A tiny bit disappointing but good enough for the fans of the series!
User Rating: 8 | Need for Speed Underground Rivals PSP
Need for Speed Underground: Rivals was the one that started my interest in the PSP-handheld. It all seemed to perfect: being able to play my favorite racer everywhere. Well, this is how it looks now: it IS a good racer and I AM playing it everywhere! When the game came in I immediately started to play. The game starts off with a not-so-overwhelming movie with 95 percent of in-game footage. Looking at it once should be enough. In the main menu I saw “Race Now”. I didn’t hesitate and within seconds I was at the finish line next to three other fully tuned cars. The driving feels very good. De car reacts very fast and you can steer with the D-pad as well as the analogue stick. It’s a little getting used to, especially when you’re used to the console version, but after that it’s all good. After my first ride I started exploring the other possibilities, which were “Quick Play Battle” and “Circuit Race”. QPB takes you to a submenu where you can choose between “Street Cross”, “Drift Attack”, “Nitrous Run” and “Drag”. CR brings up a submenu with “Novice”, “Pro”, “Master” and “Car Spec”. The first three are the three difficulties available. “Car Spec” however is worth mentioning. There are 20 different cars you can unlock and every single car has its own car spec race. The possibilities available make the game highly addictive and in just a few days I already was at 25 percent and had three shining cars in my garage. This “Pocket Garage” is accessible from the main menu and has enough room to fit every of the 24 unlockable cars. The graphics are a bit disappointing. It’s all just not what it could be, especially when you’re used to games like WipeOut Pure. The environments and the colors of the road and cars look pretty good, not great but good enough to set a nice NSFU-atmosphere. The sound in the game is great. The music and the SFX really suck you in the game, especially when you use earplugs. The SFX sound very realistic and the music will only make you want to drive faster. You won’t be disappointed about the great line-up of music artists. Need for Speed Underground: Rivals is a great game and a must for the lovers of the series. Also gamers who just want a good racer won’t be disappointed with this one, although they also have some other great options to attend to… 
