Need for Speed Underground 2

In the past, racing games have tried tackling the urban tuner scene before with little or no success, until Electronic Arts brought Need for Speed Underground to the table. The incredible sense of speed was only rivaled by the games drop dead gorgous visuals, the circuits were well designed, and the cars were so heavily customizable that they became a means of self expression to the driver. It was inevitable that the new series would recieve a sequal, and this fall the streets will never be the same with Need for Speed Underground 2.



Underground 2 is opening up a whole new world of street racing. EA likes to call it - The Tuner World. What sets Need for Speed Underground 2 apart from its linear predecessor is the massive free-roaming world everything goes down in. Underground 2 features five times the amount of open road to cruise around - that's 125 miles. The mega city is divided into five distinct interconnected neighbourhoods; City Center, Beacon Hill, Jackson Heights, Airport and Coal Harbor. You can travel a massive highway system that connects to each neighbourhood for quick commuting.

You can uncover the tuner culture by discovering paint shops, car lots, hidden shops, and races. You start your career racing in a limited area of the world, there are 9 different drag races taking place in different sections of the world, after you win enough races you'll start competing in circuits that span multiple regions. I'm willing to bet there are also circuits that span the entire 125 miles. There are different modes include circuit racing, sprint racing, drifting, and drag racing. Street Cross is a new mode that pits the player in a race where the cars have lots of grip, environmnets have many tight corners and windy circuits and everyone is competing for the first place position.



Another new mode is OutRun - you follow another racer at the same speed until they decide to OutRun you. There are no interfaces or timers to determine who wins and this mode takes advantage od the entire world, you'll need to outrun the other car by at least 300 meters.



There is a total of 30 cars in the game - 13 of which are new - and the new models are not restricted to American and Japanese makers either. Car models range from hot off the asembly line 2004 all the way to old school 80's models. In terms of customization the numbers have doubled, there are now 4 000 parts you can put on your vehicle (Not all at once!) and there are 12 new categories of customization. No two cars will ever be the same - you can probablly say that globally too. EA has even put gamers art into their game, by holding a vinyl customization contest - the winners car vinyl art can be spotted upon release.

Missing from the original but new to underground 2 is the replenishable Nauss. As you do new style moements like power sliding or big air you increase your Nauss meter. Giving you the ability to use Nauss during the entire race - you can even max out your nauss for a more powerful and longer boost. You can now visit different shops throughout the world including a body shop where you can purchase visual upgrades for your vehicle. There are car lots, where you can purchase different types of vehicles. There is a preformance shop where you can tune and upgrade your car. And there are also hidden shops that you'll need to discover on your own, the hidden shops will usually offer something unique for sale that can't be found anywhere else. You also have access to a multicar garage where you can store a limited number of cars - which puts an aspect of strategy into your collecting.



There is now a story mode that intermingles with the career mode. The original Underground was very linear whereas you had to complete every objective to progress, in Underground 2 you wont have to complete every circuit to progress - all you need to do is win the races you choose to compete in. The cool aspect of having an open world and the freedom to drive around is that you can find races that you like. If all you want to do is compete in drag races, you can do that. Or if all you want to do is challenge random drivers to an outrun, you can do that too. And finding these races is easier than ever, you can spot career mode races on your map or you can discover random and unique races by spotting a streetlight that has a subtle glow different from the rest.



The level of freedom here is unparalleled to anything the video game world has ever seen. The GameCube version bites the dust when it comes to the online play but 2-player mode is sure to get gamers excited.

Be sure to visit the official Underground 2 website to get all available info, screens, media, and buzz.

Need for Speed Underground 2 hits the streets this November - expect a review shortly thereafter.