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Hear are some codes i found out

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: January 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is awesome I dont get why every body hates it but hear our some codes i have found out.

Drift physics for all cars- R button Up Up Up Down Down Down L buttom

Unlock all circuit Tracks- Down R Button R Botten R Button x x x z

Unlock all sprint Tracks- Up x x x R Button Down Down Down

Sorry about this I couldent find that many codes but i hope this review helps u. I also wrote codes for need for speed on x box and ps2.

(8.0 out of 10) fun, but flawed.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: December 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Okay, so everyone is nuts about this game. and when i finally played it, i understood why. the cutomization options are such a fun gimmick- i had a lot of fun turning an ugly yellow VW GTI into a drag racing monster with beautifully tinted windows, custom decals, and rims of my choosing. It's what everyone wants when they play a racing game- the ability to craft a car that suits their taste, right down to the type of exhaust. And i have no problem with the fact that this feature was implemented. i think it was a good idea. The problem I have is with the way that it was implemented.
Why am i still unlocking decals and vinyl at level 100? who cares that i finally unlocked the nitrous express decal; dont i deserve more than that at level 100? and why dont i get the wide body kit until the 3rd to last race? great! i can throw this wide body kit on my car, which does absolutely nothing for performance, so that i look good for the final competition.

Money is never a problem in this game. You always have more than enough to unlock anything you want, because you get money after every race. So, a better way to do this would have been to make everything availible from the start of the game, with higher prices on the performance parts and consistent lower prices on the things you dont need (like decals and vinyl). That way, the player can see what they could potentially be unlocking and work for it, instead of just having it blindly handed to them when they can most definately afford it. But because of the way the customization system was implemented, theres really no point in having money in this game.

My other complaint is with the AI. its not like you're actually racing to gain distance on other cars, ever. its more like you're racing against other cars that will always either be ahead of you, or slightly behind you, and catching up fast. This is especially true in later races, where even if you set the difficulty to easy, cars will catch up quickly, and most likely, pass you. I did an experiment to see how the AI worked, and what i found was kind of dissapointing. In later races, when i would perform almost flawlessly (because i'd had to do the same race about 50 times over and over), another car would always be right behind me, or in front of me. But when i slowed down to the pace of the rest of the group, the AI was more lenient, and waited for me. An advantage to this is that the gameplay always provides tension. But the disadvantage is far greater: having to do a six or seven lap race over and over, possibly doing a single circuit a hundred times, just because you crashed once.

Of course, these are technical flaws, and the game appeals to people at an aesthetically pleasing and fun level, rather than a technical one. its an arcade racer, and it doesn't dissapoint at it's arcadiness. You customize your car because it makes it look better. You race against difficult AI becase nothing beats the thrill of seeing the screen blur all those downtown lights into a complete euphoric mass when you use your nitrous to barely pass up another car, just before the finish line. The graphics are amazing, and are a complete evolution from previous nfs games.

This game has conquered it's niche, with cutscenes and music straight outta the fast & the furious (the drawbridge jumps are a complete rip-off of the second movie's drawbridge scene). And the cars are awesome in that they're actually licensed, and you treat em' like your babies as they go from crap to demi-god machines. And i guess thats what matters most with this game- fun. And you'll have quite a great deal of that, as long as you're willing to put up with a slightly less amount of frustration.

Ridiculously fun...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is a great balance of fun and realism. Not as realistic as some of the other games, but just a really ridiculous amount of fun. The game modes are great (Drag, Circuit, Sprint, and Drift) and make for a good amount of variety. The graphics are fantastic, the audio is great (not enough blowoff valve noise, unfortunately), and the music is always good. The tracks are huge, have all kinds of shortcuts and opportunities for extra style points. The sense of speed is absolutely incredible, and pushing the NOS button is just too sweet. There's over 100 'missions', which makes the game appropriately long.

There's a few downsides, but none of them is overwhelming. If you don't have a high-res cable, the graphics suffer quite a bit, and gameplay suffers from fuzzy graphics turnout. The music *sometimes* feels a bit repetitive, but there's a lot of tracks, so it's not a terrible thing. I'm not huge on the trigger accelerators (prefer the buttons for acceleration) but it's also not a big deal. The steering can suddenly feel twitchy, but I suppose that happens when you're pushing 150mph. I really, really wish there was a 'wander' mode where you could wander the streets and pick a fight (see Tokyo Extreme Racer Zero).

Finally, my biggest compliment and my biggest beef with this game stem from the same thing: the VW Golf GTi. I think this is the only game that includes this amazing car (a good thing) but the research is horrible (a really bad thing.) Whoever did the research for the game intended for it to be a VW Golf (not a GTi), and the stats reflect that. Luckily, you can beef up the car to its rightful place (in front of all the other cars), so it's all good.

All in all, I give it a full 5 stars because it's amazingly fun, and is the second best street racing game I've ever played (see Tokyo Extreme Racer Zero). It's a solid, worthy buy. For the GameCube, it's definitely a good toss-up between this and Auto Modellista, and this game has a more realistic feel.

Incredible! Endless Fun.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I've played a lot of racing games - including many earlier releases in the 'Need for Speed' line - and "Underground" is one of the best. Compared to another decent racer, Breakout 2, NFS Underground is way more challenging and less cartoonish. I finished Breakout 2 in a couple of days, and never returned to it again. I've been playing NFS Underground for nearly the same amount of time, and I've barely scratched the surface. According to the level counter, I still have another 100 challenges to go before finishing.

Graphically, the game is very rich -- I happen to have a digital TV with component video cables hooked up to my GameCube and the details are so sharp they're almost distracting. In first-person view (car on screen), the frame rate is noticeably lower than playing at road-level (without the car). In this mode, the game is very intense, with a very high level of realism when you hit high speeds.

On top of that, NFS Underground isn't just running around a track. It takes place late at night in an urban setting, with lots of shortcuts, construction sites to blaze through, and even a partially-open bridge to jump over. The maps are very challenging, but a blast.

And then of course there is the car customization. I've never been into "skinning" a car in other games, but something about NFS Underground makes you want to deck out your ride with all kinds of decals, funky paint, tinted windows, wheels, under-carriage neon, and all the rest. It's actually fun, and very easy to apply.

In all, the game is a blast, and a very good value considering how many levels / challenges there are. Replay value is sky high. If you like racing games, you have to get it.

RX7 beats Skyline

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: July 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First off, I must say this game is awesome. I have been playing it since I have received it a few months back. I have beaten all the levels on the Underground mode and am now playing with a Civic only. I used the Skyline the first time, and found that it isn't all that. Yes, it is fast and furious (sorry for the pun), but it is a bit slow on some races. I had to trade it in for the RX7, which spanked it in a drag on hard with full options. The Rex (RX7) has better handling than the Skyline, and is faster off the line. I have hit 234 mph on a drag with the Rex. Skyline only got to 190. Use the Skyline, then trade for the Rex when you can't win with the Skyline. It works.

Graphics are good. It makes you stay on your toes when you come around a corner at 135+ mph. Sounds are good, although the music can get repetitive. Game play is good as well. As you progress through the Underground, your skill will rise. And the re-play value is great. You can go back thru and use different cars.

All I can say is you won't be disappointed if you buy this game.

Only one Complaint

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

NFS- Underground is an awesome game. The track selection could have been slightly more even ie. same amount of rap/edm/rock/punk

but thats ok.. they all jam.. and you can cut off the ones you dont like..

My main gripe with the game.. NFS.. Why isnt there an indash view like on most racing games.. I mean.. the cars handle right.. well concidering that its a game.. so why not feel like you are really in the car... the bumper view really sucks. because it gives you a floating perspective.. and the off tail camera is so fake feeling.. oh well.. my Miata is hopped up.. Its all good..

Overall, fun but....

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is a fun game, don't get me wrong. It could fun and enjoyable but it could also make you mad and want to throw your controller at your TV screen.

Here are the two major issues I found :

1. relative computer car speed
- The problem is, the computer races in a speed that's relative to yours. So, it has no absolute speed and if it gets behind it speeds up and if it gets in front of all others, it slows down a bit. This sounds cool, alright? You think this would make the game more challenging and fun? Well, the answer is no. If you're a noob, (no offense what-so-ever) this could make the game more suitable and easy to learn, but if you have experience in racing games, you would find this annoying. For an example, you could be in first place for 3/4 of the game and then the computer suddenly speeds up, and you lose. I found that the computer sometimes races faster than my car's top speed, and sometimes strangely slow...This isn't right. It's easier to win a game when you're amatuar just as long as you don't crash a 'major one' in the game. You could turn off the catching up option to prevent this from happening, but still the computer has no absolute speed and has somewhat relative speed. And, the underground mode doesn't even give you that option. It's always on, so it's possible to finish the race in 1 min and still lose, or finish it in 1 min 30 sec and still win. (really happens)

2. graphic
- Again, don't get me wrong. This game has fantastic graphic. But, if your GC isn't connected to your TV in progressive scan mode or S-video A/V, you might find it hard to see what's what in the game screen. For a guy like me who has a cheap 28 inch TV, this fantastic graphic could turn into an ugly view...(just try to set all the graphic effects and resolution into low in a 3D computer game, you'll see what I mean...)

You could ignore 2 if you got a flat screen plasma TV =)
But you probably couldn't ignore 1.

I recommend you get Hot Pursuit 2 instead of this. It only costs half of this game and is more fun.(just my opinion)

But again, you are the one who's playing, so you make a decision.

arguably the best of its kind

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Take the crashes of Burnout 2(although to a lesser degree with no damage), the customization of cars in Auto Modellista(but to a greater extent), the underground racing themes of Midnight Club and Tokyo Extreme Racer, and slap on the NFS title and this is what you end up with. A really good game(but not quite perfect or THE definitive version) that is arguably the best of its racing sub-genre. With really good graphics, gameplay, and options(especially in the customization area of your car), this game is highly recommended as a buy for those heavily into this type of racing(drag, drift, import street racing scene). For other Gamecube owners, a rental is still a must if only to see what the system can do in some talented hands.

general info=
2-player simultaneous, uses 8 blocks, progressive-scan compatible, THX certified, Dolby Surround Pro Logic II, rated E.

pros=
* great graphics with progressive scan(no widescreen though) capabilties(with proper support/hookups)
* intense and challenging(3 difficulty settings) 4-car races in expansive urban areas(they all take place at night)
* at least 25 songs to choose from(mix of rap, rock, but coulda used more electronica imo)
* customizing your car is a game in and of itself in NFSU(has auto-save feature so you won't forget, or lose what you've done to your car)

cons=
* no replays or replay modes AT ALL(there is a 'jump camera' that briefly replays an in-game crash or jump, but you have to set it to max and it hardly makes up for the missing replay options)
* could have used more licensed cars(only 20), and had more variety overall in its tracks/courses/music selection etc.
* slightly awkward controller set-up, but you'll get used to/over it
* only 2-player head 2 head, only PS2/PC owners have online options

As one can see, a great game with just a few minor shortcomings/omissions that prevent it from being a near-perfect game(but hey, that's what sequels are for right?). Overall, if you love underground street racing games and the customizing/modifying aspect of them, then this is a worthy game to add to your Gamecube collection. For all others, at least rent it, you might find yourself strangely addicted. (note: framerates hover around the acceptable 30 frames per second but sometimes take a dip, nothing that should hinder gameplay or fun, but to the trained eye will be noticeable)

Need For Speed meets Fast and the Furious

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I really enjoyed this game, but there are both Pros and Cons to it. After playing this game on three seperate platforms (PS2, XBOX and Gamecube) I have found the Gamecubes version to be the least appealing. The graphics tend to be sub par and cartoonish, but overall the game is fun and challenging. I do not like how sytle points only unlock cars and decals, but the timing of unlocking parts tends to keep you playing for hours on end. Overall I give it a 4 star rating for enjoyment and hours of gameplay that never seems to tire.

Long term fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing this game with some regularity since Christmas and still have only made it to level 55 of the 125 levels! The intensity is fantastic and I find myself leaning forward, heart pounding, screaming around the course. The steady progression in difficulty plus the customization of the cars allows the game to stay challenging as you get more advanced. And the different kinds of racing: circuit, drag, drift, sprints-keeps the variety high. The courses could have been made to look a little more different would be my only criticism, but overall a great game that you certainly won't finish in one sitting!

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