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the first review from someone who HAS the game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: November 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

i just picked this up at gamestop a few hours ago. i'm not going to launch into some insanely huge review, however i do want to say that the xbox version is just awesome. the graphics look amazing. the sounds are very realistic, and the cars handle very well. there are so many upgrades available for the cars, including turbos, nitrous, wheels, and A TON more. this game is so much better than older need for speed games! if you're at all interested in this sort of thing, absolutely get the game.

Best Racing game I have ever played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: July 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have played alot of racing games, but know racing game has ever made me feel the speed like this one has. You actually feel like your in car. The sound quality is superb. I've never heard sounds like this in any game. I think this game has the best sound production ever. You have to play this game too understand how good the sound quality is.

I realize I only like racing games that allow you too customize your cars. You have never seen customization like this in any game. You can customize your car forever. Your car will look like nobody else's car.

The graphics are perfect. There is nothing wrong with the graphics at all in this game.

The music could have been much better. I don't understand why they didn't let us use the custom soundtrack for this game. I had too turn off Lil Jon because my head was hurting me.

OMG....The Drag racing mode is amazing. Once again the speed you get in this game is in no other racing game.

I only have two problems with this game. No custom soundtrack and no Xbox Live support. Hopefully they will fix that in Need for Speed Underground 2.

This game is the BIBLE to street racing fans.

(8.0 out of 10) fun, but flawed.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
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.

Solid racer that falls short of living up to its hype

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: December 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The games graphics are nothing but stellar as most games now a days are. Though the xbox version could look a lot better than the ps2, but it doesn't. Take the game wreckless for example. Look at the ps2 version as compared to the xbox. Now look at the two copies of underground. I rest my case. If you own a ps2 get the game for that, there is no need to upgrade to an xbox.

The sound in the game is probably my favorite part and the reason I gave the game a 3. The soundtrack is pretty tight with tracks from Lil John, to a more harder sound from Rob Zombie. I also enjoy the tracks that were specifically made for the game (the Petey Pablo song needs played on the radio!! lol)

The games fun factor is what luster's. Yea sure the races are fun, fast and give a sense of speed. But i felt this in the last need for speed game. The urban city idea is cool, but not for every single track. No matter what the marketing information for this game claims, there is only like 3 or 4 main tracks not 20. All the others are just mirror, reversed or in drag situations just straight always pulled from the main 3. Sometimes they'll even take a track and add in a different turn, and call it a new track. It just gets boring; I mean how many times can you jump over the same stupid bridge! The weather is set to be clear and at night in EVERY race. Mourning never comes in this game. It seems as almost Ea focused too much on putting enough body kits and vinyls in the game than it did on track design. One more quick note the drifting tracks are just plain out stupid and become more of a hassle and annoyance than they are fun. I found myself saying, damn not another one of these, or arr I wish this stupid race would be over. Drifting is something you during a RACE and is boring if singled out. If they wanted to be realistic anyways, a real car would have no tires left after one of those objectives.

Overall the game fails to be better than the previous installment (High Stakes 2). The short incomplete list why is as follows:

1. There is no police in this game, none at all (a Big BIG part of the street racing scene is cops, which do not exist in this game). You guys at Ea are getting lazy.

2. There are no damage modeling as was in High Stakes 2

3. The physics are a lot worse than H.S.2; I find my car flying through the air as if it had wings when only hitting a silly mph sign.

4. How can Ea leave out Xbox Live support but yet put online play for the ps2 version. Xbox already has an online community set up that is much stronger than the ps2.

5. There is no "real" tuning in this game. The only tuning there is, is the ability to layer vinyl's using a downgraded version of Photoshop. Real tuning would involve being able to say adjust the points on an Apexi SAFC, that they're of is not in this game.

6. The shortcuts are as boring as watching my grandma knit!! In H.S.2 the shortcuts were exciting, filled with large jumps, and giving a major cut in times. The shortcuts in this game just suck and most of the time I find myself just staying on the main course. They give hardly any time cut and are just about as long as the main way. Some shortcuts even just slow you down! And are not worth taking (for example on one track you can jump down into a subway, in the subway though there are barrels, and water. If you decide to miss the barrels you have to drive through water (which SLOWS your cars speed) if you decide to go through the barrels (it SLOWS your cars speed Dramatically) and thus when you come out of the shortcut you are not going slower than you were when you entered. Just silly isn't it? Oh yeah and there is no excitement in them either, their just simple turns or roads (the most exciting one is being able to jump a very small dirt hill which gives you hardly any air).

The list goes on. To sum it all up. The game is good right now because it's all we have. There are no other import games out there, thus it has no competition. If you were thinking about buying this game, as you are a fan of the NFS series, I would skip this one and get High Stakes 2. If you already have H.S. 2 then rent this game. If you're an import fan than you're going to have to shell out the $40+ for this one. I hope the new upcoming Fast and Furious game (which is based on the 2 movies) is done right!!

Excellent game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: November 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I just got this game a couple of days ago. It it awesome! First of all, the graphics are top notch. The special effects when you start going faster that 100mph are really cool. Second of all, the handling is easy and responsive. Also, there are TONS of modifications you can do to your car, from neon to NOS, even body kits. The types of races that you can do are circuit, which is just 2-4 laps around in a circle, drag, which is a staight race over a mile of highway, drift, which is trying to score as many points as possible by moving your car side to side, sprint which is just a race from point A to point B, and tournaments, which is three races, and the person with the most points at the end of it win. The "Underground" mode is very deep, and you'll spend hours on end, speedin' through the ranks of top racers in the city. Even if your not really into the racing video games, this is a must buy. 5 stars.

Seriously, how can you diss this game...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: December 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

the retard gamer from corpus christi should of bought the game for ps2 or the computer if he wanted online play. Its not only for xbox. Challenging AI is needed to make the game worth playing. Yes, sometimes it gets frustrating when they pass you up on the last lap, but keep at it, and you'll eventually get the hang of it. The customization is endless. What also makes this game so unique is that it actually makes it look like you are going that fast. The surroundings begin to blur slightly as you increase speed, the game is a much more of a thrill to play than say Gran Turismo. Not to put down that game, Gran turismo 3 is one, if not the greatest racing sim today. You dont need to know anything about cars to play this game. You dont need to be a gearhead by having to tune your gear ratio or ride height. Even if you dont like racing, give this game a shot, it will be worth your time.

Great game with only one flaw.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: October 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This by far the best racing game yet. I can't wait to see how they are going to top this game with NFS Underground 2. The game play is very challenging. The farther along you are in the game the tougher it gets. Sometimes too tough but extremely awesome. The only flaw this game has in my mind is that once you beat the game, unless you buy all of the parts before you beat it you can't put them on any car unless you start all over again. I think that once you win you shoul have all of the parts that are on the parts shelves. Awesome game.

Need for Speed underground!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

(Sorry for any mis-spellings)
Story:
You play the live of a young beginning underground street racer, trying to make your way to the top of the charts. To do that you must earn money by winning races and customizing your car.

Gameplay:
My favorite mode is the car customization mode, where you get to buy hundreds of different parts (including Nitrous Oxide, Paint, Vinals, tires, weight reduction...ect ect) to put on one of twenty different cars (including the toyota celica GTS, Mitchubishi lancer...). Then comes the racing part. The only problem I find with it is if your one of those people who get so mad when they cant when a race on the first or second time then I would say that you should rent it first. If your not that it's a really great game.

WHAT A GREAT GAME!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was skeptical when I picked this game up, but I am glad that I did. I feel like I am living in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS. The options of personalizing your car are endless.

Wheres Live? Wheres LAN? Wheres the fun?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: December 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I am very frustrated with Microsoft for even THINKING about releasing this title with NO ONLINE PLAY, and NO SYSTEM LINK. Yes the graphics are detailed and better than the other consoles, but we all knew that would be the case before it hit stores. The frame rate is horrible, and that basicly kills it. If you are playing a high speed racing game, you need a fast, steady frame rate...and NFS:U does not deliver. The AI really makes me mad. There is no possible way to outrun them, no matter how perfect you are racing and no matter how many times they crash. If you lessen your speed though, you catch right back up. Whats up with that? Yes you can customize nearly everything about your car, but why be excited about beating the game when all you get is a few decals?
Having no online play really depletes the value of this title, but thats not what matters the most, its partly EA's fault. The one thing that i just dont understand is: NO SYSTEM LINK.....it is totally up to Microsoft whether they want to include it or not, and they chose.....NO? What the heck! Why? Where is the value here, i just dont see it at all.

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