Need for Speed: Underground

Did You Know?

• The game's soundtrack includes 26 licensed songs, with the theme song 'Get Low' performed by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz.
• The opening song 'Kimosabe' was produced by BT.

Plot

The game opens with a circuit race in Olympic City, where the player drives a white Honda/Acura Integra Type R with unique vinyl and a wide body kit. After winning dominantly, the player awakens from a daydream to meet Samantha, who becomes their contact in the city. She guides the player through the import culture and illegal street racing scene, introducing them to racers such as Jose, Klutch, and Dirt, who offer circuit, drag, and drift events respectively. In event #7, Samantha introduces the player to T.J., a mechanic who rewards performance upgrades for winning time trials, while Samantha herself offers visual modifications for completing her challenges. As the player climbs the ranking boards, they attract the attention of The Eastsiders, including members Chad, Kurt, and Todd. Eddie, the gang's leader and the top underground racer, insults the player and throws cash at them, demanding they take a taxi. Eventually, Eddie challenges the player to race Samantha. She loses after her Honda Civic Si's engine fails, and T.J. takes her car. Distancing herself from the player, Samantha stops communicating, but the player continues racing. The player defeats Chad, Kurt, Todd, and Dirt for the #1 rank on their boards, then faces T.J. in Samantha's vandalized Civic in a pink slip race. Winning the car back, the player returns it to Samantha, rekindling their friendship, and she rewards them with a unique body kit choice.

Gameplay

Gameplay involves defeating opponents in illegal street races in the fictional Olympic City. The game introduces nitrous oxide for the first time in the series, which boosts acceleration for maximum speed but can only be used once per race until restarted. Several game modes are available. Circuit is a standard race with up to three opponents on a loop track for two or more laps. Knockout Mode eliminates the last racer each lap until one remains, with a maximum of three laps for four racers. Sprint mode is a point-to-point race, typically shorter than circuits (up to 8 km), requiring caution against crashes. Drift mode is the most technical, where one player on a short loop track scores points by drifting, competing against three other contestants whose scores appear alongside. Bonuses are awarded for drifting on outer borders, vertically, or performing chained drifting; points are added only if the drift ends without collision, otherwise they are canceled. Drift mode does not consider time, and nitrous oxide is unavailable.

Development

Announced in April 2003, Need for Speed: Underground launched worldwide that November on PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube, with a Japanese release for the latter two platforms on December 25. It offers 20 fully customizable licensed cars from 13 manufacturers, plus hundreds of aftermarket parts from over 50 companies such as Bilstein, GReddy, and HKS Power. Visual effects were overseen by Habib Zargarpour, a veteran of the pod-racing scene in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The game’s marketing budget was $5.8 million. An arcade version, co-developed by Global VR and Electronic Arts, hit arcades in late 2005.

Reception

Need for Speed: Underground received positive reviews. On GameRankings and Metacritic, the PlayStation 2 version scored 84.29% and 85 out of 100, the GameCube version 83.73% and 83 out of 100, the PC version 82.29% and 82 out of 100, the Xbox version 81.76% and 83 out of 100, and the Game Boy Advance version 77.33% and 77 out of 100. Critics noted repetitive tracks, unbalanced rubberband AI in Easy mode, and the lack of free roam and damage, with damage limited to detachment of license plates and side mirrors during collisions, especially in Drag races. Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine gave the PS2 version nine out of ten, praising the speed but calling it another driving game with Hollywood sparkle. Famitsu gave the GameCube and PS2 versions 34 out of 40. By mid-2004, sales exceeded 7 million units worldwide, ultimately reaching 15 million. In the United States, the PlayStation 2 version sold 2.6 million copies and earned $115 million by July 2006, ranking as the sixth highest-selling game for PlayStation 2, Xbox, or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006. It received a Double Platinum sales award from ELSPA in the UK, where it sold 700,000 copies by January 2004. Computer Gaming World awarded it Racing Game of the Year for 2003. It also won The Electric Playgrounds Best Driving Game for PC award, the Interactive Achievement Award for Console Racing Game of the Year, and the CESA Game Awards Global Award.