Need for speed underground offers some very good moments of racing.It also boasts great graphics.I actually played this game after playing through the sequel entirely,twice and I certainly didnt find it boring to any extent.If I were to compare both the installments the first one offers some tougher racing than the sequel.I mean....playing on easy isn't easy like in the sequel where u could take a one minute lead, stop for 30 seconds and again resume and still win if u had ur ride tricked out in the career mode.But in UG 1 the 112th race was even no childs play.The races aren't actually tough if ur a good driver but mistakes prove to be fatal,once the AI takes the lead u can pretty much forget about winning the race unless ur opponent makes a mistake or u take him/her out cause the tracks are very small.U may come across moments where u will play a race 5 times before u actually win it.The tracks are filled with a plethora of shortcuts and hangtimes which are to be seen less in the sequel.The real annoyance factor here is the traffic, unorthodoxly annoying.The numero uno downside to the greatness of the game.To add to that the traffic varies with races.U have no control over it.It's the traffic that's going to make ur life hell in UG 1.These moment remind me of midnight club 2.The cutscenes are good,not to mention the loading times are very good as compared to the sequel.Drag races are the best but...traffic....There are fewer tracks to choose from.The sound and soundtracks are good,my personal favorite being "kimosabe".There are fewer cars than in the sequel.But the world environment mapping is muuuuch better than UG 2.The graphics are definitely a plus point.One thing guarenteed is that u will come across some of the most pensive moments in ur life while playing this game.This is arguebly one of the most addictive games I have come across;ofcourse not as much as Halo-but very addictive.It took me about one week to complete it.The UI isn't as good as the sequels'.Just would like to add one thing that the drift tracks used here are seen as the StreetX tracks in UG 2.It definitely would have undoubtedly been one of the greatest games to play in 2003,it still is......but ud be better off playing Most Wanted or UG 2.Now that I have once again gone back to the sequel I find UG 1 being a lot smaller in magnitude as compared to the sequel.It doesn't allow u to do much stuff other than racing and upgrading ur car but I repeat, the graphix are great,not the best but great.So if u have already played UG 2, u might as well give UG 1 a try.But I cant say how better it is as compared to carbon,I havent played it yet!One thing I still cant figure out is why UG 2 runs better than UG 1? "The roads are glistening as though someone peeed all over it........":-My friend.
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