in your piggy bank.

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Reviewed By:ShadowRayne Reviewed On: Tue, 21 June 2005 19:05:14 Read:

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