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Need for Speed Underground 2
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Game Name:
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Need for Speed Underground 2 |
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Console:
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PC |
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Reviewed:
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Unknown |
For those who don’t live in the UK, there’s a culture that’s into ‘modifying’ cars and wears particular clothing, these are known as ‘chavs’. Ideally, Need for Speed Underground 2 is a ‘chav’ game. Need for Speed Underground has changed the Need for Speed franchise, but was it for the chavs, or a new element to gaming?
The original ‘Underground’ set the foundation for the racing and ‘modding’ genre. We’ve had multiple releases over the past several months, Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and Forza Motorsport to name two. But, Need for Speed Underground 2 was the real ‘foundation’. Being able to race around courses in ‘sooped’ up vehicles was the way to go.
Selecting your car and modding it is easy. The hard part is controlling your vehicle when racing around the courses, or racing around the city. The game takes place in Bayview City and some of the areas are locked; that is until you win the races and unlock the areas in which there are new events to compete in, and win. The city on a whole isn’t huge, but it’s a nicely balanced out city.
Containing the real licenses, the game has that extra feel to it. Kitting up a true ‘chav’ car, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII (Evo VII to chavs). The cars vary from sports cars such as the Evo VII to the Subaru Impreza, to Hummer. All of which can be kitted up, internally and externally. Externally will get you on the front of magazines, internally will win you races and get you to the top, and be the ‘big-boy racer’. The front and rear of your vehicle can be tweaked, as can the side-skirts and bonnet. The rear of the car can have a ‘spoiler’ added onto the back; some taking the name too seriously, spoiling the look of the car.
When your car is modded to the max (with your money you’ve earned from racing), you can then move on to the bigger, organised races, and not simple challenging the racers that are driving around the city. The modes vary from simple racing around a track, to getting away from a vehicle that you have challenged, all fast and fun. The AI is not very challenging. In fact, it’s too easy in our opinion. Once your car is modded, similar to the other racers, there’s no question about you winning the race, that is, if you have the skill.
Need for Speed: Underground 2 can be taken online. Although EA servers, we’ve not come across any trouble with them, although there are certain game types which lag up the race when there are too many people racing; cars jumping about the road, from a car that’s directly in front of you, it jumps 5 metres in front of you, very bad at times.
Overall, the game has set the foundation for the other racers out there, although it was released first, there’s no doubt that Need for Speed: Underground 2 will continue to sell to gamers who are looking for that ‘great’ racing game. Having held the UK ELSPA charts for the longest, ever, there must be something special about it; that, or gamers are turning into chavs… we’ll let you decide on that.
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