Some of the best sequels, ever, have been released this Fall. No exception is Need For Speed Underground 2. A sequel to one of the most popular games of last year, this one doesn’t just pick up where the last one left off, it passes it on the freeway like a rocket sled on rails. An amalgam of Midnight Club and Grand Theft Auto, Need For Speed Underground 2 is aimed at the “hip” crowd with “current” tunes and slang sprinkled atop various gameplay formats which have been marinated in illegal activities. In this case, illegal street racing. Located throughout the city of Bayview are several tracks comprised of public streets, tunnels, freeways and thoroughfares. Races include drag, circuit, drifting and Out Run where the object is to lose your opponent in the dust. Different areas of the city facilitate different courses. Even though the races take place at night there are many hazards to navigate such as oncoming traffic and various roadblocks. There are no pedestrians and not much is going on in the city at all which makes it seem like a huge piñata void of candy or toys. Exploring the city is encouraged although there aren’t as many rewards as I imagined. Drive around looking for secret areas and you’ll discover money and uncover new races to enter. The key to success in this game is multi-tiered. It’s not enough to be a good racer, you have to be good in other areas including money management and customizing. There are 40 vehicles available in the game which include models from Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and even a Cadillac – unfortunately it’s a SUV. The SUVs handle terribly. It’s a wonder why there were included at all considering how great the other vehicles handle. Since all of the cars are licensed they won’t display damage. This encourages sloppy and unrealistic driving techniques since you can smash head-on into a wall or another car and remain unscathed. When you find a race you can bet on it. If you win, you win money, if you lose, you loose money. The money that you win can be used to purchase more vehicles or customize existing ones. You can only have five of them in your garage which may not seem like a big problem until you gain a reputation. More “rep” will be awarded depending on how badly you beat your opponent. Having more rep will result in more lucrative sponsorship which in turns means more money. The sponsors will also give you new cars if you meet their requirements for certain races which are essentially side quests. Customizing your vehicle is easy. You can just change is cosmetically or actually try to tune-up its performance. Aside from spoilers, paint jobs, decals and neon lighting, you can upgrade your engine and test your results in the Dyno room. After which you can take the vehicle on a track and see how it performs in real life. The tweaking does make a difference but then again you might just find that another vehicle will do the same job. It’s all about experimenting. Variables such as road conditions and the weather will also affect your performance. It can rain at any time during any race. If you’re powersliding around corners this can be a godsend but it can also make you lose control around turns if you haven’t perfected your skills. Online you can race against five other players in a variety of modes. You can talk smack with them vai the headset. There is a little slowdown but it’s not very severe. Accessing races is easy thanks to the user-friendly interface in the lobby. Having played a few games online I was reminded at just how good the AI was in the single-player modes. The AI takes no prisoners and can give you just as good, if not better, challenge than experienced gamers. I’m not a big fan of the music here and the dialog tries so hard to be “current” that it just ends up sounding ludicrous. In case you were unaware, “Yo” has officially replaced “dude” in the latest “hip” lexicon. I don’t even know who some of these bands are and by the sounds of their uninspired offerings, I doubt I’ll hear from most of them again. The lighting effects are great. Buildings and streetlights reflect off the windows and shiny surfaces of the licensed cars. There are a few more degrees of night including twilight and just before the dawn. I was so impressed with the pre-dawn scene that I actually began to feel tired and it was only 7 PM. You get to see more of the city than you would in the wee hours when the city is enveloped in darkness. It’s just too bad that the city is void of any life other than a few people in cars after work hours. Considering all the ad placements, this game should be handed out for free. This is certainly a trend I would like to see stopped but considering how great this game is it’s doubtful that any one would consider boycotting it by standing up for some principal. |