The Need for Speed franchise has been around for quite some time, dating back to 1995 when it first debuted on the 3D0. The series quickly gained popularity when EA released Need for Speed on the Playstation. Offering speed and top notch racing action, the series was welcomed with open arms. Also, Need for Speed introduced some of the best graphics to be seen at the launch of the Playstation and helped it gain status as a must have title because, as we all know, sometimes graphics do sell a game, regardless of it being bad or not. Though Need for Speed was met with average review scores based on top publication opinions, it did not sway people from falling into the series and grasping its familiar and entertaining concept quickly. During the rise of the Playstation, racing games eventually took heed to what they would ultimately become. They laid the foundation for what racing games are now, which is more perfected. Games like Gran Turismo and Need for Speed were very popular, and they were successively meeting demand and offering more racing action with every installment. With every successive title in the series came an impressive amount of vehicles, racing variations, great gameplay, beautiful graphics, and speed.

Racing games have evolved since past years, making each new racing title that much more ambitious. New competitors wade at the front line, becoming more and more unique and inspired every year. New franchises such as Project Gotham Racing and Street Racing Syndicate are beginning to appear while introducing more ideas and competition for the Need for Speed series. But EA knows what gamers want. And they have, in reality, succeeded in the realization of knowing what they come to expect out of a racing game. Some things in Need for Speed: Underground 2 bring forth a whole new experience to the series, but others also dumb it down in a way that fans might seem to have thought unlikely. One true pivotal mainframe of the series that worked so well in the last Need for Speed: Underground is drag racing, and is an important aspect in the underground racing scene, but in Need for Speed: Underground 2 drag racing seems wounded and unrealized. But the novelty of Need for Speed: Underground 2 does not die from this fault alone. In fact, Need for Speed: Underground 2 is one of the best games in the Need for Speed series if not the best.

Features

• Immerse yourself into the world of illegal street racing.
  
• Explore a vast, open city that is home to the underground racing scene.
  
• Race for reputation, cash, customization, and new rides.
  
• 40 or more hours worth of gameplay in all.
  
• Hundreds of races to be experienced, from pure street racing to drag races.
  
• As the player progresses through the game, five major city areas will open to the player’s disposal.
  
• Significantly improved A.I. over the original Need for Speed: Underground.
  
• Multiplayer support for two people on the GameCube.
  
• Online support is absent for the GameCube version.
  
• Supports Dolby Pro Logic II, 16:9 Support, and 480p Support.
  
• Requires 7 memory card blocks.
  

It’s Your City and More
Need for Speed: Underground 2, unlike previous installments in the series, pits you in a city that you can traverse at anytime. As you progress through the game, five major areas of the city will be unlocked through your time playing Need for Speed: Underground 2 and effort you put into it. The city is large, and seems like it would fit into a Seattle or Los Angeles type of perspective. Billboards and commercialized stores barrage the streets and are a spitting image of their real world counterparts, such as Best Buy. It all really makes the player feel more involved, and adds a real life centerfold to the overall picture. The sense of freedom somewhat resembles a Grand Theft Auto experience in that you are free to do what you wish at your leisure. On another note, the only time you will ever see people in the city in Need for Speed: Underground 2 is during the cut scenes and races. Even then do you rarely see people, with the exception of the flag girls that start the races.