Need for Speed Underground 2 is the sequel to Need for Speed Underground, which has sold more than five million copies worldwide since its release in November 2003. As you might expect, NFSU2 sports an ambitious number of improvements over its predecessor, which should be sure to please fans. So, if you're a car lover you want to own and drive ultra-fast - turbocharged - Nitrous-powered - cars once more, NFS: Underground could be very good choice for you.

In terms of basic structure, the races aren't much different from those found in the original NFSU. At the beginning of the game you will be able to create an unique driving profile. Once you've adjusted the settings to your preference, you can select one of the following racing modes: Career, Quick Race, Online, LAN. The gameplay in Career - the game's main mode - borrows a lot from the GTA series. While not in a race, you can drive around the city (wherever you want), looking for challenges, hidden garages, bonuses, racers (which you can compete with to make a little money) and a little more. But nothing is perfect, there are no civilians, there aren't that many secrets, and the shortcuts are lacking.

To make gameplay more various, the game includes a number of different race types - essentially you have classical Circuit, Sprint (you go from one point to another without any laps), Drag, Drift (you drift down the hill on a sprint against incoming traffic), Street-X (cross between motorcross and street racing), Underground Racing League (you race at night against the best opponents in private race tracks or closed environments with no traffic or obstractions), and Free Run. The developers have also added the "Outrun" mode where you're thrust into a quick race against that other racer. These races are triggered in the same fashion as those in the Tokyo Xtreme Racer series; when exploring the world map, it's possible to approach another vehicle from behind and request a challenge.

There's over 30 licensed and fully customizable cars available to race. In NFSU2: Underground you'll find: Acura RSX Type S (2003), Audi A3 (2004), Audi TT (2004), Cadillac Escalade (2004), Ford Focus ZX3 (2003), Ford Mustang GT (2005), Honda Civic Coupe Si (2000), Hummer H2 (2004), Hyundai Tiburon GT (2003), Infiniti G35 (2004), Lexus iS300 (2002), Lincoln Navigator (2004), Mazda Miata - MX5 (1999), Mazda RX-7 (1995), Mazda RX-8 (2004), Mitsubishi 3000 GT (1999), Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX (1999), Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VIII (2003), Nissan 240sx (1992), Nissan 350Z (2003), Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V (2003), Nissan Skyline R34 GTR (1999), Peugeot 206 GTI (2003), Pontiac GTO (2004), Subaru WRX STI (2004), Toyota Celica GT-S (2003), Toyota Corolla GTS (AE86) (1987), Toyota Supra (1998), Volkswagen Golf GTI (2003) and a few more. All the cars are rated in handling, acceleration, and top speed, but I'd say that in practice the cars don't drive all that differently, especially once you've purchased some upgrades in the career mode. Well, this isn't a simulation, and the mechanics work in the context of the game.

One of the best features of this game is the ability to upgrade your vehicles and customize them before racing. There is a ton of ways to customize your ride with parts to have better performance. There's over 50 individual performance parts for your car which fall into many different categories, like Engines, ECUs, brakes, tires, suspension, transmission, Nintro, weight reduction etc. Unlike the original game, NFSU2's nitrous system is much more dynamic, allowing you to fill it up by performing all manner of racing feats. Of course, there is also a ton of available paint jobs, decals spoilers, bumpers and more for decorative and practical purposes, so you can truly create your own unique racing car.

What else to say? NFSU2 plays really well! The music is good, the upgrades are just silly, soooo many. I would say it is so far 100 times better then the first game. The new gameplay modes, improved vehicle upgrades, and completely redeveloped online modes simply serve as more reasons to want this game If you are into arcade racing games, then this is a must buy!

Related links: demo (362MB), patch #1 (4.8MB), cheats, savegames, savegames v1.01, trainer +3 for v1.01

Minimum system requirements: Intel Pentium III (or equivalent) CPU running at 933MHz or higher, 32MB DirectX 9.0c compatible video card (ATI Radeon 7500 or greater / NVIDIA GeForce2 or greater), 256MB RAM, DirectX compatible sound card, 2GB of HD space, 8X CD-ROM, to play online a network card is required for broadband connectivity.