not a bad game, but some races get boring at the end

Need for Speed Underground 2 (NfSU2) is the latest installment in a long-running series of EA racing games. The "Underground" element wraps the game up in a world of nighttime drag races and super-tuned and modified import coupes ala "The Fast and the Furious" movies.

The most engaging part of the gameplay is the career mode, which allows you to build your reputation and your bankroll by entering events found throughout a sprawling urban landscape. All of the now-familiar features are here: a variety of race types, a huge selection of cars and options to be unlocked, purchased and installed, etc. There's a lot of straight-up racing fun to be found on these streets.

The graphics are really good; not Gran Turismo good, but close. The cars are especially fine, and you've got ample opportunity to examine your customized baby. You'll occasionally get a mini-mission to have your car photographed for a magazine cover where you control the background, "pose" and camera angle. Sure it's kind of a silly way to build your bank, but not a total waste after you've spent an hour selecting the perfect color scheme and combination of paint and artwork for your car.

One minor gripe about the graphics is the lack of options for camera angles. Given how big the city is, the always-nighttime gameplay and the fact that some shortcuts and objectives are tucked away between buildings, it can be tough to spot things. I feel the other reviews when they complain about long times searching for this or that between races. Another minor problem is the perpetual nighttime during gameplay. Coupled with the brightly lit and highly detailed environment, it's sometimes too much to look at and the car can actually get lost in the overall scene.

The controls are intuitive and well-designed. One of my favorite features is the ability to use the right analog stick as the accelerator and brake. Couple it with a manual transmission (shifting uses the L2/R2 buttons) and you've got a great amount of subtle control over your car. It's not as good as playing with a wheel and pedals, but it really beats the usual x-and-square two-button setup (which is also available at all times if you prefer).

Does it play a lot like GTA-lite? Of course it does; it's meant to do so. There's a plotline running through the career mode focused on getting revenge on the rival who did you wrong before you landed in Bayview. It's not as deep or sequential as the GTA missions, so you're free to do pretty much whatever you want in whatever order you want. This can be good or it can lead to a lot of aimless driving around.

i liked this game better than the first one. i bought this game on a friday afternoon after work (my old lady was going out of town for her work so i knew i had some quality gaming time ahead of me), played it all evening friday, all day saturday and sunday, and half of monday when she came home. god strike me dead for lyin', but i didn't get off the couch for about 72 hours ! ! ! played the whole game straight through, no breaks. it was a fun game. when i got done i took it back to EB Games and got my money back. and got GT4. thank god for coffee ! ! !

good graphics, although i felt everything was a little tooo "shiney". The NOS blurs were good. Car range was a little "ghetto" for me, no classics there... range of vynils was a good addition. Driving was unrealistic and handling felt as though you just had to touch the controlls to go round a hard corner at 110mph. Drifting was made a ittle too easy,. cars seemed to float on oil around the drift courses. a distinctly OK game.

i car was nice but it could have been better if it wasn't for the limits of the game

Good game. I love the NFS series but like all of them, it is hard to play it at first compared to other games. Recommended though.

Graphics are better than the first, more realistic than the first, and the career mode is nowhere near as bad. This game is so much beter than the first. It would have been much more popular if it had not been released at the same time as GTA:San Andreas. Although realistic, the controls are not as hard as GT4.