When it came to illegal street racing, nothing came close to rivaling Rockstar’s Midnight Club series because, let’s face it, the series perfectly depicted the illegal street racing scene while keeping it fun yet realistic.  Then Need for Speed Underground came out and gave Midnight Club II a run for its money with its addictive racing, car modification and beautiful visuals.  This year is different, though; games like Juiced and Street Racing Syndicate have come to take the crown away from both Rockstar and Electronic Arts.  So what’s EA to do?  How about releasing Need for Speed Underground 2, a sequel that just so happens to take all the good things about the series and blow us away with something new.  Does it work?  Let’s see, shall we?   

Having made a name for yourself in the underground racing circuit, things get a little out of hand in your city and this leaves you no choice but to start anew in another city.  The city in question is Bayview, a West Coast-styled city swarming with the street’s top racing talents.  Your only welcome committee is Rachel Taylor, the beautiful owner of a car lot and performance shop who also happens to race her customized vehicle.  As you slip into her car, she doesn’t waste any time and tells you that the huge city that is Bayview is the place to be if you want to make a name for yourself.  Hooking you up with a Short Message System (SMS) to communicate with you, Rachel tells you to drive her car back to her car lot and thus begins your underground career.

Bayview is huge and, much like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, it’s a combination of cities that make up districts in this game’s world.  You’ll race through areas with planes landing and taking off in the Airport district and race through the Los Angeles-inspired street of the City Core while Beacon Hill, Coal Harbor and Jackson Heights make up the other parts.  You won’t automatically jump from one race to another like the first outing so you’ll be free to cruise the streets at your leisure although you might not find any interesting secrets or hidden modes.  Sure you can earn a few points here and there by performing certain moves like powerslides, but exploration is something that will just get old pretty quickly . . . after all, there’s nothing really to see.  Still, it’s great to be able to drive to races and shops rather than be whisked away to them with a push of a button.

The assortment of licensed vehicles are the stars of the show with everything from a Peugeot 2006 to a Mazda Miata MX-5 to the Honda Civic and even the sharp-looking Nissan 240 SX.  They’re fast and beautiful but then there’s the questionable addition of trucks, SUVs and the addition of a Toyota Corolla (definitely not a car the screams racing machine).  Worse yet is the Cadillac Escalade, you know, the big boxy vehicle rap stars are driving around town.  Still, thanks to the custom tuning and modification garages around town, you can make a plain Ford Focus into a really smoking racing legend.  Customizing your ride is encouraged since it earns you points or stars for your overall Visual Star Rating.  The hotter your car looks the bigger the chance to get it featured in the cover of a DVD (and big bucks). 

You’ll notice that you also have a map, known as the World Map that indicates the exact location of a race type.  The closer you get to the specified spot you’ll see an icon indicating the type of race and you’ll get a message from your main challenger.  You’ll find a Circuit race, which is basically your average race.  Drift will have you performing cool slides and breaks in a circular race course (or one that slopes down like in Downhill Drift) and Drag will having you speed-shifting like in the first game.  Street X, a new race mode, will have you battling it out to win over the other racers no matter the cost.  They’re great races and you can choose the order of any of them if you want but the great thing is that these races can be found throughout Bayview’s districts.

You’ll score points during each race like in the first Underground so you’ll be rewarded for near misses and handling that sharp turn without slamming into a sign post.  Winning races earns you Reputation Points because, let’s face it, it’s all about how making a name for yourself in the underground racing circuit.  It also means you’ll earn the respect of your fellow racers and that leads to sponsorship (this game is huge on product placing so you’ll be backed up by some big name sponsors).  A sponsorship doesn’t just earn you cash and decals with your sponsor’s name on it but free cars as well because the rides you use when you’re doing great usually ends up on the cover of a magazine (photographers will invite you for a photo session).

The controls are a dream come true when it comes to the racing action.  You won’t find a better control scheme (although if the default doesn’t suit your taste you can always change it in the Options menu).  It’s purely arcade-style but unlike Street Racing Syndicate this actually works for Underground 2.  The game seemed to learn a thing or two from Burnout 3: Takedown because the game feels a lot like it and that’s not a bad thing.

Graphically speaking, the first game was a thing of beauty on the Xbox and the same can be said about this one.  It’s gorgeous and far more detail has been placed on not only the vehicles but also the city itself.  Sure its not breathing with life like Midnight Club II but it still looks great.  You’ll watch as the weather changes and you’ll race from dusk till dawn as the early morning light is barely peeking through.  The cars are beautifully rendered but, once again, they don’t take any damage at all (although the cut scenes of the crashes look particularly good).  The comic book style isn’t a good idea even with a nice rendering of Brooke Burke . . . it’s just all flat and boring.

As for the sound, the soundtrack will not be everyone’s cup of tea and it certainly isn’t mine.  While well-known artists like Queens of the Stone Age and Xzibit make up the soundtrack’s eclectic mix, it’s nowhere as good as other EA titles like Burnout 3.  The game doesn’t even support a Custom Soundtrack feature so big disappointment in this department.  Fortunately the game does support Dolby so crank this one up if you want to hear the roar of the engines.  The voice acting, though, is not great.  Brooke is the only character that doesn’t make the badly written dialogue seem too bad.

Need for Speed Underground 2 is not a giant leap forward but it’s certainly a leap in all the right directions, making this one an addictive ride into the underground racing scene.  The city is huge but there’s no real reason to go out exploring it and that might just be its only major flaw.  However, you can’t go wrong with all the race modes and with Xbox Live support there’s enough here to keep racing fans more than happy.  Take this one out for a spin if you love your racing games perfect. 

Gameplay: 9.2
While still very much an arcade-styled racer, the vehicles handle realistically enough that you’ll notice any change you happen to make on your vehicle of choice.  The driving conditions change at the drop of a hat (it can start raining or you’ll find more traffic in certain areas) and they certainly affect the race itself.  The sense of speed doesn’t come close to Burnout 3: Takedown but you won’t find a better illegal street racing feel like this one.  The new mode, Street X, is downright addictive.

Graphics: 9.0
Once again the game takes you into the night with a city filled with bright lights and the occasional side streets with wet pavement.  The city is beautifully detailed but it’s the cars that will make gamers drool.  Like the first Underground, the sharp and gorgeously detailed cars reflect the lights and look great not only during replays but also during the racing action itself.  Unfortunately the comic book panel cut scenes isn’t cool even with a perfect rendering of Brooke Burke.

Sound: 8.0
There’s nothing quite like the sound of a Nissan 240 SX engine revving up and the loud screeches of tires during drifts--all of which is done marvelously once again.  The game’s score is a bit of a let down considering the fact that the last game had techno beats and a nice solid mix of great hip-hop.  Snoop Dogg covering The Doors coolest tune (and badly I might add) just isn’t a great opening track.  The dialogue is not good at all either.

Difficulty: Medium
Thanks to an improved opponent AI, you’ll have to be mindful of the other racers and a single mistake can cost you the entire race.  This makes for a truly challenging racing game that keeps you on your toes and makes you question every turn and short cut.  Drag and Drift are now even more challenging than before.

Concept: 9.0
While Bayview is a huge and beautiful city with five districts filled to the brim with various racers just itching to challenge you, it’s hard not to feel how empty the massive city feels so gamers will most likely not spend the game exploring it.  The fun is in the modifying your ride so you’ll happily spend most of your time earning money so you can really customize your car in the various garages.  You’re also not pushed into completing the events you dislike the most like in the first game.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Having finally reached an agreement with Microsoft, EA included online multiplayer capabilities this time around and Xbox Live gamers will certainly appreciate the fast, furious and ultra smooth online modes.  You can also play this one with a friend using a single Xbox but no System Link support, though.  That’s okay, though, you’ll get split-screen plus all the available racing modes.

Overall: 9.2
Wonderfully stylish, satisfyingly addictive and completely different, this sequel to the stellar original makes Need for Speed Underground 2 a new fan favorite.  Its open-ended world is massive and is filled with much to see even though the city comes off as barren and boring.  Yet when all is said and done it’s all about the illegal street races and they’re done to perfection here.  This is a Must Have for racing fans everywhere.