Games Database
PC
Racing: Car
| Also for: | PS2, Xbox, GameCube | ||
| Viewed: | 3D First-person / Third-person | Genre: | Racing: Car |
| Media: | CD | Arcade origin: | No |
| Developer: | Electronic Arts | Soft. Co.: | Electronic Arts |
| Publishers: | Electronic Arts
(GB) |
Released: | 28 Nov 2003
(GB) |
| Ratings: | PEGI 3+ | ||
| Accessories: | Control Pad | ||
Video
Summary
The racing genre just reached a new level of cool. This latest Need for Speed title is all about cool. It's about reputation. It's about racing around at silly speeds in seriously modified motors. It's about hanging with the in crown. And it's about impressing the ladies. Welcome to the world of underground urban street racing.
Need for Speed Underground kind of crosses Burnout with elements of Metropolis Street Racer and a little bit of Gran Turismo. You start out with a humble set of wheels - such as a Honda Civic or a VW Golf - and are charged with the task of entering into a variety of races and challenges in order to earn reputation points. As you may expect, reputation points supply the means to upgrade - which is what the game is all about: building that ultimate street machine.
The challenges themselves are all pretty varied, yet, obviously, all basically involve the simple concept of burning it, flat out around the game's nocturnal environments. As well as straight out races against other like-minded cool dudes, there's also an assortment of time trials, style-based runs and elimination rounds, as well as the added element of drag racing, which switches the emphasis from all round racing to perfectly-timed gear shifts.
There are over 20 licensed cars to be found throughout the game, including models from legendary Japanese manufacturers Mitsubishi, Subaru and Toyota. In each case, the vehicles are fully customisable, offering you hundreds of ways in which to create your own unique ride. As such, there are countless aftermarket parts for you to buy along the way, from exhausts to bonnet vinyls, and even those really good neon lights that your average 'Kev' has shining out from under his Vauxhall Nova, obviously making it go faster.
Need for Speed Underground is another example of the way in which EA tend to be pushing the evolution of common racing genres. Like the recent SSX 3, Underground is more than just a racing game, presenting a much richer and more involving experience, which, on top of that, also contains a host of multiplayer and online features.
Need for Speed Underground kind of crosses Burnout with elements of Metropolis Street Racer and a little bit of Gran Turismo. You start out with a humble set of wheels - such as a Honda Civic or a VW Golf - and are charged with the task of entering into a variety of races and challenges in order to earn reputation points. As you may expect, reputation points supply the means to upgrade - which is what the game is all about: building that ultimate street machine.
The challenges themselves are all pretty varied, yet, obviously, all basically involve the simple concept of burning it, flat out around the game's nocturnal environments. As well as straight out races against other like-minded cool dudes, there's also an assortment of time trials, style-based runs and elimination rounds, as well as the added element of drag racing, which switches the emphasis from all round racing to perfectly-timed gear shifts.
There are over 20 licensed cars to be found throughout the game, including models from legendary Japanese manufacturers Mitsubishi, Subaru and Toyota. In each case, the vehicles are fully customisable, offering you hundreds of ways in which to create your own unique ride. As such, there are countless aftermarket parts for you to buy along the way, from exhausts to bonnet vinyls, and even those really good neon lights that your average 'Kev' has shining out from under his Vauxhall Nova, obviously making it go faster.
Need for Speed Underground is another example of the way in which EA tend to be pushing the evolution of common racing genres. Like the recent SSX 3, Underground is more than just a racing game, presenting a much richer and more involving experience, which, on top of that, also contains a host of multiplayer and online features.
