A really welcome game for street racers
User Rating: 9 | Need for Speed Underground GC
Ok, now I haven't been a huge fan of the Need for Speed series, but this game has changed my mind a bit. To kick it off, I myself own a rice burner (Japanese import car) so I love seeing something like this. First off, the customizations: the biggest highlight of the game. There are hundreds of customizations for the cars in Underground, and all of them amazing. Typical games will have things such as engine, tire, and transmission upgrades, etc. Well, Underground has all that and a LOT more. Cosmetic upgrades are what make this game so gorgeous. You can get tons of body kits for every car, window tinting, ground effect lighting, spoilers, wheels, and even change the color on every part of it. Best of all, these cars are all cars we see (and some of us drive) every day. Not some crazy cars only known to the track. The sound rocks. Its got music from some great artists such as Lil Jon and the Eastside boys and many more platinum artists. But the best sound comes from the cars. The turbos sound great, and the NOS injections sound even better. Also, the exhaust and tire sounds are very realistic as well. Now, lets talk gameplay variety. This game has modes including circuit, sprint, drag, drifting racing, and elimination. Obviously the drag and drifting were my favorite. In fact, I think they should make a game comprised solely of drag racing. But the drifting is really cool, much of the time you go around a square track and the key is to look good and keep sliding the whole time without hitting any barriers. Then you have the circuit and sprint racing: typical racing game stuff, nothing really standing out there. Then the elimination mode (named differently in US version) is just circuit mode with the last player eliminated on each lap. Visuals. This game looks very good, especially the cars. When you put any of the body kits on your car, it is totally seamless, like the car was designed with that kit on it. And the cars look incredibly realistic to begin with. The tracks are very cool, bright lights and all. But all of the tracks seem to be covered with water, although thinking back, it does make it look cooler and more streamline. However, the downside on the visuals is the fact that there is no car damage, none. You can total you car, but it won't have a scratch on it, very Gran Turismo-ey. Also, when you blow your engine (which you can do from too high of revs for too long) you don't even see so much as a gust of smoke coming from the hood, the car just keeps on looking gorgeous. Now lets focus on the low points: first off, the story line. Now, the story line kind of gets you into it in the beginning with the bad voice acting girl submersing you into the Underground race world, but then it kind of fades off, and the only thing keeping you playing is the tension for what part you can install on your car next (which isn't such a bad thing really, it does a great job at driving the game.) And the bomber (if every game really had to have one): the actual gameplay. The driving is very unrealistic. The drifting is very fun, and the drag racing doesn't require very complicated physics, but the circuit and sprint modes aren't too fun when it doesn't feel like you're in a real car. So, when all's added up and weighed, is it worth it? This game makes a great week-long $5 rental from Blockbuster. It's main appeal is ages 10-30, I think. But then again, aren't the vast majority of gamers in that age range? So go, rent it. It's even worth buying for maybe $20 if you can find it that low. Well, there you have it, another game down, another review written, hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing. And look around for my other reviews, I promise I put work into every one of them. Safe driving! 
