Need For Speed UnderGround 2

[Michael]

[color=\"blue\"]<span style=\'font-size:30pt;line-height:100%\'>Need For Speed Underground 2[/color]</span>

[color=\"green\"]Electronic Arts return with a replenished version of Need For Speed Underground. Important changes have been made, with some of them being superb and others being rather dull and annoying.
NFSU2 is ultimately about Street racing and building up street cred to become the number one racer in town.

Immediately when you first play NFSU2 you realise that EA have been playing Grand Theft Auto. The layout of the screen has similarities and the biggest giveaway is the open street racing which is sizable. Even the small map in the left hand corner has similarities. They have clearly taken ideas from a range of excellent games and compiled them into a rather average street racer. Another game which springs to mind is Gran Turismo, it is a shame that NFSU2 is class below the most realistic driving simulator on the PS2.

The graphics in NFSU2 are good, they are not excellent as there are a few cases where the car can look square shaped and un-smooth, but overall the graphics are good. NFSU2 is easily visible in the dark of the night, this was a concern before I played the game that it may be to dark, but this was no problem.

The gameplay includes a variety of races with circuit, drift, URL, drag, street x and sprint. These all being different types of races E.g. Drift races - you do not have to reach the finish line first to win the race, the highest drift score is needed to be achieved rank number 1.

The major problem with the gameplay is that the races need to be discovered and driven to. This is time consuming and can take up to five minutes just to get to the race location. This becomes very irritating, especially when you have played the game for a while. EA could have improved this by adding a jump feature which allows the gamer to go to the race without having to travel 10 miles across town.

When found and driven to, the races are addictive, but easy to complete. Never the less a some very enjoyable races.

NFSU2 will have you playing for a while, with over 110 races, great online and multiplayer options; the game will not be short lived.

Features

Free-Roaming City: Explore a massive city divided into five distinct, interconnected neighborhoods, ranging from serpentine suburban hills to an intense downtown grid. A complex series of drivable freeways connect the neighborhoods together.

Emergent Gameplay: Want to make a name for yourself in the underground? You\'ll need to find it first. Races can happen anywhere and at any time and as players encounter rivals on the street they\'ll be clued into where they can buy the hottest upgrades or enter the most elite events.

New Gameplay Modes: Three new gameplay modes are added to last year\'s circuit, drift and drag competitions, challenging gamers to hone their skills in a number of driving disciplines.
Performance Tuning: Tune every aspect of your car\'s performance with hundreds of licensed aftermarket performance upgrades and then fine-tune everything from the gear ratio to the suspension for the ultimate ride.

The Hottest Cars: More than thirty of the most sought-after tuner cars are available from the hottest manufacturers - from Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, and Toyota to Ford and Volkswagen, if they\'re hot on the street, they\'re in the game.

Visual Customization: With more than twice the visual customizations of last year\'s game, there are literally billions of car combinations available to gamers. Featuring audio upgrades, scissor doors, spoilers, headlights, side skirts, roof scoops, hoods, rims, wide body kits, neon and more, if you can trick it out in real life, you can trick it out in Need for Speed Underground 2.

Environmental Variety: Each of the five distinct neighborhoods in Need for Speed Underground 2 feature a unique look and feel, including varied driving conditions and track types. Road surfaces, real-time weather effects, and environmental hazards will keep gamers on their toes as they race from dusk till dawn.

Online: Gamers can put their reputation on the line, challenging the world\'s best racers online for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system (An Internet connection, Network Adaptor and Memory Card for the PlayStation 2 are required for online game play.).[/color]

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